Body World

Real humans. Real science. Really amazing!
Never before has an exhibition offered such an intimate look at the human body. Approximately 200 real human specimens—whole body plastinates, individual organs, transparent body slices and healthy and diseased organs—present a one-of-a-kind anatomy and physiology lesson. See how your body’s systems relate to one another and work together to help you function and survive. View firsthand how lifestyle choices impact your health and how muscles and joints work together during athletic performance.

BODY WORLDS 3 was created by anatomist, Dr. Gunther von Hagens, inventor of Plastination—the groundbreaking method of anatomical specimen preservation. This technology allows authentic specimens to be displayed in a lifelike fashion for instruction and education, giving you an opportunity to appreciate what it really means to be human.

A note of caution with regards to the exbibtion: All body specimens are without skin so you can see the bones, muscles, tendons, nerves, blood vessels, and organs. Eyes and genitals of the body remain. A section of the exhibition highlights prenatal development, and includes embryos and fetuses!


Process of Plastination
A process at the interface of the medical discipline of anatomy and modern polymer chemistry, Plastination makes it possible to preserve individual tissues and organs that have been removed from the body of the deceased as well as the entire body itself. Like most inventions, Plastination is simple in theory: in order to make a specimen permanent, decomposition must be halted. Decomposition is a natural process triggered initially by cell enzymes released after death and later completed when the body is colonized by putrefaction bacteria and other microorganisms. By removing water and fats from the tissue and replacing these with polymers, the Plastination process deprives bacteria of what they need to survive. Bodily fluids cannot, however, be replaced directly with polymers, because the two are chemically incompatible. Gunther von Hagens found a way around this problem: In the initial fluidexchange step, water in the tissues (which comprises approximately 70% of the human body) and fatty tissues are replaced with acetone, a solvent that readily evaporates. In the second step, the acetone is replaced with a polymer solution. The trick that first proved to be critical for pulling the liquid polymer into each and every cell is what he calls "forced vacuum impregnation." A specimen is placed in a vacuum chamber and the pressure is reduced to the point where the solvent boils. The acetone is suctioned out of the tissue at the moment it vaporizes, and the resulting vacuum in the specimen causes the polymer solution to permeate the tissue This exchange process is allowed to continue until all of the tissue has been completely saturated—while a matter of only a few days for thin slices, this step can take weeks for whole bodies.

The second trick is selecting the right polymer. For this purpose, "reactive polymers" are used, i.e., polymers that cure (polymerize) under specific conditions, such as the presence of light, heat, or certain gases. Their viscosity must be low, i.e., they have to be very thin liquids; they must be able to resist yellowing; and, of course, they must be compatible with human tissue. The polymer selected determines the look and feel of the finished specimen.

Compared with this, taxidermy sounds like child's play! Check out their website. Sounds really neat and very fascinating. I hope to catch this exhibition at the Science World here. This is as close I can get without handling the live and real thing ... no plans to becoming a surgeon or nurse. Definitely don't want to be conscience if I have to go under the knife to cut off any of these!