HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Body Worlds'' (
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
title: ''Körperwelten'') is a traveling exposition of dissected human bodies, animals, and other
anatomical Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...
structures of the body that have been preserved through the process of
plastination Plastination is a technique or process used in anatomy to preserve bodies or body parts, first developed by Gunther von Hagens in 1977. The water and fat are replaced by certain plastics, yielding specimens that can be touched, do not smell or ...
.
Gunther von Hagens Gunther von Hagens (born Gunther Gerhard Liebchen; 10 January 1945) is a German anatomist, businessman, and lecturer. He developed the technique for preserving biological tissue specimens called plastination. Von Hagens has organized numerous ...
developed the preservation process which "unite subtle anatomy and modern polymer chemistry", in the late 1970s. A series of ''Body Worlds'' anatomical exhibitions has toured many countries worldwide, sometimes raising controversies about the sourcing and display of actual human corpses and body parts. Von Hagens maintains that all human specimens were obtained with full knowledge and consent of the donors before they died, but this has not been independently verified, and in 2004 von Hagens returned seven corpses to China because they showed evidence of being executed prisoners. A competing exhibition, Bodies: The Exhibition, openly sources its bodies from "unclaimed bodies" in China, which can include executed prisoners. In addition to temporary traveling exhibitions, permanent ''Body Worlds'' exhibits exists in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
,
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
,
Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...
,
Guben Guben (Polish language, Polish and Sorbian languages, Sorbian: ''Gubin'') is a town on the Lusatian Neisse river in Lower Lusatia, in the States of Germany, state of Brandenburg, in eastern Germany. Located in the Spree-Neiße Districts of German ...
, and
San Jose, CA San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...
.


Description

The exhibit states that its purpose and mission is the education of laypeople about the human body, leading to better health awareness. Each ''Body Worlds'' exhibition contains approximately 25 full-body plastinates with expanded or selective
organs In a multicellular organism, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to a ...
shown in positions that enhance the role of certain systems. To produce specimens for ''Body Worlds'', von Hagens employs around 100 people at his laboratory in Guben, Germany. One of the most difficult specimens to create was the
giraffe The giraffe is a large Fauna of Africa, African even-toed ungulate, hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa.'' It is the Largest mammals#Even-toed Ungulates (Artiodactyla), tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on ...
that appears in 'Animal Inside Out'. The specimen took three years to complete—ten times longer than it takes to prepare a human body. Ten people are required to move the giraffe, because its final weight (like all specimens after plastination) is equal to the original animal. Many of the whole-body specimens are partially dissected in the
Écorché An ''écorché'' () is a figure drawn, painted, or sculpted showing the muscles of the body without skin, normally as a figure study for another work or as an exercise for a student artist. The architect and Renaissance man Leon Battista Alber ...
style of 17th and 18th century European tradition, while others are sliced in various
anatomical plane An anatomical plane is a hypothetical plane used to transect the body, in order to describe the location of structures or the direction of movements. In human anatomy and non-human anatomy, four principal planes are used: the median plane, ...
s to permit understanding of anatomical structure. In addition, more than 200 specimens of real human organs and organ systems are typically separately displayed in glass cases, some showing various medical conditions. Some of the whole-body specimens, such as the "Tai Chi Man", demonstrate interventions, and include
prosthetics In medicine, a prosthesis (: prostheses; from ), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through physical trauma, disease, or a condition present at birth (congenital disorder). Prosthe ...
such as
artificial hip Hip replacement is a surgical procedure in which the hip joint is replaced by a prosthetic implant, that is, a hip prosthesis. Hip replacement surgery can be performed as a total replacement or a hemi/semi(half) replacement. Such joint replac ...
joint A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...
s or
heart valve A heart valve is a biological one-way valve that allows blood to flow in one direction through the chambers of the heart. A mammalian heart usually has four valves. Together, the valves determine the direction of blood flow through the heart. Hea ...
s. Often featured is a liver with
cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, chronic liver failure or chronic hepatic failure and end-stage liver disease, is a chronic condition of the liver in which the normal functioning tissue, or parenchyma, is replaced ...
, and the lungs of a smoker and non-smoker are placed for side by side comparison. A prenatal display may feature
fetus A fetus or foetus (; : fetuses, foetuses, rarely feti or foeti) is the unborn offspring of a viviparous animal that develops from an embryo. Following the embryonic development, embryonic stage, the fetal stage of development takes place. Pren ...
es and
embryo An embryo ( ) is the initial stage of development for a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sp ...
s, some with
congenital disorder A birth defect is an abnormal condition that is present at childbirth, birth, regardless of its cause. Birth defects may result in disability, disabilities that may be physical disability, physical, intellectual disability, intellectual, or dev ...
s.


