Stiff
The book elaborates on what it means to give part of your body to science. From the book, I agree that a person when she or he dies should donate body parts to science since it helps those people living. The initial option of giving body parts is the procedure of cosmetic practice. In the first chapter, Stiff by Mary Roach, she goes to a seminar in which plastic surgeons do several procedures of cosmetics on cadaver heads. What the surgeons do is that they do the new procedure on nonliving then later perform on humans. The cosmetic surgeon gets a good knowledge of the anatomy of humans and also knows how to do a better procedure. On these patients, there is no blood making it easy since, no blood blockage on the facial structure and basic anatomy of a human; this will help the surgeons to do better surgery later on. In university, cadavers are provided to help students learn about the human body.
The third chapter is about body farm, which is an area where the decomposition of human can be used to study in several settings. According to Mary Roach, several bodies are put to learn about human body decomposition (Roach, 2004). The bodies are in their stages of decompositions. This will help determine the time a person dies, which is advantageous to the investigators of death to know the time of death of a person in forensic science. The term fly larvae, according to Roach, is crucial, since it helps to know human has passed. Fly larvae will help the forensic to know the age of the larvae on the corpse, which will determine the days of the dead person. Other factors that can determine the death time include the use of the level of potassium, which is in the eyelids. Mary Roach sees a dead body wearing sweatpants; the idea behind it is to check the effect of a person’s body on clothes.
Crash test dummies on cadavers are in chapter four. That is, the researchers will try and determine the effect of an impact on the body. They tell the impact, for example, a car crash force, which is unleashed to the body. The advantage is that researches will be able to determine the force that can be handled by a body. In the facility that Mary Roach visited cadaver UM 006, in which accident of a car is being simulated. The outcome of that simulation will help the car company know if that model will safeguard people during a crash, and if not, they make it safer.
In the sixth chapter, the author talks of the corpses who knows how bombs and bullets function and the effects on the human body. Cadavers go through several tests such as army-strength footwear, bulletproof, and other protective wear. This is advantageous to the army, police who will know what they are wearing is safe thanks to cadavers and can go through any situation that they may face.
In the seventh chapter, the discussion is a controversial experiment that a lot of people decide to offer themselves, which is referred to as crucifixion experiments. Some people also donate themselves while still alive, which is still up to that is considered by not many people to donate themselves while alive. Through Mary’s book, she talks about the donation of organs mostly (Roach, 2004). Which I believe is practical and beneficial to the field of science. The donated organ is used for studies that in some days, will assist someone in need. When you donate an organ, you agree to give yourself to the other person. When you immediately die, the body organ is removed and given to another person who needs it.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services in the U.S. in a day, a total of seventy- five patients get a transplant of the organ. The death in a day for the people waiting for an organ transplant is twenty; this is due to the shortage. That means if a person decides to give his or her organ to science, eight more lives are saved. Which is the easiest way of saving lives if one does not like the idea of body farm or human crash test dummies? This book has helped me to know why it is crucial to give your body to science it will help a lot of people in terms of being used as a research or study and also if you donate an organ which saves more than eight lives in a single day. From the book, I am convinced that I will also donate my body to save more lives and make life to be better here on earth.
Personal review
I usually love ready throughout the years. However, I have never found a book this inspiring like Stiff by Mary Roach, which discusses a topic that the majority of the people who read it will find it to be repulsive or not able to talk about it. Cadavers are something that many people will not like talking about it. But, I find it awesome in Roach’s book since she brought it is a humorous manner since it had facts that were interesting and lacked a moment, which was dull. I noticed in the book that she put a lot of effort and research into it. That is why it was clear what she was talking about. What she did in the book is that she interacted with people who knew that topic well, researched events in history, and went to different countries. She was so clear with the details that she was talking about that made it better. She talked clear without sugar-coating anything. Another thing I noticed is that she treated the corpses as a living thing and respected it.
From the book, I feel more knowledge of science and why it is necessary to donate. Initially, I never knew what could occur when the choice is made to give your body. But, through stiff by Mary, she talks about everything, and no place has been confused. I now feel prepared to decide to give my body or not. But I decided that I will give my body and help society to advance while I am gone. Without stiff, I never knew initially if I can help others when gone and consider giving my body as an option. I did not understand what it would occur, but through Mary Roach, I have been swayed to give my body to science and to hope other people will feel the need to.
Reference
Roach, M. (2004). Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers cadavers.
Novis, C. (2016). Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, Mary Roach: book review. South African Ophthalmology Journal, 11(2), 40.