Dissection
Human dissections were carried out by the Greek physicians Herophilus of Chalcedon and Erasistratus of Chios in the early part of the third century BC. During this period, the first exploration into full human anatomy was performed rather than a base knowledge gained from 'problem-solution' delving. While there was a deep taboo in Greek culture concerning human dissection, there was at the time a strong push by the Ptolemaic government to build Alexandria into a hub of scientific study. For a time, Roman law forbade dissection and autopsy of the human body, so physicians had to use other cadavers. Galen, for example, dissected the Barbary macaque and other primates, assuming their anatomy was basically the same as that of humans.
Body snatching
In 1536, Andreas Vesalius challenged the known world of medicine and anatomy. As a 22-year-old medical student, he had a lot to lose when he began stealing bodies from the Paris cemetery, even if it was in the name of science. He would take the bodies back to his home and boil off the skin until there were only bones remaining. Vesalius wanted to identify every bone in the human body and reconstruct it like a jigsaw puzzle. At the time, there was only one set of text books about the body at Vesalius's disposal, written by Claudius Galen 1300 years earlier. Vesalius made over 200 corrections to Galen's book based on what he had learned from dissecting stolen bodies, and ignited a new age of modern medicine.