Body Worlds, the fascinating new exhibit at the Science Museum of Minnesota, captivated our Human Med students on Wednesday, November 1. This exciting new exhibit, created by Gunther Von Hagens, is based on the fascinating art of plastination. Plastination is the use of chemicals and polymers to prevent a body from decomposing. This art allows scientist to study dead bodies without worrying about the body decomposing or decaying. The exhibit at the Science Museum, one of three by Von Hagens, consists of many plastinated bodies. This provided our Human Med classes with an ideal opportunity to study anatomically correct bodies for their class project.

Gunther von Hagens, the man behind Body Worlds, was born in what is now Poland during the year 1945. As a child Gunther was diagnosed with a rare bleeding disorder. This bleeding disorder caused frequent hospital visits for young Gunther. The constant hospitalization allowed him to grow familiar with nurses and doctors. This familiarity with the hospital staff sparked his interest in the field of medicine. Without this spark plastination may very well be nonexistent today.

In 1973, Gunther began work in the field of anesthesiology, but soon realized this tedious, repetitive task did not suit his mind at all. So, by 1975, he had begun work in the University of Heidelberg’s Institute of Pathology and Anatomy. During this year von Hagens invented the concept of plastination. It all started when he viewed a small specimen sample embedded in plastic. Embedding objects in solid plastic was the best method scientists had of preserving specimens. Gunther’s mind raced; why stop at encasing them in plastic? Why not inject the plastic straight into their cells in order to stabilize the cells completely? It turns out this method was a brilliant success; so successful that, besides Von Hagen's three Body Worlds exhibits, other plastinators are starting to imitate his procedure and display their own works.

The students began their trip in the Park Center auditorium listening to a briefing of their field trip, followed by the bus ride to the Science Museum. Shortly after arrival they were given another briefing on the exhibits. Fortunately the preliminaries were over after that and the students were free to roam the exhibit. Most students thought the pregnant woman and the baby fetuses was the most fascinating part of the exhibit. Others found the classic “smoker’s lungs vs. non-smoker’s lungs” to be the best. No matter what the students’ favorite part of the trip was, they all agreed that it was a great experience.

The class project the students are working on is called the “Human Body Project”. The goal of this project is to familiarize the students with the human body by correctly mapping out the bodies main systems and organs. The students start by drawing an outline of a life-size human body on a sheet of paper, and then slowly add pieces that represent the different systems of the body.

All in all, the field trip was a fun experience for everyone. It was beneficial to the students, not only because they received a better idea of what to do on their school project, but because they learned all kinds of new information about the human body. “This was a very productive experience,” said Ms. Mickolajak .“If they keep this exhibit around we will be coming back again next year.”