Posted: 3/20/2007 7:27:51 AM EDT
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My wife of 3 days and I went to the "Bodies" exhibit in Miami over the weekend. My wife and I both have extensive medical backgrounds. She used to work in a morgue and I was a medic in the Army. This exhibit was amazing. There were about 20 bodies in different poses (playing basketball, soccer, waving, etc) and in different stages of dissection. Some specimens were created to specifically show the muscular system, skeletal system, nervous system, reproductive system, etc works. The dissections were done in an artistic yet very educational manner. It was really weird knowing these bodies are real people that had real lives displayed in such an intimate way. Dead bodies and guts never bother me. The thing I thought that was so awesome was the skill it took to create the specimens and the ways they were displayed. All of the bodies were free standing in the open air. You could get as close as you wanted and look at them from all angles. There was no glass you had to look through. The exhibit is leaving Miami this weekend, but if you get a chance to see it where ever it goes, do it. Bodies Official Website 
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This looks very similar to Gunther Von Hagens's "Body Worlds." If this isn't more of his work, I'm glad to see that someone else has been able to duplicate the preservation techniques that he's been trying to keep proprietary. I saw the Body Worlds exhibit when it was in Houston, and was amazed. If you have the chance to see any of these displays, don't pass them up. |
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I saw it last month here in Seattle. It was awesome. We even took our kids (ages 2 and 6). My wife thought she would find it very disgusting but actually she ended up liking it a lot. I probably enjoyed it the most since I am very interested in the human body. I would recommend everybody go see it if they can. |
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I've heard a lot of very creepy stories regarding the origin of the cadavers used in this exhibit. There are reports that these cadavers have been used without consent. Some have even claimed that they are the bodies of Chinese political prisoners. While I find the concept facinating, I'd be a little leery about supporting this exhibition. |
 I'd only be concerned if they showed up with only 19 bodies and set up a BBQ stand outside the ticket office. |
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i saw this in nyc a short while back. without an extensive background in the subject, you cannot truly antcipate what you will see. i have a rather vivid imagination, but this left me amazed as it so far exceeded my expectations. do find the time to go. and if you have any children with a remote interest, take them as well. |
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Went to it in Seattle it was very good I really don't see what all the controversy was about. Its science the people were dead. dead is dead at least people can learn about how the body works from them. Instead of learning decomposition or oxidation, those being the ways that the people against the exhibit felt were better. My favorites were the circulatory system by itself suspended in the liquid and the man with all the bionic implants. His knee looked better than the real thing. Oh and the fat tissue that really made you think |
 
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Are you serious?
It is amazing how they were able to keep the circulatory system in tact and remove everything else. My guess is that they treated just the arteries with the silicone preservation and some how "burned off or quickly decomposed the surrounding tissue. The implants were really neat. One of the joints was real old, like a kitchen cabinet hinge, the other was more modern with stainless steal and delrin. Really neat stuff. I have seen countless surgeries, life saving techniques, and my fair share of dead bodies but this was totally different. |
From the Bodies website:
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Pictures from the exhibit....... Awesome!!  A skinned human cadaver is arranged to appear as though it is about to kick a ball in the new "Bodies" exhibition at the Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa, Florida. With individual muscles peeled away from the skeleton, the "kicker" is intended to illustrate how the body's 650 or so muscles work together. The exhibition opened on August 18, 2005, and has drawn record crowds—and controversy. Some critics object to the sometimes playful poses. But the key bone of contention is that the corpses are unclaimed or unidentified individuals from China. As such, neither the deceased nor their families consented to the use of the corpses in the exhibit.  Split down the middle, a skinless human cadaver offers an eye on the body's inner workings. The stomach (the large, pale, smooth sac) and intestines (the tangled, membrane-covered mass of "tubes" below the stomach) are particularly evident, protruding from the right half of the corpse. The stomach partly digests food by churning it and bathing it in gastric acid. The intestines finish the job using digestive enzymes. The cadavers in "Bodies" are preserved using a process called plastination, or plasticization. In the process body water and fats are replaced with liquid silicone rubber. |
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I saw it at the science museum of minnesota Pretty cool stuff and amazing to see. I didnt get queezy until I saw the one where the body was sliced in inch pieces with the skin and all still on. Something about the hair and skin that made me think more and get sickly 
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Saw it last week at the Seaport Museum in NYC. Absolutely amazing. A few terribly disgusting things, such as end-stage breast cancer, but very educational. Would recommend seeing it to everyone. Little kids probably wouldn't appreciate it, but over the age of maybe 8 I think it is a great exhibit. ETA: My favorite display was the single individual who had had his skeleton completely removed, with everything else left perfectly intact. The 'two' men were holding hands, finger muscles clasped with finger bones. Incredible. |
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I went and saw it as well and found it incredibly fascinating--well worth it. I was accompanied by an MD friend of mine who had dissected her own corpse in medical school. She said that the cadavers in the exhibit were far superior to the specimens in med school. Apparently in med school you are lucky to get a cadaver from a wasted away, diseased drug addict that sold himself to science. The ones in the exhibit seemed to come from healthy people in their prime, although some of their dental work was lacking. |
Gross Anatomy was one of the more interesting classes in med school. Lots of black humor floating around. One neat thing was to be dissecting the organ/area responsible for the person's death. One cadaver had a huge small cell lung carcinoma. Another bled into her abdomen. The amount of information to learn . . . it's like drinking from a fire hydrant.
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I went there today in Dallas Fair Park on an Anatomy field trip. It was very interesting, certain bodies showed mutated/diseased organs, some showed one certain sytem, some were of the stages of pregnancy, some were of exercise, and the best ones were of the blood vessels. They also have a duck, chicken and a horse there in the exhibit too. The bodies didnt even look that real, they looked just like plastic. But thats due to the plastinization (sp?) that they go through. Overall it was worth going to if you're into the human body. It's still in Dallas Fair Park for a few more weeks. |
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Makes me SICK! When I was in the military these 2 girls wanted to go look at dead bodies, so I went with them, the guy asked if they were ready, then opened the body bag. I'll never forget how they both just stood silent looking, then both ran outside and spent 30 minutes vomitting. I stared a little longer, then left, later I seemed to have flash backs, like I'd be eating and see a dead body at the table. I think this is a sickening exhibit and it probably will inspire some demented freak to try it at home.
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