corpse

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— the body after the moment of death, but prior to the completion of decomposition; also known (particularly in the US) by the Latin term cadaver.

In most circumstances, this residue of humanity is regarded as due for disposal. Concern for the future life of the soul or spirit is often reflected in the treatment of the corpse. In all cultures, the corpse is an object of great potency, the focus for a powerful mixture of solicitude and fear: solicitude for the humanity and personality of the dead, embodied in the transformed body of the dead person; horror of death, dread of bereavement, or terror of the likelihood of further deaths or of haunting.

These lay perceptions have medical parallels. The poet Shelley's corpse was burnt on the beach near Viareggio when it was washed up there after his drowning in 1822, as the Tuscan authorities of the day regarded drowned bodies as a health hazard. In nineteenth-century Britain, corpses were classified as ‘nuisances’ to public health, and sanitary inspectors were authorized to remove them from the homes of the poor for fear that they might serve as foci for epidemics of scarlet fever, cholera, or smallpox.

Medical solicitude for the corpse derives from its potential value for postmortem diagnosis, dissection, specimen-taking, and transplantation, and depends crucially on its physical condition. Freshness is a key attribute: significant findings at autopsy and the success of transplanted organs and tissues depend upon it, and there is little point in dissecting a body whose structures have badly decomposed prior to preservation, except for forensic or anthropological purposes. Although anatomical dissection may be carried out ultimately on body parts, effective injection and saturation of tissues with preservative requires that corpses be undamaged at the outset. Wholeness is less crucial to transplantation, as organs or tissues from even damaged corpses can be saved for transplant, if saved quickly. For both dissection and transplantation, the cause of death must be known and the corpse ascertainably free from certain transmissible diseases.

Patient organizations such as the Parkinson's Disease Society and the Alzheimer's Disease Society run specialized brain banks, to which sufferers bequeath their remains for research.

The traditional importance of the corpse to medicine is currently being eroded by technological advances. New imaging technologies enable students to explore bodily structures without dissecting, while pathological studies can often be made on tissue located and biopsied in the living patient.

In transplantation, the advantages of using organs from living bodies and the shortage of human ‘beating-heart donors’ are causing surgeons to seek material from animals. The adequacy, safety, and ethical acceptability of this alternative are as yet uncertain. It seems likely that in time the human corpse will undergo a further process of revaluation.

— Ruth Richardson

See also anatomy; autopsy; biopsy; body snatchers; brain death; death; dissection; funeral practices; transplantation.

noun

The physical frame of a dead person or animal: body, cadaver, carcass, remains. Slang stiff. See body/spirit.

Attending to the dead is considered the most selfless of the commandments in the Torah. According to the rabbis, the respect and care given the newly deceased stems from the belief that man was created in the image of God; although the life is now gone, the human form must be respected for having once embodied a Divine spirit. The dead body renders the house in which it is situated and anyone coming in contact with the body ritually impure, tamé met. Even one who walks over a grave takes on this status. In Temple times, those who were tamé met were purified by having a priest sprinkle on them a special mixture of pure spring water and the ashes of the Red Heifer (Num. 19:14-22). Today, since this ritual is no longer possible, everyone is considered tamé met. High Priests and Nazirites were absolutely forbidden to come in contact with a corpse. The relevant laws are given in the Mishnaic tractate Oholot.

From the moment of Death until the Burial, the body is not to be left alone and the family must arrange for a "watcher" (shomer) to sit by the deceased and recite Psalms. If the person died at home, his body must remain there until the Burial Society (ḥevrah kaddisha) arrives to remove it and prepare it for burial. The eyes and mouth of the deceased are closed, he is covered by a sheet, and placed with his feet toward the door. A candle is lit and placed near his head. With few exceptions, the dead are buried according to Orthodox practice within 24 hours of death; Cremation is forbidden and no Autopsy may be performed.

Close to the time of burial, the ḥevrah kaddisha perform the Tohorah (ritual washing of the body). Any person touching a corpse must wash his hands as soon as possible. The Burial Society then brings the shrouded body to the place where the Funeral Service will be held. Persons of priestly descent (kohanim) must avoid all proximity to a corpse. The carcass of an animal also conveys ritual impurity and any person coming in contact with one must wash himself. It is considered particularly meritorious to see to the burial of an individual who has no relatives or acquaintances to do so, or of an unidentified corpse (met mitsvah).

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IN BRIEF: A dead body.

My father always wanted to be the corpse at every funeral, the bride at every wedding and the baby at every christening. — Alice Roosevelt Longworth (1884-1980), daughter of Theodore Roosevelt, m. Nicholas Longworth in White House, 1906.

Tutor's tip: The woman who compiled this "corpus" (complete body of knowledge or works) became a "corpse" (a dead body) long ago.

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

In dreams, corpses are not usually symbols of death. Rather, a corpse is a part of us or a part of our life that has died, for good or for bad. Alternatively, it can sometimes represent the feeling that our life is dead.

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verb trans. and intr.
verb trans. and intr., actors'

To (cause to) laugh inadvertently on stage or to forget one's lines. (1873 —) .
A. Bennett Mrs Brodribb: When Max—. Geoff: Max (He corpses) (1972).

Previous:	corp, cornstalk, corned Willie
Next:	corpse-reviver, cosh, cossie

For a list of words related to corpse, see:

• Practitioners, Patients, and Facilities - corpse: dead body; cadaver
• Dead Bodies - corpse: dead body

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See words rhyming with "corpse."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Corpse.

Dansk (Danish)
n. - lig
v. tr. - få skuespiller til at spolere skuespil
v. intr. - spolere skuespil ved at glemme replik eller grine

Nederlands (Dutch)
lijk

Français (French)
n. - cadavre
v. tr. - (Théât) gâcher une pièce (par un acteur)
v. intr. - (Théât) oublier son texte/sa réplique (un acteur), avoir le fou rire sur scène (un comédien)

Deutsch (German)
n. - Leiche, Leichnam
v. - (Theat.) aus der Rolle bringen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - πτώμα, κουφάρι

Italiano (Italian)
cadavere

Português (Portuguese)
n. - cadáver (m)

Русский (Russian)
труп

Español (Spanish)
n. - cadáver
v. tr. - estropear una actuación por olvidarse de la letra o reírse en forma incontrolada
v. intr. - estropear una actuación por olvidarse de la letra o por reírse en forma incontrolada

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - lik

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
尸体, 杀死, 有意出错使...出丑, 演砸..., 被杀死

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 屍體
v. tr. - 殺死, 有意出錯使...出醜, 演砸...
v. intr. - 被殺死

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 시체
v. tr. - (무대에서) 실수하게 하다
v. intr. - (무대에서) 실수하다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 死体, 死骸, 捨てられたもの

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) جثه, جثمان‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮גופה, גוויה‬
v. tr. - ‮בלבל את משחקו של שחקן תיאטרון‬
v. intr. - ‮קלקל קטע משחק ע"י שכחת המלים או צחוק בלתי-ניתן לריסון (תיאטרון)‬

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