body snatching

American  

noun

1. the act or practice of robbing a grave to obtain a cadaver for dissection.

---

Etymology

Origin of body snatching

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

He knows the city’s history of medical research is clouded with rumors of murder and body snatching, and all that ominous energy seems to be focused on his apartment building.

From Washington Post • Dec. 21, 2021

During that time he was told the story of the body snatching by Dick Frost, a Ned descendent, and Fred Garlow, Buffalo Bill’s grandson.

From Washington Times • Jan. 11, 2017

These laws harken back to the 19th century when grave robbing and body snatching experienced a boom, driven by an underground demand from medical doctors and physicians’ colleges.

From The Guardian • Sep. 4, 2015

This rowdily amusing exercise in the prevention of body snatching, featuring a corpse that found its coffin too confining, will please readers of hardy sensibilities.

From Time Magazine Archive

This affair—’ ‘The body snatching at Kirkburn?’ asked the chief.

From The Disentanglers by Lang, Andrew