Medical science isn't what it used to be, and that's a good thing. A lot has changed about how we approach injury and disease in the last 150 years. Perhaps most importantly, though, is how doctor training has changed. Prospective doctors used to be limited to whatever diseases were happening in the area. For practical examinations, they had to make due with whatever cadavers they could get their hands on.
Oddly enough, it was also during this time that photography was coming into fashion. Groups of medical students somehow got it into their heads that it would be fun to pose for photographs with their cadavers. The results are actually quite freaky.