Exhibitions

''Body Worlds'' exhibitions have received more than 50 million visitors, making them the world's most popular touring attraction. ''Body Worlds'' was first presented in
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
in 1995, and related exhibitions have since been hosted by more than 50 museums and venues in North America, Europe, and Asia. ''Body Worlds 2 & The Brain – Our Three Pound Gem'' (concerning the brain and
nervous system In biology, the nervous system is the complex system, highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its behavior, actions and sense, sensory information by transmitting action potential, signals to and from different parts of its body. Th ...
) opened in 2005 at the
California Science Center The California Science Center (sometimes spelled California ScienCenter) is a state agency and science museum located in Exposition Park, Los Angeles, next to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and the University of Southern Cali ...
in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. it was showing at the Telus World of Science in
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
. Several ''Body Worlds'' exhibits (as well as von Hagens himself) were featured in the 2006 film '' Casino Royale''. Among the plastinates seen were the ''Poker Playing Trio'' (which plays a key role in one scene) and ''Rearing Horse and Rider''. ''Body Worlds 3 & The Story of the Heart'' (concerning the
cardiovascular system In vertebrates, the circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the body. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, that consists of the heart a ...
) opened on 25 February 2006, at the
Houston Museum of Natural Science The Houston Museum of Natural Science (abbreviated as HMNS) is a natural history museum located on the northern border of Hermann Park in Houston, Texas, United States. The museum was established in 1909 by the Houston Museum and Scientific Soci ...
. On 9 July 2009 this show appeared at the Buffalo Museum of Science in
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...
. , it was showing at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science in
Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
, Colorado. ''Body Worlds 4'' debuted 22 February 2008 at the
Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester The Science and Industry Museum in Manchester, England, traces the development of science, technology and industry with emphasis on the city's achievements in these fields. The museum is part of the Science Museum Group, a non-departmental pu ...
in
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and was in the Cureghem Cellars in
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
until March 2009. ''Body Worlds & The Mirror of Time'' (featuring human development and aging) debuted at The O2 in London in October 2008. ''Körperwelten & Der Zyklus Des Lebens (The cycle of life)'' opened in Heidelberg in January 2009. ''Body Worlds Vital'' was inaugurated at the Universum museum of the
National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public university, public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countri ...
in 2012. In 2017, the Tech Museum of Innovation in
San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...
, opened a semi-permanent exhibition called ''Body Worlds Decoded''. Sponsored by venture capitalist
John Doerr L. John Doerr (born June 29, 1951) is an American investor and venture capitalist at Kleiner Perkins in Menlo Park, California. In February 2009, Doerr was appointed a member of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board to provide the ...
and his wife Ann, the exhibit features plastinated specimens supplemented by
augmented reality Augmented reality (AR), also known as mixed reality (MR), is a technology that overlays real-time 3D computer graphics, 3D-rendered computer graphics onto a portion of the real world through a display, such as a handheld device or head-mounted ...
and a digital anatomy table. The exhibit is intended to run for at least 10 years.


Education

''Body Worlds'' has prepared free teaching guides for secondary school education, typically made available through organizations hosting its exhibitions. In 2005, the
New York University College of Dentistry The New York University College of Dentistry is the dentistry school of New York University. As the third oldest dentistry school in the United States, it offers both graduate programs and clinical training in oral healthcare. History The College ...
experimented with replacing traditional laboratory dissection with the study of dissected and plastinated slices of specimens, for the training of beginning dental students.


