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- Aug 23, 2006
Hi Niketalk,
recently I've had the privilege of experiencing the Bodies exhibit in San Jose, CA. If you haven't seen it, it provides a vast insight into the way ourbodies work from the inside-out, what we look like on the inside (muscular structure, bone structure, and organs), what can possibly afflict us ( a completemyriad of things
) and a strange look into what happens to our body after we die.
This had me thinking: What is going to happen to my body once I die?
Should I be buried? Cremated? Donate my organs? Undergo plastination to be used in future Bodies exhibits?
I have begin experiencing a desire to donate my body once I die, so that I can be viewed and studied via plastination methods. Burying is a bit expensive and Idon't want to leave the burden on my family (and have potential teenage punks dig me up and muck around with my remains), cremating sounds like a weird wayto go, donating organs (from what I've heard) is an arduous process which has many strange loopholes making rendering relatively useful organs useless(transport times)... so donating my body seems like a good choice to make. Not mention, if I were to commit to it and change my mind, it's considered adeclaration of will and can always be rescinded.
Right now, I'm leaning towards having my body plastinated so that I can be studied and viewed once I die, and hopefully help scientists understand theinter-workings of the body and conjure cures towards diseases in the future.
What do you think, Niketalk? What do you want to happen to your body once you die?!
More on plastination:
is a technique used in anatomy to preserve bodies or body parts.The water and fat are replaced by certain plastics, yielding specimens that can be touched, do not smell or decay, and even retain most microscopic properties ofthe original sample.[table][tr][td]
[h2]Contents[/h2][hide]
http://
[h2][edit] Process[/h2]
Hardening and posing of Plastinates
http://
[h2][edit] History[/h2]
In November of 1978 Dr. Gunther von Hagensapplied for a US Patent. He proposed the idea of preserving animal and vegetable tissues permanently by synthetic resin impregnation. Since then Dr. von Hagenshas applied for two more US Patents. The final one coming in May of 1982 when Dr. von Hagens received a Patent by the United States government for his work onpreserving biological tissues with polymers. Since then the art form know as Plastination has been an ongoing battle of art vs. ethics. With the success of hisPatents, von Hagens went on to form the Institute of Plastination in Heidelberg, Germany in 1993. The Institute of Plastination, along with Dr. von Hagens madetheir first showing of plastinated bodies in Japan in 1995, which drew over three million people (Barboza 3). Before Dr. von Hagens was made famous by his workon the human body exhibit Body Worlds, he was in partnership with another doctor by the name of Dr. Sui Hongjin. Since their split, vonHagens Body Worlds has taken in "over $200 million by displaying preserved, skinless human corpses with very well-defined muscles and sinewytissues" (Barboza 1). Dr. Sui Hongjin has also found recent success with his own anatomy display called, Bodies...The Exhibition. However, itshould be known that where Dr. von Hagens uses only donated bodies his protege Dr. Hongjin uses unclaimed bodies from Chinese mental hospitals, along withother bodies that were not able to be properly buried.
http://
[h2][edit] Other Plastination methods[/h2]
http://
[h2][edit] Uses of plastinized bodies[/h2]
Plastination is useful in anatomy as well as serving as models and teaching tools. Students who are enrolled in introductory animal science courses at manyuniversities are finding the value in experimental learning in animal science through collection of multispecies large-animal management and productionpracticums. This practicum allowed students to have hands on experience in this field. Plastinated canine gastrointestinal tracts used to help in the teachingof endoscopic technique and anatomy. The plastinated specimens retain their dialated conformation by a positive pressure air flow, which allows them to be usedto teach both endoscopic technique and gastrointestinal anatomy. The College of Veterinary Medicine in Raliegh, North Carolina used both PC (plastic coating)and PN (plastination) to investigate and compared the difference in the two methods. The PC method was simple and inexpensive, and the plastinated specimenswere more flexible, durable, and lifelike than those preserved by the PC method. The use of plastination allowed the use of many body parts such as muscle,nerves, bones, ligaments, and central nervous system to be preserved. The Department of Animal Science and Industry at Kansas State reconstructed the skeletonof an acutely laminitic Thoroughbred broodmare that the decision was to euthanize. The final project was a complete, mobile skeleton that will be used as ateaching aid in equine classes. With the use of plastination as a teaching method of animal science means less animals will have to be killed in the name ofscience, due to the fact that plastination process allows speciemens to last a long time.
The plastination process is applied to the arteries of the subject and the surrounding material is removed.
