The cold mud filled Herman Mudgeett's boots with each step among the tombstones. The early spring

rain had started pouring several hours earlier.

Normally, the downpour would have kept Herman inside his medical school dormitory for the night,

but his professor had told him to meet at the cemetery gates at midnight if he wanted to get paid.

So, Herman ignored his cold feet as he followed his professor to a recent grave. Forest Hill Cemetery was not far from the University of Michigan campus,

which made it a prime target for ghoulish activities.

Herman's professor stopped, set down his lantern, and the two men began to dig.

Less than an hour later, they pried open the lid of a coffin. The professor

muttered curses as he fumbled with the big canvas sheet he had brought for bundling.

Herman stood over the open grave and looked down at the body of the recently deceased. He didn't

see a person. He saw a prophet.

The didn't see a person, he saw a profit. The mid-19th century marked the birth of modern medical science.

The era brought a surge of discoveries, including innovations like germ theory and the stethoscope.

The advancements led to the rapid development of vaccines,

public health research, and breakthroughs in the study of human anatomy.

The so-called Victorian Revolution in Surgery,

from the 1840s to the 1890s, set in motion

the common surgical procedures still in use today. But many of the advancements and innovations came at a cost.

Victorian-era surgery was closer to the work of a butcher than of a modern surgeon.

The mortality rate of surgery was higher than 50%.

The procedures were often treated like theater performances, with surgeons working on stages in front of eager audiences under bright spotlights.

And to practice the surgeries before the performances, many doctors relied on the services of Resurrectionists.

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