Four years ago the Body Worlds exhibit was on display at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. I had the best of intentions of attending, but as happens so often in life, I just never got around to it. When I learned that Body Worlds would again be stopping in Denver, it quickly made my to-do list for my 40 new adventures. I was determined that I would not miss it this time around. So after enjoying our sushi dinner, the kids and I headed out to see it. Besides, can you think of a better combo than dinner followed by dissected bodies and guts?
For those of you who aren't familiar with Body Worlds, it is an exhibit of real human bodies which have been plastinated. "Plasti-what?" you ask. Plastination is a process by which fluids are removed from human bodies and replaced with a polymer, so that the actual bodies are preserved in plastic form. No photos were allowed in the exhibit, but you can get an overview at http://www.bodyworlds.com/en.html
Many of these bodies have been somewhat dissected. The skin is removed so the muscles, tendons and bones are visible. There are exhibits of organ systems, brains, nerves, vascular systems, etc.
I was a little worried that I might pass out, because I don't do blood and guts too well, and many people have described the exhibit as "intense." Still, I was fascinated at the idea of seeing actual bodies, and I kept telling myself that if I approached it from a scientific aspect then I should be able to stay conscious. My fears were ungrounded, as I never felt the least bit queasy.
The exhibit is pretty fascinating. While the muscle/skeleton bodies are the stars of the show, I personally was most impressed with the vascular displays. To obtain these exhibits, liquid polymer was injected into the veins/arteries of a body or organ system. This turned all the blood vessels into plastic. The body/organ system was then dipped into a substance which would dissolve all the surrounding organs. This would leave only the blood vessels remaining. The density of teensy-tiny blood vessels was just incredible.
Aside from the vascular displays, I was also very impressed with the tiny size of the uterus (sorry to the men, who I just grossed out). How on earth did I fit twin boys totaling 15 lbs into this pouch that is normally smaller than a lemon?! Wow, does that thing stretch!
Some other favorites were the smoker's lung compared to the healthy lung, an "uninflated" heart stent compared to an "inflated" stent, cross section slices of a morbidly obese person (one person declared it looked like a slab of bacon) and plastinated fetuses at various weeks of gestation (anyone who can look at a 21 week old "fetus" and declare it is not a baby is simply brain dead or high).
If Body Worlds ever comes to a museum near you, I would definitely suggest you go see it. It is impossible to see without gaining an even greater appreciation for the engineering masterpiece called the human body. It was a great way to cross off #18 from my list!
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