Human Cadaver: Stiff By Mary Roach

Stiff, written by Mary Roach, follows the lives of donated human cadavers, where each cadaver goes on a different journey. The book’s first half begins with an introduction about what cadavers are and how they are used for research purposes. Roach then goes on to detail the different uses of cadavers or the different research done on them, which include; surgery practice, human decay, crash tests, bullet and bomb tests, crash investigations, decapitation, crucifixion experiments, and the research for the human soul. With the quote, “They can’t play water polo, or lace up their boots, or maximize market share. They can’t tell a joke, and they can’t dance for beans. There is one thing dead people excel at. They’re very good at handling pain,”

If the cadaver wasn’t able to handle pain, the experiments wouldn’t have been able to take place. The quote is significant to the book because the last sentence, “They’re very good at handling pain,” is essential for much of the scientific research on cadavers to be able to occur. Without this trait, Roach wouldn’t have been able to experience and understand how cadavers played a role in crash tests, surgery practices, bullet and bomb experiments, head transplants, and crucifixion experiments. The quote connects to the real world because the idea in the quote that dead bodies are only good at one thing, which is, “handling pain,” but nothing else, can be applied to other circumstances in the world. This can be seen with serial killers, who have no benefit to society and aren’t able to do anything well, similar to how a cadaver “can’t play water polo, or lace up their boots, or maximize market share.” However, serial killers are good at one thing, which is killing, similar to how a dead body is only “good at handling pain.” For example, serial killers Jeffrey Dahmer and Dennis Rader did nothing well except for executing their

Throughout history, it has been shown that research on cadavers has led to major scientific breakthroughs. For example, “They allow doctors and surgeons to develop or learn new techniques without risking injury to patients. They allow researchers to develop new medical devices, like artificial joints or implantable drug delivery systems, and to test how they work before using them on the living. They help physicians and researchers understand how diseases like cancer or Alzheimer’s progress inside the body so that they can find better ways to treat or cure those conditions” (“Human Cadavers Shape”). This shows the amazing impact that cadavers can have on the world and without them, certain surgeries or treatments for illness may not exist today. Furthermore, Roach goes through different experiments conducted on cadavers. One of the most essential ones to this day are the car crash tests for airbags. Without these tests, the airbags in modern cars would not be as effective as they are. Another experiment led to the effective use of organ transplants. Without cadavers, a practical method of transplant would not have been created without killing or injuring people who didn’t have to be. Both Roach and the article “Human Cadavers Shape the Past and Future of Medical Science” agree that cadavers are necessary in order to shape the future for the better. Thus, Roach’s