BODY
WORLDS 3 Technology: Plastination
“This
exhibit gives the public an opportunity usually reserved
for medical professionals. Viewers get a chance to
look inside their own bodies and experience the wonder
and respect for what it means to be human.”
-Dr. Sass, Senior Research Scholar, Kennedy Institute
of Ethics, Georgetown University
From
Plastination to Fascination
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| Dr.
Gunther von Hagens at work |
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It
takes an average of 1,500 hours to transform a corpse
into a full-body plastinate. But the resulting specimen
is everything that a conventional model is not – an
intricate and authentic representation of the once
living human body. Plastination is a vacuum process
in which a body’s water and fat content are replaced
by fluid plastic, which later hardens to retain all
tissue structures. The German anatomist Dr. med. Gunther
von Hagens invented plastination in 1977. The technique
allows the general public to enjoy fascinating insights
previously available only to medical students in dissection
rooms.
Spirit
of the Renaissance
The
development of plastination marks the beginning of
a new era in anatomy, a field of study that can be
traced to the times of the pharaohs. In the 15th century,
Leonardo da Vinci produced realistic sketches of the
dissected human body, and in 1543 Andreas Vesalius
pioneered modern anatomy with his precise drawings.
These masters explored the mysteries
of bodily interiors when external beauty was most revered.
BODY WORLDS 3 connects with this spirit of enlightenment
by presenting a new look at the human body that is
both tangible and accessible.
How
Plastination Works
Decay is a big obstacle to the study of anatomy. So
scientists have been searching for centuries
for suitable preservation techniques. With the invention
of plastination, it has become possible to preserve decomposable
specimens in a durable and lifelike manner for instructional,
research and demonstration purposes. During a vacuum
process, biological specimens are penetrated with a reactive
polymer developed specifically for this technique. The
class of polymer used determines the mechanical (flexible
or hard) and optical (transparent or opaque) properties
of the preserved specimen. Plastinated specimens are
dry and odorless; they retain their natural surface relief
and are identical with their state prior to preservation
down to the microscopic level. Even microscopic examinations
are still possible.
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Forced
impregnation in a vaccum
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The
plastination technique replaces bodily fluids and fat
with reactive polymers, such as silicone rubber, epoxy
resins, or polyester. In a first phase, solvent gradually
replaces bodily fluids in a cold solvent bath (freeze
substitution). After dehydration, the specimen is put
in a solvent bath at room temperature to dissolve and
remove the fat. The dehydrated and defatted specimen
is then placed into a polymer solution. The solvent
is then brought to a boil in a vacuum and continuously
extracted from the specimen. The evaporating solvent
creates a volume deficit within the specimen, drawing
the polymer gradually into the tissue. After the process
of forced impregnation, the specimen is cured with
gas, light, or heat, depending on the type of polymer
used.
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Slice
plastination
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"Slice
plastination" is a special variation of this preservation
technique. When applying this method, whole bodies
or body parts (mostly deep-frozen) are first cut or
sawed into 2-8 mm thick slices. These slices are then
placed between wire nettings, where they are dehydrated,
defatted and finally saturated with polymers in a vacuum.
The impregnated slices are cured between sheets of
film or casted with additional polymers in a flat chamber
composed of glass plates to give them a smooth surface.
The refraction index of the applied resins determines
the optical properties of plastinated body slices.
Body and organ slices produced with epoxy resins result
in transparent specimens with good coloration of individual
tissues. Polyester resins permit an excellent distinction
between white and grey brain matter and are thus used
for the plastination of brain slices.
Plastinated
organs and body slices are a novel teaching aid for
cross-sectional anatomy, which is gradually gaining
importance and can be easily correlated with radiological
imaging. Series of transparent body slices are helpful
for a large variety of scientific research activities.
In addition, they are a suitable diagnostic means in
pathology,
as they allow rapid macroscopic and diagnostic screening
of entire organs or operation preparations. Additionally,
they still allow for selective analyses of pathological
tissue
regions with conventional microscopic methods.
Gunther
von Hagens invented plastination at the Institute for
Anatomy at Heidelberg University in 1977, and has developed
it further ever since. Plastination has gained general
acceptance and is carried out in many institutions
throughout the world. Particularly the hard-weariness,
durability, and lifelike state of plastinated specimens
as well as their high instructional value have contributed
to this acceptance.
