a body snatcher. Legally, only the bodies of criminals could be used for teaching anatomy but this did not meet demand, so resurrectionists took up the slack. Jerry Cruncher, in A Tale of Two Cities, was a resurrectionist.
• (n.) One who steals bodies from the grave, as for dissection.
Res`ur·rec'tion·ist noun One who steals bodies from the grave, as for dissection. [ Slang]