Book excerpt: One single body donation could affect the lives of around ten million patients. Body donation is an amazing gift that enables doctors and healthcare professionals to understand the human body. Surgeons can refine existing skills and develop new procedures. Dr. Claire Smith goes through every aspect of donating a body, clearly describing what happens to a body once it has been donated, how it is used, how bodies are reassembled, then placed in coffins before cremation. This is the fascinating journey into the untold story of the Silent Teacher.