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Murder is perpetrated, suicide is committed and lethal accidents happen everywhere, even in the heart of the French country. In the 19th century, law often appealed to the lights of experts. During criminal investigation, improvisation and men's adaptation were important, although forensic autopsy was official and necessary. Sometimes the magistrates appealed to young people, not used to that kind of reports, who could only remind some bits of the forensic courses they had followed when they were students. As for the specialists, the circumstances often led them to examine--as Baudelaire would say--the "decaying carcass," in a dark and suffocating ruined house, on the kitchen table, and with a simple scapel.

Between 1834, year of the founding of the Université libre de Bruxelles, since 1940, many distinguished physicians and surgeons were in charge to participate to the anatomical demonstrations. We review successively the life and contributions of Hippolyte Guillery, Sébastien Tirifahy, Léon Warnots, Edmond Rouffart, Rémy Lavisé, Edouard Willems, Auguste Brunin, Alexandre Wilmart and Lucien Wilmart to the teaching of human anatomy.

Henri IV, King of France, was killed on Friday, May 14th, 1610 in Paris, inside his partially open coach. The autopsy was performed the following day by Jacques Guillemeau, whose report was published in 1612. The murderer's position was deduced from the direction of the lethal second wound. We suppose that Ravaillac used his left hand (he was an ambidexter) hitting Henri IV under the left arm; the King was bent on his right side after the first wound, a superficial one. Ravaillac jumped up on a post by his left foot, then on the nave of the left-back wheel with his right foot and turning, gripped something high on the coach and hit with his long knife the left side of the king's chest. The direction of the wound was 40 degrees posterior and 30 degrees ascending. The pulmonary perforation involved a haemoptysis, an inability to speak and a bilateral pulmonary inundation. The left haemothorax was very probably associated to an haemopericardium and an haemomediastinum leading to a rapid collapse with a loss of consciousness which could not last than ten or fifteen minutes before death.

The performance of a pathological post-mortem examination is quite different from on carried out for medico-legal reasons. One is directed by a search fo scientific knowledge, the other by justice. Even though they have much in common, there are clear differences in the physician's practice and approach.Medico-legal considerations introduce technical modifications, including a more scrupulous external examination, giving the forensic expert an advantage not available to the pathologist. In addition, the forensic expert is often working under pressure, as he is obliged avoid any professional errors and may have to work quickly under difficult conditions.

Concerns about autopsies may hardly leave behind religious belief. Traditional anthropology conditions the relationship to death. No main religion practiced in the regions where autopsies are performed forbids it definitely. Judaism and Islam accept it as far as its usefulness is demonstrated. Christianity encourages the generosity of donation. Buddhism, which developed a denial of appearances, is finding ways to dialogue with the need of medical practices in the western world. The repulsion induced by the exploration of a corpse takes origin far above dogma and belief, which formulate acceptable limits within a given culture. Because autopsy remains useful, laic society must take into account not only the beliefs of humans, but also their fundamental need of sublimation in front of death.

The return of some infectious disease has stimulated specialists to study historical aspects of human infections. A major model for this study is Yersinia pestis which has had a great impact on human demography due to the fact that it is highly contagious and has a high mortality rate similar to that of the most lethal viral pathogenic agents. We carried out excavation of a mass grave containing the bodies of victims of an outbreak of bubonic plague that occurred in Marseille from 1720 to 1722. More than 200 skeletons were uncovered from the grave known as the Observance (second district in Marseille). In conjunction with laboratory testing, archival records were studied to determine the conditions and dates surrounding the use of this mass grave and to explain certain findings made at the site. This multidisciplinary approach revealed previously unknown facts concerning the Great Plague and provided new insight into recrudescence of the epidemic in 1722.

During a meeting on Paleopathology an anatomic piece dating back to 1853 was presented by Dr Thillaud. It consisted of a right hemiskull, the orbital cavity of which was entirely filled by a bone tumour, which was considered as benignant according to all macroscopic paleopathological and radiological criteria. The situation of the tumour in the skeleton was surprising, considering the report in the Dupuytren Museum catalogue which mentioned its removal and a long survival of the patient after the operation. After some research, it was possible to find out all details of the case history, of the removal of the tumour and of its aberrant presentation in the skull which was solely done in a didactic purpose, as far back as 1853. This observation is a further proof of the interest of written documents in Paleopathology and of the evident connexion of this discipline with the History of Medicine.

It is through Laennec's students observations, revised by himself, that we are able to follow his medical knowledge strides. Starting from the first mediate auscultation (1817) it shows the raising prevalence of physical marks against functional ones. It starts by the impairing of human voice sounds and tackles abnormal breathing murmurs; all these are combined with every other investigating process as percussion. Nevertheless, some failings appear about cardiology which is occasionally defective. Very complete autopsies give now famous descriptions of pulmonary emphysema and atrophic cirrhosis. Such a documentation shows how high a value Laennec and his followers were setting on anatomo-clinical method though they admitted its limit.