Regulatory framework


Czech Republic

In July 2008, the Czech Senate passed a law to address illegal trading in human tissue and ban "advertising of donation of human cells and tissues for money or similar advantages".


France

On Tuesday 21 April 2009, a French judge ruled concerning the
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
exhibition of ''Our Body: The Universe Within'', that exhibiting dead bodies for profit was a "violation of the respect owed to them". "Under the law, the proper place for corpses is in the cemetery", said Judge Louis-Marie Raingeard. Raingeard ordered the exhibition to close within 24 hours or face a fine of 20,000 euro (over 26,000 dollars) for each day it stayed open. The judge also ordered authorities to seize the 17 bodies on display and all of the organs on display from an unknown number of people for proper burial. Gunther von Hagens issued a press statement denying any connection between the closed Chinese exhibition and his ''Body Worlds'' franchise. Similar exhibitions had already been successfully staged in
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
and
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
.


United Kingdom


England and Wales

The
UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...
created legislation for exhibits of human remains, including plastinated bodies and body parts, in
England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...
under the
Human Tissue Act 2004 The Human Tissue Act 2004 (c. 30) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, that applied to England, Northern Ireland and Wales, which consolidated previous legislation and created the Human Tissue Authority to "regulate the removal, st ...
. This requires a licence to be granted by the
Human Tissue Authority The Human Tissue Authority (HTA) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care in the United Kingdom. It regulates the removal, storage, use and disposal of human bodies, organs and tissue for a number ...
. The Human Tissue Act superseded the
Anatomy Act 1832 The Anatomy Act 1832 ( 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 75), also known as the Warburton Anatomy Act 1832 is an act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that gave free licence to doctors, teachers of anatomy and bona fide medical students to dissect donated ...
, which had been found by an independent commission (The Redfern Report) to be inadequate on contemporary collection and use of human tissues, following the Alder Hey organs scandal. There was initially controversy over whether the exhibition needed a licence in compliance with the Anatomy Act 1984. But, after consideration by the Department of Health, it was found that the legislation had not been designed to relate to exhibitions like Body Worlds and so no licence was required. In March 2008, the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry was granted such a licence to hold ''Body Worlds 4'' and a further licence was granted to the exhibition in the O2, London, in 2008.


Scotland

The Human Tissue (Scotland) Act 2006 – which amended the Anatomy Act 1984 – covers Scotland. Under the terms of this Act, licences for the handling of human remains, including display, must be granted directly by the Scottish Ministry: "Subsection 9: If the Scottish Ministers think it desirable to do so in the interests of education, training or research, they may grant a license to a person to publicly display the body or, as the case may be, the part, and a person is authorized under this subsection to so display a body or a part of a body if, at the time of the display he is licensed under this subsection." Various organizations gave evidence to the
Scottish Executive The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in t ...
during the consultation process, including the
Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The RCSEd has five faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical and healthcare specialities. Its main campus is locate ...
, the
Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of Burroughs Wellcome, one of the predec ...
, and the
Museums Association The Museums Association (MA) is a professional membership organisation based in London for museum, gallery and heritage professionals and organisations of the United Kingdom. It also offers international membership. History The association w ...
.


United States

Various legislation has been proposed and enacted in different American states. Most proposals concentrate on issues regarding the sale of human remains and the consent of the donors. National legislation on consent and tissue donation issues is expressed in the
Uniform Anatomical Gift Act The Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (UAGA), and its periodic revisions, is one of the Uniform Acts drafted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL), also known as the Uniform Law Commission (ULC), in the United States ...
(2006) passed by the
National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws The Uniform Law Commission (ULC), also called the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, is a non-profit, American unincorporated association. Established in 1892, the ULC aims to provide U.S. states (plus the District of C ...
which states that "an anatomical gift of a donor's body or part may be made during the life of the donor for the purpose of transplantation, therapy, research, or education", and prohibits trafficking in donated human organs for profit. In early 2008, former US Republican Representative W. Todd Akin proposed an amendment to the
Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act The Tariff Act of 1930, also known as the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act, was a protectionist trade measure signed into law in the United States by President Herbert Hoover on June 17, 1930. Named after its chief congressional sponsors, Senator Reed ...
of 1930 to "make it unlawful for a person to import plastinated human remains into the United States." The President of the American Association of Anatomists has expressed concern that the scope of the act is "too broad" and that "Preventing importation of all plastinated specimens could severely restrict their use for medical education." The bill of amendment was not enacted during the 2007–2008 Congressional session.


