From the era of pre-historic times, the ancient Indians and the Greeks highlighted the importance of body and organ donations thereby emphasizing the need for anatomical sciences in medicine through the use of effective dissections for the same. However, after the Renaissance, there was a surge in dissections throughout the world, particularly in Europe, as a result of which various laws were enacted by governments concerning the procurement of bodies for the purpose of scientific dissections, which were later promulgated throughout the world through various anatomical acts. The situation in India was quite similar to that of Britain until its independence in 1947, after which different Indian states formulated their own anatomy acts that had their own merits and pitfalls. Hence, this literature review serves to highlight the various acts throughout history and would serve as a guide to emphasize the future perspectives of formulating a centralized unified anatomy act for the Indian nation that could possibly be the need of the hour.

Keywords: Acts, Cadaveric donation, Cadaver, Coroners and medical examiners, Medical examiners