Bodyworlds 2... A Breathtaking Experience!

Yesterday, on Christmas eve day, I decided to take advantage of the relatively empty highways and visit the Ontario Science Centre (OSC), in the lovely city of Toronto.

I posted earlier about an exhibition taking place at the OSC called Bodyworlds 2. The exhibition is a display of actually human bodies, which have been preserved from decomposing, using a process called Plastination. This process has enabled physicians and the general public alike to take a deep look into human bodies, complete with every organ. The man behind the process and this new phenomenon is Dr. Gunther von Hagens.

As you enter the exhibition, you’re eased into seeing complete human bodies by looking through glass boxes revealing several different organs and a complete human leg. The glass boxes contained anything from hearts to lungs to brains. After the series of glass boxes you enter a huge atrium where all the bodies are displayed. The first body you see is that of a man with a rare medical condition. This particular person had six and fingers and toes on each of his hands and feet. He was displayed in a “relaxed position” with his hands behind his head, with his head looking at the ceiling. After him comes a series of bodies performing all kinds of activities, from thinking and skiing to skateboarding and playing soccer. Each of the bodies is “dissected” in a way that would show some significant part of the body. For instance, the thinker had the back of his head and back fully open, so the observer could see the workings of the central nervous system.

Among my favourite displays were the following:

A man was literally cut longitudinally into about 8 slices, which were separated by roughly 2 feet each. It was quite interesting to see the insides of the human bodies and how closely stacked everything is.

Among the most fascinating displays was a pregnant woman with the baby still in the womb. I was amazed at seeing human reproduction like never before. The best images that we have of babies in a womb, come from ultrasound scans, which can’t even compare to what was displayed.

A complete set of arteries in a human body was also among the displays. It was incredible seeing the complex network of arteries of carrying blood to every last millimetre of the body.

It was also interesting seeing 3 pairs of lungs. One was a normal set, another was that of a smoker, and the third was that of a mine worker. The smoker’s lung was grey and disgusting. The miner’s lung was even more disturbing, it was completely black mainly from the inhalation of coal particles.

Lastly, I was amazed by a particular display featuring an adult man with his skeleton “walking“ behind his muscular system. This idea is similar to an incredible display from Bodyworlds 1 with an adult male literally holding the skin of his body up as if it were some piece of clothing.

At the exit of the exhibition there were 3 notebook, where visitors are encouraged to comment on what they have just seen. It was interesting to read comments made by some really fascinated visitors.

Overall, I think the exhibition was great. If Toronto was closer I would probably visit the exhibition again. If Bodyworlds 1 ever comes nearby I will surely check that out as well. I recommend the readers to visit this great exhibition if they ever get the chance. Sadly, no cameras/pictures were allowed in the exhibition, so I couldn’t share with you some of the displays, but hopefully some of the pictures in this post will give you an idea of what I tried to describe.

Technorati Tags: Bodyworlds, Human Body, Biology, Science, Exhibition, Organs, Display, Human Anatomy