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Dead body exhibition in Barcelona
An exhibition of dead bodies opened today in Barcelona, allowing visitors to see the complexity of the human anatomy like never before.
You can get a close look inside the skeletal, muscular, reproductive, respiratory and circulatory systems of your body. Many of the bodies are dissected in different ways so as to see what happens under our skin when performing daily activities.
The 17 corpses that display over 200 human organs are said to be of Chinese people, and have been donated for the exhibition by a medical school. The bodies have undergone a chemical treatment called 'plastination' that prevents them from decomposition and gives them a fibrous aseptic texture.
They even have displays comparing healthy and unhealthy bodies/organs; for e.g. you can see a real healthy lung, and a lung destroyed by smoking.
Not surprisingly, the exhibition has raised many eyebrows because it is not clear if the bodies were donated for a commercial exhibition like this, or if consent was given to do the same; rumors even say that they are bodies of executed Chinese prisoners. For these reasons, many have been calling it a shameless commercial display of death.
I personally think it's great. Unless you are a doctor or say a homicide detective, there is no way you can see what's really under your own skin, so I think it's incredible that you can now go to an exhibition to have a glimpse at your own body structure (that is not artificial). There is no better way to educate yourself about your body; isn't this how doctors study the human anatomy anyway?
The exhibition is being held at the Maritime Museum in Barcelona, and will run until January 13, 2008.
Filed under: Arts and Culture, Europe, Spain
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ROSA Sep 15th 2008 9:04AM
I feel really ashamed for being spanish.This denigrating and macabre exhibition has been prorrogated because,as they have said,it has really got a great success,in Spain.I must admit that when I passed by the street,in Madrid,where took place this exhibition,I had to turn my face,because it was absolutely unbearable for me to have a minimal look at it.It is unbelievable for me to understand how it is possible this kind of denigratory exhibition of human corpses can exist.I cannot understand either who can be behind this Gunther Von Hagens,for him to be allowed to carry out such a vomitive exhibition.In my mind,this man and all those who are interested in denigrating the human being to such a limit,are ill-minded.This german man should be more careful with this kind of things because of the terrible past of his own country.And we all should be careful,because we must not forget,these corpses belong to chinish citizens,and it may be possible that Von Hagens considers the chinish as third class people,such as the nazis considered the Jews.There are also doubts about the allowance or not from the families of these people for donating their corpses to the science,what ,if not,if should be considered as delictive.I think this kind of macabre show should be stopped as soon as possible.
Alice Nov 18th 2007 12:39PM
I think this is a great way for people to learn about their anatomy without all the glood and gore. I've seem autopsies done but this way they probably look like plastic after being treated. If people agreed to have their bodies donated for research-great ! The best thing you can do donated organs/bodies after death. Maybe save some lives. I'd go see it IF it was in the USA.