About Plastination

“The presentation of the pure physical reminds visitors to BODY WORLDS of the intangible and the unfathomable. The plastinated post-mortal body illuminates the soul by its very absence. Plastination transforms the body, an object of individual mourning, into an object of reverence, learning, enlightenment, and appreciation. I hope for BODY WORLDS to be a place of enlightenment and contemplation, even of philosophical and religious self-recognition, and open to interpretation regardless of the background and philosophy of life of the viewer.” —Gunther von Hagens
Anatomist, Creator of BODY WORLDS

From Plastination to Fascination

It takes an average of 1,500 hours to transform a cadaver 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. 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 at The Leonardo 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. 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.

“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 cast 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. The durability and lifelike state of plastinated specimens as well as their high instructional value have contributed to this acceptance. For more information about plastination, visit the BODY WORLDS website.