California

California's proposed bill AB1519 (Ma), sponsored by Assemblywoman
Fiona Ma Fiona Ma (born March 4, 1966) is an American politician and accountant. She has been serving as the California state treasurer since January 7, 2019. She previously was a member of the California Board of Equalization (2015–2019), the Californ ...
, tried to "require exhibitors to get a county permit; to do so, they would have to prove to county health officials that the people whose cadavers were on display—or their next of kin—had consented". Assembly Bill 1519 would have made California the first state to require such proof. It was vetoed by Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...
on 26 September 2008.


Florida

The state of
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
prohibits the sale or purchase of human remains and "Authorizes certain science centers located in this state to transport plastinated bodies into, within, or out of this state and exhibit such bodies for the purpose of public education without the consent of this state's anatomical board if the science center notifies the board of any such transportation or exhibition, as well as the location and duration of any exhibition, at least 30 days before such transportation or exhibition". The Museum of Science and History in Jacksonville and the Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa have hosted BODY WORLDS exhibitions.


Hawaii

In January 2009, Rep. Marcus Oshiro introduced two bills prompted by presentation of the BODIES Exhibition in that state. HB28 Relating to Dead Human Bodies would add to the prohibition against buying dead human bodies, the selling of dead human bodies and defines the term "dead human body" to include plastinated bodies and body parts. It would increase the fine for buying or selling a dead human body to up to $5,000. HB29 Relating to Dead Human Bodies would prohibit the commercial display of dead human bodies without a permit from the Department of Health.


New York

In June 2008,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
State Senate passed legislation regulating body exhibits. A bill that was sponsored by Senator Jim Alesi requires anyone showing an exhibit that uses real human bodies in New York museums to produce a permit detailing their origin. BODY WORLDS was hosted at Discovery Times Square in New York City.


Pennsylvania

Representative Mike Fleck's proposed bill would require evidence of informed consent from the decedent or relatives of all humans whose remains are put on display. BODY WORLDS exhibitions have been hosted in Philadelphia at the Franklin Institute and in Allentown at the Da Vinci Science Center.


Washington

The state of
Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...
considered a bill that would "require written authorization to display human remains for a commercial purpose".


Controversies


Consent

There have been several reports of corpses in the Body Worlds exhibit being prepared and shown without consent. In January 2004, the German news magazine ''
Der Spiegel (, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
'' reported, based on internal emails and records as well as statements from von Hagens, that his company had acquired corpses from executed Chinese prisoners. In response to the article, von Hagens said that he has told his Chinese employees not to accept bodies that were executed, and returned seven cadavers to China that had head injuries, including at least two with bullet holes in the skull. In 2004, von Hagens obtained an injunction against ''
Der Spiegel (, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
'' for making the claims. Paul Harris, director of North Carolina's State Board of Funeral Services, has stated, "Somebody at some level of government ought to be able to look at a death certificate, a statement from an embalmer, donation documents... That's a reasonable standard to apply." Assemblywoman
Fiona Ma Fiona Ma (born March 4, 1966) is an American politician and accountant. She has been serving as the California state treasurer since January 7, 2019. She previously was a member of the California Board of Equalization (2015–2019), the Californ ...
(D-San Francisco) said, "These displays do have important educational benefits, but using bodies against a person's will is unacceptable". In 2002, two Russian doctors from the University of Novosibirsk were charged with illegally supplying von Hagens with 56 bodies, including convicts, homeless people, and mentally ill people, without consent from their relatives. Von Hagens said that none of the body parts were used in the Body Worlds exhibitions. Bodies from the Kyrgyz State Medical Academy were also found to have been obtained illegally in 2005. Consent is not regulated worldwide according to the same ethical standards, raising ethical concerns. " perwork is... separated from the bodies, which can be used for displays or sold in pieces to medical schools. No one will know for sure, because each plastinated corpse is made anonymous to protect its privacy." Hans Martin Sass, a philosophy professor with a speciality in ethics, was hired by the California Science Center to investigate ''Body Worlds'' before the show's US debut in 2004. He matched over 200 donation forms to death certificates, but he did not match the paperwork to specific bodies von Hagens has on display.