Plastination, in comparison to the cheap and inexpensive plastic coating preserving process, has been found to be more flexible, durable, and life like.Mainstream preservation leaves the bodies' water in place and adds chemicals; plastination replaces water with polymers (silicone, epoxy, or polyester)that are then allowed to harden. Other methods have been in place for thousands of years to help with the decomposition of the body. Mummification used by theEgyptians is a widely known method which involves the removal of body fluid and wrapping the body in linens. Prior to mummification, Egyptians would lay thebody in a shallow pit in the desert and allow the sun to dehydrate the body. Formalin, an important solution to body preservation, was introduced in 1896 tohelp with body preservation. Soon to follow formalin, color preserving embalming solutions where developed to preserve lifelike color and flexibility to aid inthe study of the body. Paraffin impregnation was introduced in 1925 and the embedding of organs in plastic was developed in the 60s'. Body preservationmethods current to the twenty-first century are cryopreservation which involves the cooling of the body to very low temperatures to preserve the body tissues,plastination and embalming. Plastination is used in hundreds of laboratories worldwide to help with the teaching and study of the body.
http://
[h2][edit] Ethical concerns[/h2]
Concern over consent of bodies being used the plastination process has arisen. Over 20 years ago Von Hagen set up a body donation program in Germany and hassigned over 7600 donors into the plastinate program: 461 have already died. The program has reported an average of one body a day being released to theplastination process. Ninety percent of the bodies donated have been German. German journalists investigated the bodies being inserted into the plastinateprogram and found that certain bodies were taken without consent. Although Von Hagens says he follows strict consent procedures for whole-body specimens, hemaintains that "consent is not important for body parts." Von Hagen's body donations are now being managed by the Institute for Plastination(IfP) established in 1993.
recently I've had the privilege of experiencing the Bodies exhibit in San Jose, CA. If you haven't seen it, it provides a vast insight into the way ourbodies work from the inside-out, what we look like on the inside (muscular structure, bone structure, and organs), what can possibly afflict us ( a completemyriad of things
This had me thinking: What is going to happen to my body once I die?
Should I be buried? Cremated? Donate my organs? Undergo plastination to be used in future Bodies exhibits?
I have begin experiencing a desire to donate my body once I die, so that I can be viewed and studied via plastination methods. Burying is a bit expensive and Idon't want to leave the burden on my family (and have potential teenage punks dig me up and muck around with my remains), cremating sounds like a weird wayto go, donating organs (from what I've heard) is an arduous process which has many strange loopholes making rendering relatively useful organs useless(transport times)... so donating my body seems like a good choice to make. Not mention, if I were to commit to it and change my mind, it's considered adeclaration of will and can always be rescinded.
Right now, I'm leaning towards having my body plastinated so that I can be studied and viewed once I die, and hopefully help scientists understand theinter-workings of the body and conjure cures towards diseases in the future.
What do you think, Niketalk? What do you want to happen to your body once you die?!
More on plastination:
is a technique used in anatomy to preserve bodies or body parts.The water and fat are replaced by certain plastics, yielding specimens that can be touched, do not smell or decay, and even retain most microscopic properties ofthe original sample.[table][tr][td]
[h2]Contents[/h2][hide]
- 1 Process
- 2 History
- 3 Other Plastination methods
- 4 Uses of plastinized bodies
- 5 Ethical concerns
- 6 Other exhibitors
- 7 Further reading
- 8 External links
http://
[h2][edit] Process[/h2]
- Water and lipid tissues are replaced by curable polymers.
- Curable polymers used by plastination include silicone, epoxy and polyester- copolymer.
- Requires four main steps:The first step of plastination is fixation. This simply means that the body is embalmed, usually in a formaldehyde solution, in order to halt decomposition. After any necessary dissections take place, the specimen is then placed in a bath of acetone. Under freezing conditions, the acetone draws out all the water and replaces it inside the cells. In the third step, the specimen can then be placed in a bath of liquid polymer, such as silicone rubber, polyester or epoxy resin. By creating a vacuum, the acetone is made to boil. As the acetone vaporizes and leaves the cells, it draws the liquid polymer in behind it, leaving a cell filled with liquid plastic. The plastic must then be cured, either with gas, heat, or UV light, in order to harden it. A specimen can be anything from a full human body to a small piece of an animal organ, and they are known as either "plastins" or "plastinates".
