Back to Baghdad of a thousand years ago - this is a quote from Yuhanna ibn-Masawayh, personal physician to the Caliph during the Abbasid dynasty. ibn-Masawayh was extremely interested in the field of anatomy, but was prevented by the prevailing sensibilities of the time from carrying out any dissections of his own (and ended up commissioning a series of translations of Greek anatomical works as a result):

"Had it not been for the meddling of the ruler and his interference in what does not concern him, I would have dissected alive this son of mine, just as Galen used to dissect men and monkeys. As a result of dissecting him, I would thus come to know the reasons for his stupidity, rid the world of his kind, and produce knowledge for people by means of what I would write in a book: the way in which his body is composed, and the course of his arteries, veins, and nerves. But the ruler prohibits this."

He also appears to have intensely disliked his son. Good thing for him that the Caliph was a squeamish fellow!