Import laws

International trade experts have objected to the way in which bodies for commercial display are imported, because the way their categorization codes (as "art collections") do not require
Centers for Disease Control The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and is headquartered in Atlanta, ...
stamps or death certificates, both of which are required for medical cadavers. In most countries plastinated human specimens are classified under Customs Classification Code 97050000.48 "items in anatomical collections". This customs code encompasses "zoological, botanical, mineralogical or anatomical collections or items in such collections."


Ethical concerns about cadaver displays

In an ethical analysis, Thomas Hibbs, professor of ethics and culture at
Baylor University Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...
, a private
Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
-affiliated institution, compared cadaver displays to pornography, in that they reduce the subject to "the manipulation of body parts stripped of any larger human significance." In a 2006 lecture entitled "Plasti-Nation: How America was Won", Lucia Tanassi, professor of medical ethics and anthropology at
Vanderbilt University Medical Center The Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is a medical provider with multiple hospitals in Nashville, Tennessee, as well as clinics and facilities throughout Middle Tennessee. VUMC is an independent non-profit organization, but maintains a ...
, explored questions for ethicists regarding this new scientific frontier. Tanassi called it provocative that ethics committees have contributed to the popularization of the exhibits without setting forth any process of a line of inquiry, pointing to an ethics report from the California Science Center. As part of that review, bioethicist Hans Martin Sass was sent to Heidelberg to match donor consents with death certificates. Concerns have been expressed about the educational aspects, especially the inclusion of these displays for school field trips. St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke strongly suggested that Catholic schools avoid scheduling field trips, stating that parents, and not children, should retain the freedom of deciding whether or not their children will view the exhibit. Concerned with how "some kids process" these "graphic" images, Des McKay, school superintendent in Abbotsford, British Columbia (near
Greater Vancouver Greater Vancouver, also known as Metro Vancouver, is the metropolitan area with its major urban centre being the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The term ''Greater Vancouver'' describes an area that is roughly coterminous with the r ...
), barred field trips to exhibits of plasticized human beings. In an editorial to the Abbotsford News, Rev. Christoph Reiners questions what effect the exhibits will have on the values of children attending for school field trips. Others—such as the Catholic Schools Office of Phoenix—acknowledge the educational content of Body Worlds. Reporting on the exhibition at the O2 bubble in 2008/2009, Melanie Reid of The Times stated "(Body Worlds) should be compulsory viewing for every child of 10 or over".


Religious objections

Religious groups, including some rabbis have objected to the display of human remains, stating that it is inconsistent with reverence towards the human body. A group of Catholic Christians voiced their opinions towards the Body Worlds exhibition in a reflection paper written by the
Archdiocese of Milwaukee The Archdiocese of Milwaukee () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in southeast Wisconsin in the United States. The Archdiocese of Milwaukee is the Metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropolitan s ...
. This was in response to the arrival of the Body Worlds Exhibition in the
Milwaukee Public Museum The Nature & Culture Museum of Wisconsin (formerly known as Milwaukee Public Museum) is a natural and human history museum in the Westown neighborhood of Downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The museum was chartered in 1882 and opened to the public ...
in 2014. The group were largely in favour of the exhibition due to its educational goals. But, the paper also discussed fears surrounding whether the exhibit's educational aims were secondary to the experience of voyeurism. There were also concerns over the display of plastinated fetuses, due to beliefs surrounding abortion.


