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It sounds grisly, but it looks really cool: Body Worlds, the Anatomical Exhibition of Real Human Bodies

Gunther von Hagens’ “plastination” technique turns organic tissue into plastic. The result is life-sized, anatomically-correct cutaway 3D sculptures of skeletons, nerves, muscles, vessels, organs, etc.

The whole-body models are the most stunning. Dozens of them are on display in a 20,000 square foot Body Worlds installation in Los Angeles, at the California Science Center through January 2005.

The plastination technique replaces bodily fluids and fat with reactive polymers, such as silicone rubber, epoxy resins, or polyester: in a first phase solvent gradually replaces bodily fluids in a cold solvent bath (freeze substitution). After dehydration the specimen is put in a solvent bath at room temperature for defatting. The dehydrated and defatted specimen is then placed into a polymer solution. The solvent is then brought to a boil in a vacuum and continuously extracted from the specimen; the evaporating solvent creates a volume deficit within the specimen drawing the polymer gradually into the tissue. After the process of forced impregnation the specimen is cured with gas, light, or heat, depending on the type of polymer used.

The photos here have been provided by the California Science Center and are © 2004 Body Worlds. They have been reproduced by permission. Additional pictures — more clinical and less fascinating for it, in my opinion — can be found at the site of the Plastination Gallery of Vienna University.