The Corpse Trade: When Doctors Prescribed Human Remains

For centuries, medicine didn’t reject cannibalism. It prescribed it.In this episode of The Caduceus Files, we examine the forgotten medical practice known as corpse medicine — a system in which human remains were legally harvested, processed, sold, and consumed as cures.From powdered Egyptian mummies sold in European apothecaries to skull-based remedies prescribed by royalty, this wasn’t fringe superstition. It was mainstream medicine, taught by universities and endorsed by doctors who believed human flesh carried healing power.These are not stories of ignorance or madness — they are case studies in how intelligent systems fail when belief outruns evidence.Memento Medicus.