Plastination: Frequently Asked Questions
What is plastination?
Plastination is a process invented by Dr. Gunther von Hagens in Germany in the late 1970s. It replaces the fluids of the body with acetone, a preserving agent that is then vacuum pumped out of the body tissue and replaced with polymers. The polymer compounds are then cured to hardness with certain gases, lights or heat, while the plastinates are posed.
Source: theleonardo.org
Invented by scientist and anatomist Dr. Gunther von Hagens in 1977, Plastination is the groundbreaking method of halting decomposition and preserving anatomical specimens for scientific and medical education.Plastination is the process of extracting all bodily fluids and soluble fat from specimens, replacing them through vacuum forced impregnation with reactive resins and elastomers, and then curing them with light, heat, or certain gases, which give the specimens rigidity and permanence.For more information about Dr. G... ...
Source: aboriginal.science.ubc.ca
Invented by a scientist and anatomist Dr. Gunther von Hagens in 1977, Plastination is the groundbreaking method of halting decomposition and preserving anatomical specimens for scientific and medical education. Plastination is the process of extracting all bodily fluids and soluble fat from specimens, replacing them through vacuum forced impregnation with reactive resins and elastomers, and then curing them with light, heat, or certain gases, which give the specimens rigidity and permanence. ...
Source: www.mdsci.org
Plastination is a unique process invented by Dr Gunther von Hagens to preserve specimens for medical education. The process replaces bodily fluids and soluble fat in specimens with fluid plastics through vacuum-forced impregnation. When the specimens are ready, they are hardened with gas, heat or light. Read more about the plastination process
Source: www.visitlondon.com
Invented by Dr. Gunther von Hagens, the plastination process replaces the natural fluids in the body with reactive plastics that are initially pliable, but then harden after infusion. By hardening the plastic in the specimens, the bodies may be fixed into life-like poses, which illustrates how our bodies respond internally to everyday activities.
Source: www.msichicago.org
Is the Science Center advocating or supporting plastination?
The Science Center leaves the decision about plastination or body donation entirely up to visitors of the exhibitions.
Source: www.californiasciencecenter.org
How does a body get to the Institute for Plastination?
When a donor dies, the next of kin should notify the IfP and make arrangements with a funeral home for the body to be transported to the IfP as soon as possible. In warm seasons, arrival at the IfP should not take longer than two or three days after death; during the colder months, the interval can be up to ten days. The regular formalities that arise when someone dies must be handled before the body can be transferred. There is a sheet in the body donor brochure with information for each specific country. ...
Source: www.koerperspende.de
Is the Museum advocating or supporting body donation or plastination?
The Museum of Science and Industry leaves the decision about body donation or plastination entirely up to visitors of the exhibit.
Source: www.msichicago.org
How can I donate my body for Plastination?
First of all, by giving your consent to donate your body for Plastination, you are not signing any sort of contract, merely a declaration of intent. No fees must be paid for a body to be donated, and the donor will not receive any money either. There are a few steps that you can take to ensure that your body is donated for Plastination after your death. You must make the following arrangements: Complete the "Body Donation Program – Donor’s Consent" form in duplicate, sign both copies and return them to us. ...
Source: www.koerperspende.de
What is most donors’ second choice dealing with their body instead of plastination?
For me it is to be burned, but I think most of them don't like the idea of burial or cremation, often they don’t have a second choice.
Source: www.koerperspender.de
Qu'est-ce que la plastination?
La plastination est une technique révolutionnaire inventée par le Dr Gunther von Hagens pour préserver des spécimens à des fins d'éducation médicale. Grâce à ce procédé, les liquides et les graisses solubles de l’organisme sont remplacés par des matières plastiques liquides à la suite d'une imprégnation forcée sous vide. Après avoir été placés et immobilisés dans des poses réelles, les corps sont durcis en utilisant la lumière, la chaleur ou le gaz. ...
Source: bodyworlds.red-dog.com
Is the Maryland Science Center advocating or supporting organ donation or body donation for Plastination?
The Maryland Science Center leaves the decision about organ donation and body donation for Plastination entirely up to visitors.
Source: www.mdsci.org
Do you have statistics of how many people become body donor after they visited BODY WORLDS, do they have some idea of the specific procedure for plastination when filling in the donation form?
I have no statistics, but from the discussions with the donors one gets the impression that most of us (more than 90 %) have become donors after the visit of an exhibition. And the exhibition briefly explains the procedure of plastination. Some of us have seen the work in Heidelberg. In fact, once a year there is the possibility for donors and their families to watch the work of plastination. I am there every year. So I have seen the camel being taken out of the acetone bath and then taken into the polymer bath. ...
Source: www.koerperspender.de
The early step of Plastination is autopsy, are people scared of being dissected or think it’s terrible to be skinned and cut into slices?
I think, most of us don't think of autopsy or of being skinned in connection with plastination, but we may think of being sliced once our body is plastinated. The reason is that the words autopsy or dissection or skinning have a negative meaning in the German society. Many donors want to be plastinated as a whole body (knowing that their body will be skinned) and they don’t like the idea of their body being sliced, however they are not scared by the idea.
Source: www.koerperspender.de
You know, some day, every body donor will travel to Da Lian Plastination City for the last destination, how could you imagine this trip to China?
I am not sure whether you are right about the last destination of Da Lian. But it’s possible (it is also possible that in the future there will be more plastination institutes worldwide). Today it is Heidelberg or Da Lian, and we do not know whether the body will go into an exhibition and travel around the world or, if it becomes an object for medical training, we do not know where that will be. What we all know (whether we are Christian or not) is that the body is dead, it is merely a shell which we no longer need. ...
Source: www.koerperspender.de
