Monthly Archives: November 2011

Bodyworlds in Rome: anatomy taken to the next level


The Body Worlds exhibitions are the first of their kind. They use an extraordinary and fascinating process called plastination invented by German anatomist Dr. Von Hagen to  preserve biological tissue.

The invention was a ground breaking method by Dr. Von Hagen in 1977 but it was not until the early 90’s that the equipment to make it possible to plastinate whole body specimens was developed.

The exhibitions show the whole bodies plastinated in life-like poses and dissected into various structures and systems of human anatomy allowing visitors to see and better understand about anatomy, physiology and health.

The exhibition also shows the long term impact of diseases, the effects of tobacco consumption and the mechanics of artificial 20090918_sha_a11_997-body-worldssupports such as knees and hips.

Each exhibition featires more than 200 real human specimens, including whole bodies plastinated, individual organs, organ configurations and transparent body slices with each specimen taking up to 1,500 man hours to prepare.

According to the Body Worlds website, more than 32 million people have viewed the exhibition in 50 cities worldwide. Right now the exhibition is being hosted in Rome in the Officine Farneto, via monti della farnesina 73, tram 2 from piazza Flaminio so it’s your chance to learn about the fascinating subject of anatomy.

Our blogger: Liam