Useful Bodies

Though notoriously associated with Germany, human experimentation in the name of science has been practised in other countries, as well, both before and after the Nazi era. The use of unwitting or unwilling subjects in experiments designed to test the effects of radiation and disease on the human body emerged at the turn of the 20th century, when the rise of the modern, coercive state and the professionalization of medical science converged. "Useful Bodies" brings together leading historians of medicine to explore the intersection of government power and medical knowledge in revealing studies of human experimentation - germ warfare and jaundice tests in Great Britain; radiation, malaria and hepatitis experiments in the US; and nuclear fallout trials in Australia. These examples of medical abuse illustrate the extent to which living human bodies have been "useful" to democratic states and emphasize the need for intense scrutiny and regulation to prevent future violations.