Notes on the history of the Dr. Senckenbergische Anatomie in Frankfurt/Main. Part I. Development of student numbers, body procurement, and gross anatomy courses from 1914 to 2013

Abstract

Until recently, it was believed that all internal documentation regarding student affairs and body procurement of the Dr. Senckenbergische Anatomie concerning the time before March 1944 - when the building was destroyed during an Allied air raid - was lost. A few years ago, however, we discovered stacks of old documents in the current anatomy building. These documents permitted a reconstruction (1) of the history of body procurement, student numbers and course management from 1914 to 1944, as well as (2) some aspects of the building's history in the time immediately after its destruction that have hitherto not been documented. In this paper (Part I), we will deal with the organizational history of the Dr. Senckenbergische Anatomie from 1914 to 2013, placing special emphasis on the development of the student population and body procurement, as well as on the major changes that occurred in the gross anatomy labs of the last century. More than 30,000 students were trained in the Dr. Senckenbergische Anatomie over the last 100 years, and more than 3000 bodies have been received. The number of incoming bodies has remained quite stable in all these years and is, on average, approximately 32 per year. The number of students entering the gross anatomy lab during that period, however, rose from less than 100 to more than 600. A companion paper (Part II) deals with the years of the Third Reich (1933-1945) in more detail.

Keywords: Body supply; Dissection lab; Frankfurt; Gross anatomy; History; Student numbers; Student/corpse ratio.