Sex plastinate

In 2003, while promoting a display in the Hamburg Museum of Erotica, von Hagens announced his intention to create a sex plastinate. In May 2009 he unveiled a plastinate of a couple having sex, intended for a Berlin exhibition.


Lessening donor organ availability

In 2007, the
Bishop of Manchester The Bishop of Manchester is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Manchester, Diocese of Manchester in the Province of York.) The current bishop is David Walker (Bishop of Manchester), David Walker who w ...
launched a campaign to coincide with the opening of ''Body Worlds'' in that city, accusing the exhibitors of being "body snatchers" and "robbing the NHS", arguing that donation of bodies for plastination would deprive the
National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...
of organs for transplant. The site included a government petition calling for "a review of the law regarding the policies and practices of touring shows involving corpses".


Press limitations

Von Hagens has maintained tight
copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...
control over pictures of his exhibits. Visitors were not allowed to take pictures, and press photographers were required to sign restrictive agreements permitting only a single publication in a defined context, followed by a return of the copyright to von Hagens. Because of a similar agreement applied to sound bites (O-Töne, in German) a German press organization suggested that the press refrain from reporting about the exhibition in Munich in 2003. In recent years, the restriction on photography has been relaxed for personal non-publication use only.


Sale of plastinates

The ''Body Worlds'' website offers plastinated pieces for sale. There are a wide range of products from plastinated fruit jewelry to entire humans. Although some of the pieces require purchasers to be a qualified user—those intending to use the pieces for "research, educational, medical or therapeutic purposes"—many pieces, including animal testicles and baby chicks, require no authorization. There are also extremely realistic plastinate impressions of human hearts and slices (including one slice of copulating humans) for sale to the general public.


Competitors

The success of ''Body Worlds'' has given rise to several similar shows featuring plastinated cadavers, including '' BODIES... The Exhibition'' and ''Our Body: The Universe Within'' in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, '' Bodies Revealed'' in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, ''Body Exploration'' in the
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
, ''Mysteries of the Human Body'' in
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
, '' Jintai Plastomic: Mysteries of the Human Body'' in
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, ''Cuerpos Entrañables'' in
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. Some of these contain exhibits very similar to von Hagens' plastinates; von Hagens has asserted copyright protection, and has sued ''Body Exploration'' and ''Bodies Revealed''. The suits were based on a presumed copyright of certain positions of the bodies, but the
counterparty A counterparty (sometimes contraparty) is a Juristic person, legal entity, unincorporated entity, or collection of entities to which an exposure of financial risk may exist. The word became widely used in the 1980s, particularly at the time of the ...
asserts that the human body in its diversity cannot be copyrighted. Such lawsuits have not stopped the competition. While the Korean police in Seoul confiscated a few exhibits from ''Bodies Revealed'', the exhibition went on successfully. Several of the competing exhibitions have been organized by the publicly traded US company
Premier Exhibitions Premier Exhibitions Inc () is an Atlanta, Georgia-based company that organizes traveling exhibitions. , the company owned 5,500 ''Titanic'' relics with approximately 1,300 on display in various countries. Its two most prominent exhibits are a ...
. They started their first ''Bodies Revealed'' exhibition in
Blackpool, England Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
which ran from August through October 2004. In 2005 and 2006 the company opened their ''Bodies Revealed'' and ''BODIES... The Exhibition'' exhibitions in Seoul, Tampa, Miami, New York City, and Seattle. Other exhibition sites in 2006 were Mexico City; Atlanta, Georgia, US; London; and Las Vegas, Nevada. Unlike ''Body Worlds'', none of the competing exhibitions or their suppliers have a body donation programme. Dr Roy Glover, a spokesperson for ''BODIES... The Exhibition'' said all their exhibits use unclaimed cadavers from China, a category which the
Laogai Research Foundation The Laogai Research Foundation is a human rights NGO located in Washington, D.C, United States. The foundation's mission is to "gather information on and raise public awareness of the Laogai—China's extensive system of forced-labor prison camp ...
has charged could include executed prisoners. In May 2008, a settlement with the attorney general of New York obliged Premier Exhibitions to offer refunds to visitors when it could not prove consent for the use of the bodies in its exhibitions. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo commented: "Despite repeated denials, we now know that Premier itself cannot demonstrate the circumstances that led to the death of the individuals. Nor is Premier able to establish that these people consented to their remains being used in this manner."


