Stiff: The Curious Lives Of Human Cadavers By halcamdad on Sep 19, 2007 - Updated Oct 15, 2011

This is a really great book about the use of human cadavers in research. It is quite graphic in places and is certainly not for the faint of heart or those of weak constitution. Dead bodies and all of their parts are discussed in painstaking detail.

Many uses for cadavers are discussed including, impact testing to learn more about the resiliency or lack thereof of human tissues, experiments of decay and decomposition (bodies just rotting in an outdoor forensic research facility at the University of Tennessee), heads used for surgical practice by plastic surgeons....the list goes on and on.

This is a truly fascinating book. I read a review by a "forensic scientist" (probably just a disgruntled technician) who bad-mouthed the book for inaccuracies with respect to the actual ins and outs of forensic science. I found this to be rubbish as the book is not written for forensic scientists and medical examiners. It's written for the educated lay public.

Check it out. It's gory, but fascinating.