- -Fixation
- -Dehydration
- -forced impregnation
- -hardening
- -Posing
Hardening and posing of Plastinates
http://
[h2][edit] History[/h2]
In November of 1978 Dr. Gunther von Hagensapplied for a US Patent. He proposed the idea of preserving animal and vegetable tissues permanently by synthetic resin impregnation. Since then Dr. von Hagenshas applied for two more US Patents. The final one coming in May of 1982 when Dr. von Hagens received a Patent by the United States government for his work onpreserving biological tissues with polymers. Since then the art form know as Plastination has been an ongoing battle of art vs. ethics. With the success of hisPatents, von Hagens went on to form the Institute of Plastination in Heidelberg, Germany in 1993. The Institute of Plastination, along with Dr. von Hagens madetheir first showing of plastinated bodies in Japan in 1995, which drew over three million people (Barboza 3). Before Dr. von Hagens was made famous by his workon the human body exhibit Body Worlds, he was in partnership with another doctor by the name of Dr. Sui Hongjin. Since their split, vonHagens Body Worlds has taken in "over $200 million by displaying preserved, skinless human corpses with very well-defined muscles and sinewytissues" (Barboza 1). Dr. Sui Hongjin has also found recent success with his own anatomy display called, Bodies...The Exhibition. However, itshould be known that where Dr. von Hagens uses only donated bodies his protege Dr. Hongjin uses unclaimed bodies from Chinese mental hospitals, along withother bodies that were not able to be properly buried.
http://
[h2][edit] Other Plastination methods[/h2]
- A. Core- tech room temp procedure
- B. Epoxy E12 procedure
- C. Polyester P35 (P40)- procedure
http://
[h2][edit] Uses of plastinized bodies[/h2]
Plastination is useful in anatomy as well as serving as models and teaching tools. Students who are enrolled in introductory animal science courses at manyuniversities are finding the value in experimental learning in animal science through collection of multispecies large-animal management and productionpracticums. This practicum allowed students to have hands on experience in this field. Plastinated canine gastrointestinal tracts used to help in the teachingof endoscopic technique and anatomy. The plastinated specimens retain their dialated conformation by a positive pressure air flow, which allows them to be usedto teach both endoscopic technique and gastrointestinal anatomy. The College of Veterinary Medicine in Raliegh, North Carolina used both PC (plastic coating)and PN (plastination) to investigate and compared the difference in the two methods. The PC method was simple and inexpensive, and the plastinated specimenswere more flexible, durable, and lifelike than those preserved by the PC method. The use of plastination allowed the use of many body parts such as muscle,nerves, bones, ligaments, and central nervous system to be preserved. The Department of Animal Science and Industry at Kansas State reconstructed the skeletonof an acutely laminitic Thoroughbred broodmare that the decision was to euthanize. The final project was a complete, mobile skeleton that will be used as ateaching aid in equine classes. With the use of plastination as a teaching method of animal science means less animals will have to be killed in the name ofscience, due to the fact that plastination process allows speciemens to last a long time.
The plastination process is applied to the arteries of the subject and the surrounding material is removed.
Plastination, in comparison to the cheap and inexpensive plastic coating preserving process, has been found to be more flexible, durable, and life like.Mainstream preservation leaves the bodies' water in place and adds chemicals; plastination replaces water with polymers (silicone, epoxy, or polyester)that are then allowed to harden. Other methods have been in place for thousands of years to help with the decomposition of the body. Mummification used by theEgyptians is a widely known method which involves the removal of body fluid and wrapping the body in linens. Prior to mummification, Egyptians would lay thebody in a shallow pit in the desert and allow the sun to dehydrate the body. Formalin, an important solution to body preservation, was introduced in 1896 tohelp with body preservation. Soon to follow formalin, color preserving embalming solutions where developed to preserve lifelike color and flexibility to aid inthe study of the body. Paraffin impregnation was introduced in 1925 and the embedding of organs in plastic was developed in the 60s'. Body preservationmethods current to the twenty-first century are cryopreservation which involves the cooling of the body to very low temperatures to preserve the body tissues,plastination and embalming. Plastination is used in hundreds of laboratories worldwide to help with the teaching and study of the body.
http://
[h2][edit] Ethical concerns[/h2]
Concern over consent of bodies being used the plastination process has arisen. Over 20 years ago Von Hagen set up a body donation program in Germany and hassigned over 7600 donors into the plastinate program: 461 have already died. The program has reported an average of one body a day being released to theplastination process. Ninety percent of the bodies donated have been German. German journalists investigated the bodies being inserted into the plastinateprogram and found that certain bodies were taken without consent. Although Von Hagens says he follows strict consent procedures for whole-body specimens, hemaintains that "consent is not important for body parts." Von Hagen's body donations are now being managed by the Institute for Plastination(IfP) established in 1993.