See also

* '' Bodies: The Exhibition'' *
Embalming Embalming is the art and science of preserving human remains by treating them with embalming chemicals in modern times to forestall decomposition. This is usually done to make the deceased suitable for viewing as part of the funeral ceremony or ...
*
Mummification A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furt ...
*
Plastination Plastination is a technique or process used in anatomy to preserve bodies or body parts, first developed by Gunther von Hagens in 1977. The water and fat are replaced by certain plastics, yielding specimens that can be touched, do not smell or ...
*
Musée Fragonard d'Alfort The Musée Fragonard d'Alfort, often simply the Musée Fragonard, is a museum of anatomical oddities located within the École Nationale Vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort, 7 avenue du Général de Gaulle, in Maisons-Alfort, a suburb of Paris. It i ...
museum of historical écorchés


References


Further reading

* Gottfried Bogusch, Renate Graf, Thomas Schnalke. Auf Leben und Tod Beiträge zur Diskussion um die Ausstellung "Körperwelten", ''Schriften aus dem Berliner Medizinhistorischen Museum'', 2003, VII, 136 S. 62 Abb., Softcover . * * Liselotte Hermes da Fonseca: Wissenschaftliche Transzendenz der Körperwelten. Aufhebung der "Beschränkung von Freiheit" durch Leben, Tod und Körper. In: Wolf Gerhard Schmidt (Hg.): Körperbilder in Kunst und Wissenschaft Würzburg 2014, S. 107–138. * Liselotte Hermes da Fonseca: "Ich will in meinem Knochenleben endlich zufrieden und glücklich sein": Eschatologie der Körperwelten. In: Dominik Groß, Brigitte Tag und Christoph Schweikardt (Hg.): Who wants to live forever? Frankfurt, New York 2011, S. 197–218. * Liselotte Hermes da Fonseca: La plastination, une technique d'incarnation des espoirs scientifiques. In : Annette Leibing et Virginie Tournay (Hg.): Les technologies de l'espoir: La fabrique d'une histoire à accomplir. PUL-Presses de l'Université Laval, 2010. * Liselotte Hermes da Fonseca. Wachsfigur – Mensch – Plastinat. Über die Mitteilbarkeit von Sehen, Nennen und Wissen, ''Deutsche Vierteljahrsschrift für Literaturwissenschaft und Geistesgeschichte'' (1999), Heft 1. * Liselotte Hermes da Fonseca und Thomas Kliche (Hg.). Verführerische Leichen – verbotener Verfall, ''"Körperwelten" als gesellschaftliches Schlüsselereignis'', Lengerich u.a.: Pabst Verlag 2006 * Misia Sophia Doms. Die Ausstellung "Körperwelten" und der Umgang mit der endlichen Leiblichkeit, ''Volkskunde in Rheinland'' Pfalz 17/1 (2002). S. 62–108. * Gunther von Hagens
''Body Worlds – The Anatomical Exhibition of Real Human Bodies''
Amazon-UK. * Gunther von Hagens
No Skeletons in the Closet – Facts, Background and Conclusions
Institute for Plastination, 17 November 2003. * Franz Josef Wetz, Brigitte Tag (Ed.). ''Schöne Neue Körperwelten, Der Streit um die Ausstellung'', Klett-Cotta Verlag, Stuttgart 2001. Sixteen authors discuss the various ethical and aesthetical aspects of Body Worlds, in German. * Angelina Whalley (Ed.). ''Pushing the Limits – Encounters with Gunther von Hagens'', pp. 45–36. 2005. *


External links and sources


True Anatomy for New Ways of Teaching von Hagens Plastination offers one-of-a-kind, real human teaching specimens!

Official website
(English and German) * {{commons category-inline Human anatomy Anatomical preservation Traveling exhibits Science education Science in society Sculpture exhibitions Science exhibitions