The Pioneering Human Dissection at Calcutta Medical College

In 1833, the British army were not satisfied with the services of Kolkata’s medical staff, who were trained in native medicine. A committee was formed by the then Governor General Lord William Bentinck in October 1833, which consisted of 6 members: viz., Dr John Grant, J.C.C. Sutherland, C.E. Trevelyan, Thomas Spence, Dr. M.J. Bramley and Ram Comul Sen, the only Indian member. This committee was to replace native medical institutions with scientific medical school, with English as the language of instruction, and the curriculum was fashioned at par with the European medical institutions . As a consequence, the Ayurvedic and Unani courses taught at the Sanskrit College and Native medical institution were abolished . The British replaced these native medical schools with a fully equipped Calcutta Medical College (CMC), to educate and train the natives in “the art of healing” in western medicine.

In the early 19th century, Western medical education was revolutionizing colonial India, but deep-rooted Hindu taboos against handling corpses posed a formidable barrier to anatomy training. On January 28, 1835, the then Governor-General William Bentinck passed a government order (G.O. No. 28, dt.28.1.1835) declaring the establishment of the first medical college in India, Medical College Bengal, which became affiliated with the University of London . The Calcutta Medical College (CMC), established in 1835 as Asia's first institution for modern medicine, became the epicenter of this transformation. Pandit Madhusudan Gupta, a brilliant Bengali Vaidya (Ayurvedic practitioner) from a high-caste family, emerged as the trailblazer who shattered these norms.

Historical Context and Preparation

Madhusudan Gupta (1800-1856) came from an aristocratic background. Madhusudan Gupta was descended from a Vaidya family in the Hooghly district village of Baidyabati, India. High in the feudal hierarchy were his ancestors. His grandfather served as the "family physician to the Nawabs of Hooghly, who were local rulers in the Bengal region during the Mughal period in India," while his great-grandfather bore the honorific "Bakshi." The honorific "Bakshi" was a title of respect traditionally conferred upon individuals who were responsible for overseeing financial or military affairs in feudal settings. Unlike his ancestors, Madhusudan showed no early interest in a formal education. It is stated that his father became enraged due to his dislike of studying and threatened to throw him out of the house. His father’s attitude made Madhusudan to move out

Gupta was a Sanskrit scholar fluent in multiple languages, including English. Recruited by British educators such as Henry Goodeve (Head of Anatomy) and Principal John T. Pearson, he bridged Ayurvedic traditions—drawing on Sushruta's ancient dissections—with Western empiricism..

The Landmark Event

The first recorded human dissection occurred on January 10, 1836 (some sources cite October 28), in CMC's anatomy hall. Assisted by students Rajkrishna Dey, Umacharan Sett, Dwarkanath Gupta, and Nabin Chandra Mitra—all Hindus—Gupta wielded the scalpel on an unclaimed body, likely from the poor. He held the knife with strong and steady hand, made a deep and long incision in the breast, and relieved the stress of the spectators and his guides . It was also revealed that Dwarkanath Tagore, successful entrepreneur and grandfather of Rabindranath Tagore, also helped smuggle the corpse in for dissection . Outside the hospital, a crowd had gathered to protest this unholy act, so the administration secured the gates and guarded them . Madhusudan Gupta was counselled, influenced, and guided to carry out dissection by British doctors Goodeve and Bremley, who were then Head of the Department of Anatomy and the Principal of Calcutta Medical College respectively. Scottish Philanthropist David Hare and educationist John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune also played an important part in convincing Gupta to break the social taboo and become the pioneer of the Western Medical system of medicine in India . Security was tight: on the fateful day, CMC gates were locked, guards posted, and crowds outside protested what they deemed sacrilege.

A 50-gun salute from Fort William reportedly celebrated the feat, symbolizing imperial endorsement. This act, nearly 3,000 years after Sushruta's era, marked Asia's inaugural modern cadaveric dissection.

Immediate Backlash and Gupta's Defense

Conservative society ostracized Gupta; orthodox Hindus viewed corpse-touching as polluting. Protests raged, with some labeling him an outcast. Undeterred, Gupta countered by citing ancient texts such as the Sushruta Samhita, thereby establishing dissection's Vedic precedent. His courage normalized the practice: dissections surged from 60 in 1837 to over 500 by 1844, totalling ~3,500 bodies in eight years.

Enduring Legacy

Following the first dissection, Gupta completed formal medical qualifications and received a medical degree, G.M.C.B. (Graduate of the Medical College of Bengal) on 26 November 1840. Gupta's dissection ignited practical anatomy education across India, fostering generations of surgeons and advancing public health. He later became CMC's Superintendent of the Military Class and a revered professor until his death in 1856. Dr. Gupta also conducted extensive studies on puberty, medical uses of leeches and high neonatal and maternal mortality in Indian women, fought vaccine hesitancy concerning smallpox, and advocated for proper sanitation to reduce diseases. He also wrote books like London Pharmacopoeia in Bengali, Shoreer-vidya, and also translated Shusruta Samhita, and Hooper‘s Anatomist Vademecum, etc. In 1834, Gupta was paid 1,000 rupees for translating Hooper's Anatomists’ Ved-mecum. It was completed under the title of Śärîravidyā ("Science of Things Relating to the Body") and was taken up for publication by the Asiatic Society, but was abandoned after page thirty-six, due to conflicting opinions on which language it was to be published in. It was following much discussion and the formation of a committee that it was ultimately published in Sanskrit rather than Hindi

Madhusudan Gupta developed diabetes mellitus and, following a dissection, contracted an infection which led to gangrene of his hands. He subsequently died of septicaemia on 15 November 1856. Today, his statue graces the college, commemorating the dawn of evidence-based medicine in the subcontinent. This event not only defied superstition but propelled India into the global scientific fold, echoing through medical curricula worldwide. Widely acknowledged as the "first dissector of British India", Gupta has been frequently credited with the launch of modern medicine in India and breaking religious taboos

T. W. Wilson, the then Principal of the Medical College, wrote in the obituary” To him a debt of gratitude is due by his countrymen. He was the pioneer who cleared a space in the jungle of prejudice, into which others have successfully pressed, and it is hoped that his countrymen appreciating his example will erect some monument to perpetuate the memory of the victory gained by Muddoosoodun Gooptu over public prejudice, and from which so many of his countrymen now reap the advantage”.

To keep the event in memory, Bethune commissioned S. C. Belnos to paint a portrait of Gupta, complete with a skull in his left hand, depicting his object of study and to be hung in the CMC

Madhusudhan Gupta

Oil painting by S.C. Belnos, wife of Jean Jacques Belnos, presented to Medical College by Drinkwater Bethune in 1850.

References

1. G D, Chandrupatla M, B H S. A Trailblazer in Anatomy: Madhusudan Gupta and the Historic First Dissection. Cureus. 2024 Oct 1;16(10):e70612. doi: 10.7759/cureus.70612. PMID: 39483588; PMCID: PMC11526181.
2. Uma SV, Rao CBR. First human dissector of colonial India. European Journal of Anatomy. 2024;28(5). doi:10.52083/COFW7942

Quiz time

Q- Who was the first to dissect the human body?
A – Andreas Vesalius

History of Surgery ASI team

Dr Kaushik Bhattacharya (Head of the team)
Dr Pratap Varute
Dr Patta Radhakrishna
Dr Surajit Bhattacharya
Dr Clement Rajan
Dr K Lakshman
Dr Mahesh Prabhu