Preliminary incision, 1910
"Fig. 5: Reflexion of Thoracic Coverings: Take up a position on the right side of the body. The head of the corpse should be extended and the chin steadied with the left hand. Grasping the post-mortem knife firmly in the palm of the right hand and cutting with the belly, not the point, of the knife, make a median incision from the chin to the pubes."
Charles Richard Box, M.D., Post-mortem Manual: A Handbook of Morbid Anatomy and Post-mortem Technique, London
National Library of Medicine