Typhoid deaths and body-snatching scandal at a Montreal convent school

Background. Body snatching involved the illicit removal of corpses for dissection or anatomy lectures. In Canada, religious customs and lack of preservation methods made obtaining fresh bodies difficult for medical students. The first medical school in Canada was established in Montreal in 1822. In the United Kingdom, the Anatomy Act 1832 had given doctors, anatomy teachers, and medical students licence to dissect donated bodies; this UK statute is context only and did not govern Quebec, whose own Anatomy Act later required amendment.

Typhoid Outbreak. During the winter of 1875, typhoid fever struck at a convent school in Montreal. The disease resulted in multiple deaths, creating a situation where the bodies of the victims were vulnerable to theft before their families could arrive from the United States to claim them.

Scandal and Legislative Change. The theft of the corpses by body-snatchers before relatives arrived caused an international scandal. In response to the public outrage, the Anatomy Act of Quebec was amended to prevent a recurrence. This legislative change effectively ended the practice of medical body snatching in Quebec.