I think it is really unclear whether it was legal or not (and comes down to definition of those things). Parliament legalised dissections of humans under some

I think it is really unclear whether it was legal or not (and comes down to definition of those things). Parliament legalised dissections of humans under some circumstances in the 1800s. Before that it was treated as illegal, but I don't think there was an actual statute against it (maybe it was the common law?). Some laws before that specifically allowed it in some circumstances though (you could dissect people convicted and executed for murder for instance). It's a mess... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resurrectionists_in_the_United_Kingdom#Anatomy_Act_1832 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resurrectionists_in_the_United... The same article lists cases of people being lynched for it, so best to just not be caught I think...