Analysis Of Stiff By Mary Roach

Stiff: The Secret Life of Cadavers Stiff, written by Mary Roach, is an informative New York Times Bestseller about the mystery behind bodies donated to science. In the book, Roach covers an extensive array of information about cadavers including the medical uses of them, the use of them in forensic science, and even the history behind them. Throughout her scientific account of the studies she participated in, Roach uses an interesting sense of humor to engage the reader while providing them with information. The book’s main focus is on the scientific uses of cadavers. Roach’s first chapter covers the use of cadaver heads as a means to practice surgical skills. Roach was invited to watch plastic surgeons brush up on their face-lifting skills. She explains that no part of a body donated to science is wasted. This is evident in another, later chapter about the studies around the body during crucifixion. Pierre Barbet used an amputated arm attached to a 100 pound weight to see if a body could be

She talks about the usefulness in two different chapters. In the chapter entitled, “Dead Man Driving” Roach explains the use of dead bodies by scientists who test the safety of cars. The cadavers tend to come in handy when looking to see the effects of a crash on a human as they can’t object or feel pain. After subjecting the bodies to intense crashes, researchers analyze the collected data and use it to improve features on new care models to make them safer. In another chapter Roach explains that though the bodies may not have been donated, crash victims can contribute a lot to the knowledge of those who study them. Particularly, large crashes involving more than, say, four people offer the most information to be collected. Crash victims often have an abundance to say about what happened to the vehicle the victims were in. In a way they offer closure, by way of the scientists who study them, to their