After we die : the life and times of the human cadaver / Norman L. Cantor.

Washington, D.C. : Georgetown University Press, [2010], ©2010.

x, 372 pages ; 24 cm

Includes bibliographical references (p. 333-350) and index.

Introduction -- When does a person become a corpse? -- The human nature of a cadaver -- The legal status of the postliving : do corpses have rights? -- Decomposition of the body and efforts to slow its disintegration -- Final disposal of human remains -- Eternal preservation of the deceased : literally and figuratively -- The cadaver as supplier of used body parts -- The cadaver as teacher, research subject, or forensic witness -- The cadaver as parent -- Body snatching, then and now -- Desecration of human remains -- Public display and the dignity of human remains -- Don't neglect the fate of your remains.