London Committee of Licensed Teachers of Anatomy

The collection comprises minutes, 1880-1967; financial records, lists of subjects, and correspondence, 1961-1975; and meeting papers, 1965-1969. The archives of the Committee are not complete. Although the minutes date from its beginnings, and there are some other early papers, documentation relating to the distribution and eventual burial or cremation of cadavers only survives from 1942.

1881-1979

3 boxes, 1 oversize folder

The collection is divided into sections as follows:

1 Minutes, 1881-1969, 1979

2 Early records of committee, 1881-1919

3 Correspondence, 1946-1978

4 Financial records, 1928-1974

5 Records of burials [ACCESS RESTRICTED], 1941-1978

The initial accession of this collection was received in October 1980 from the former Secretary, Professor J.T. Aitken, Department of Anatomy, University College London. A further accession was received in 1984 from the then Secretary, Dr T.A. Quilliam, Department of Anatomy and Embryology, University College London.

The archives date from the inauguration of the Committee in 1881 at a conference for those engaged in the teaching of anatomy in London. At this time teachers of anatomy were experiencing severe problems in obtaining subjects for dissection for classes in Practical Anatomy and Operative Surgery, with medical schools competing with one another for this limited supply of bodies. The Anatomical Teachers' Board was set up to represent the various London medical schools, to improve distribution of unclaimed bodies and to improve also their transfer for subsequent burial. A committee was appointed to investigate the workings of the Anatomy Act 1871 and what measures should be taken to improve the supply of subjects. The Board's duties included visiting existing sources of supply (workhouses, infirmaries, etc.) and taking every opportunity to increase the supply, receiving payments from teachers and examining boards for every subject sent to them by the Inspector of Anatomy, maintaining accounts with the undertakers who removed anatomical subjects for burial, and keeping a register of all subjects sent to schools and examining boards open to inspection by the Inspector of Anatomy. The Committee continues to deal with the supplying of cadavers for teaching and examination purposes to London medical schools, under the University of London, responsible to HM Inspector of Anatomy at the Department of Health. However, since unclaimed bodies are in ever-dwindling supply at the end of the twentieth century, most bodies are now those of individuals who have bequeathed them for this purpose.

Much of the material received consisted of very routine administrative papers, which have not been retained as the collated information was available in the registers relating to the eventual burial or cremation of bodies. Routine letters from individuals requesting information about bequeathing their bodies for research purposes have also not been retained.