Anatomy Registers

The supply of bodies for dissection by anatomists and medical students was regulated by the Anatomy Act of 1832. This Act introduced the office of the Inspector of Anatomy for Scotland. From 1842, the Inspector maintained registers of bodies supplied to the medical schools around Scotland. These registers are held by the National Records of Scotland, in the MH1 series.

The registers start in 1842, and continue up to 1949. They generally provide the following information:

• name
• age and sex
• last residence
• date and place of death
• cause of death, and by whom certified
• time of removal
• place to which removed (i.e. the institution) and teacher
• date and time which the body was received
• from whom the body was received
• date and place of burial

We have currently indexed the entries for the following medical schools:

• Aberdeen
• Dundee
• Edinburgh Surnames A-C
• Edinburgh Surnames D-H
• Edinburgh Surnames I-M
• Edinburgh Surnames N-R
• Edinburgh Surnames S-Z
• Glasgow Surnames A-C
• Glasgow Surnames D-H
• Glasgow Surnames I-L
• Glasgow Surnames M
• Glasgow Surnames N-S
• Glasgow Surnames T-Z
• St Andrews​