The theoretical and empirical studies of total institutions have never spared an analysis of the human body and its role in both discipline and resistance. Following such work, I propose to take the human body as the point of departure for understanding the functioning of the central prison of Yaoundé. While a prisoner’s body expresses the trials endured in prison, it may also adopt various tactics and ways for limiting the control of penal institutions. The prisoner’s body is the ultimate space for the individual to defend in the face of physical and symbolic violence. Thinking about the prisoner’s body raises the issues of power relationships which exist in prison.