Humanity’s journey to understanding the body has been a gory one; littered with unethical experiments, unintended consequences and unimaginable endurance. It’s the story of catastrophic failures, at great human cost - but also successes which made history and saved countless lives.

In The Human Subject, Dr Adam Rutherford and Dr Julia Shaw investigate the threads connecting modern day medicine to its often brutal origins. With every episode they explore some of that dark history and ask - is our present day knowledge worth the suffering it took to get us here?

This is the story of 18-year-old Alexis St Martin who is accidentally shot in the stomach outside an American Fur Company store. The year is 1822, and the French-Canadian fur trapper’s chances of survival aren’t high, but he defies the odds and lives.

Alexis heals in the most unusual way. His wound turns into a gastric fistula, a permanent hole in the side of his body - a hole that cannot be closed and one that leads straight into his stomach. The doctor who saves his life, William Beaumont, finds in the young man’s misfortune an opportunity.

Presenters: Dr Adam Rutherford and Dr Julia Shaw

An Audio Always production for BBC Radio 4