1. A dead body, especially one that is to be dissected; a corpse: When Carol was studying human anatomy, she had to dissect a cadaver so she could learn to identify the various muscles, ligaments, etc.
2. A dead human body that may be used by physicians and other scientists to study anatomy, identify disease sites, determine causes of death, and provide tissue to repair a defect in another living human being: There were several new cadavers donated to the university medical school for the anatomy classes.
3. Etymology: borrowed from Latin cadaver from cadere, "to fall, to fall dead, to sink down, to die"; literally, "a fall".

Students in medical schools study and dissect cadavers as part of their education. Others who study cadavers include archaeologists and artists.

It is said that the great Renaissance artist Michelangelo (1475-1564) studied cadavers by candlelight in a dark morgue (while enduring the smell of rotting flesh) in order to better understand the structures of bones, sinews, and muscles.

The fruits of his efforts are evident in his painting "The Creation of Adam" on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome and in his marble sculpture "David" in the Galleria dell' Accademia in Florence.

Courts of law sometimes use the term cadaver to refer to a dead body, as do recovery teams searching for bodies after a natural disaster; such as, an earthquake or a flood. A dead body is usually a corpse in a mystery story. The term cadaver also has a more deathly ring when it is used by medical professionals.