Introduction

In the context of this book, a chapter devoted to anatomy may appear
anomalous, since the picture generally conveyed by anatomy is one of
‘deadness’. This is the picture conveyed by the traditional dissecting
room, where deadness reigns supreme. A decidedly different picture
is presented by reproductive technologies, centring on manipulation
of the embryo. These technologies have spawned a plethora of ethical
debates, with the biological and moral status of the embryo emerging
as pivotal. These two areas are all too readily regarded as separate, when
in practice the embryo is as much an object of interest for anatomists
as the dead adult body. The aim of this chapter is to demonstrate that
these two pictures need to be nuanced in order to understand how the
anatomical sciences can contribute to a better appreciation of issues

2

Dead Human Bodies

and Embryos: Commonalities

and Disparities in Ethical Debate

D. Gareth Jones

© The Author(s) 2017
R.M. Shaw (ed.), Bioethics Beyond Altruism,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-55532-4_2

35

D.G. Jones (*)
University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
e-mail: [email protected]