Plastination is a technique used in
anatomyAnatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy and plant anatomy...
to preserve bodies or body parts. The water and
fatFats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and largely insoluble in water. Chemically, fats are generally triesters of glycerol and fatty acids. Fats may be either solid or liquid at normal room temperature, depending on their structure and composition...
are replaced by certain
plasticPlastic is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic amorphous solid materials suitable for the manufacture of industrial products...
s, yielding specimens that can be touched, do not smell or decay, and even retain most properties of the original sample.
Process
There are four steps in the standard process of plastination: fixation,
dehydrationDehydration is defined as excessive loss of body water. It is literally the removal of water from an object. In physiological terms, it entails a relative deficiency of water molecules in relation to other dissolved solutes...
, forced impregnation in a
vacuumIn everyday usage, vacuum is a volume of space that is essentially empty of matter, such that its gaseous pressure is much less than atmospheric pressure. The word comes from the Latin term for "empty," but in reality, no volume of space can ever be perfectly empty...
, and hardening. Water and
lipidLipids are a broad group of naturally-occurring molecules which includes fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins , monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others...
tissues are replaced by curable polymers. Curable polymers used by plastination include
siliconeSilicones are largely inert, man-made compounds with a wide variety of forms and uses. Typically heat-resistant, nonstick, and rubber-like, they are commonly used in cookware, medical applications, sealants, adhesives, lubricants, insulation, and breast implants.Silicones are polymers that include...
,
epoxyEpoxy or polyepoxide is a thermosetting polymer formed from reaction of an epoxide "resin" with polyamine "hardener". Epoxy has a wide range of applications, including fiber-reinforced plastic materials and general purpose adhesives.- Chemistry :...
and
polyesterPolyester is a category of polymers which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. Although there are many polyesters, the term "polyester" as a specific material most commonly refers to polyethylene terephthalate...
-copolymer.
The first step of plastination is fixation. This simply means that the body is embalmed, usually in a
formaldehydeFormaldehyde is a chemical compound with the formula CH2O. It is the simplest aldehyde. Formaldehyde also exists as the cyclic trimer trioxane and the polymer paraformaldehyde. It exists in water as the hydrate H2C2. Aqueous solutions of formaldehyde are referred...
solution, in order to halt
decompositionDecomposition is the process by which tissues of a dead organism break down into simpler forms of matter. The process is essential for new growth and development of living organisms because it recycles the finite matter that occupies physical space in the biome. Bodies of living organisms begin to...
.
After any necessary
dissectionDissection is usually the process of disassembling and observing something to determine its internal structure and as an aid to discerning the functions and relationships of its components...
s take place, the specimen is then placed in a bath of
acetoneAcetone is the organic compound with the formula OC2. This colorless, mobile, flammable liquid is the simplest example of the ketones. Owing to the fact that acetone is miscible with water it serves as an important solvent in its own right, typically as the solvent of choice for...
. Under freezing conditions, the acetone draws out all the water and replaces it inside the cells.
In the third step, the specimen is then placed in a bath of liquid polymer, such as
silicone rubberSilicone rubber is a polymer that has a "backbone" of silicon-oxygen linkages, the same bond that is found in quartz, glass and sand. Normally, heat is required to vulcanize the silicone rubber; this is normally carried out in a two stage process at the point of manufacture into the desired shape,...
,
polyesterPolyester is a category of polymers which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. Although there are many polyesters, the term "polyester" as a specific material most commonly refers to polyethylene terephthalate...
or epoxy resin. By creating a
vacuumIn everyday usage, vacuum is a volume of space that is essentially empty of matter, such that its gaseous pressure is much less than atmospheric pressure. The word comes from the Latin term for "empty," but in reality, no volume of space can ever be perfectly empty...
, the acetone is made to boil at a low temperature. As the acetone
vaporizesVaporization of an element or compound is a phase transition from the liquid phase to gas phase. There are two types of vaporization: evaporation and boiling....
and leaves the cells, it draws the liquid polymer in behind it, leaving a cell filled with liquid plastic.
The plastic must then be cured, either with gas, heat, or ultraviolet light, in order to harden it.
A specimen can be anything from a full
human bodyThe human body is the entire structure of a human organism, and consists of a head, neck, torso, two arms and two legs.By the time the human reaches adulthood, the body consists of close to 10 trillion cells, the basic unit of life...
to a small piece of an animal organ, and they are known as 'plastinates'. Once plastinated, specimens and bodies can be manipulated and positioned.
History
In November 1979,
Gunther von HagensDr. Gunther von Hagens is a controversial anatomist who invented the technique for preserving biological tissue specimens called plastination...
applied for a German patent, proposing the idea of preserving animal and vegetable tissues permanently by synthetic resin impregnation. Since then, von Hagens has applied for further US patents regarding work on preserving biological tissues with polymers.
With the success of his patents, von Hagens went on to form the Institute of Plastination in Heidelberg, Germany in 1993. The Institute of Plastination, along with von Hagens made their first showing of plastinated bodies in Japan in 1995, which drew more than three million visitors. The Institute maintains three international centres of plastination: in Germany, Kyrgyzstan and China.
Other Plastination methods
Other methods have been in place for thousands of years to halt the decomposition of the body.
MummificationA mummy is a corpse whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness, very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs...
used by the Egyptians is a widely known method which involves the removal of body fluid and wrapping the body in linens. Prior to mummification, Egyptians would lay the body in a shallow pit in the desert and allow the sun to dehydrate the body.
Formalin, an important solution to body preservation, was introduced in 1896 to help with body preservation. Soon to follow formalin, color preserving embalming solutions were developed to preserve lifelike color and flexibility to aid in the study of the body.
ParaffinIn chemistry, paraffin is the common name for the alkane hydrocarbons with the general formula CnH2n+2. Paraffin wax refers to the solids with 20 ≤ n ≤ 40 ....
impregnation was introduced in 1925 and the embedding of organs in plastic was developed in the 1960s.
Body preservation methods current to the twenty-first century are
cryopreservationCryopreservation is a process where cells or whole tissues are preserved by cooling to low sub-zero temperatures, such as 77 K or −196 °C . At these low temperatures, any biological activity, including the biochemical reactions that would lead to cell death, is effectively stopped...
which involves the cooling of the body to very low temperatures to preserve the body tissues, plastination and
embalmingEmbalming, in most modern cultures, is the art and science of temporarily preserving human remains to forestall decomposition and to make them suitable for display at a funeral. The three goals of embalming are thus sanitization, presentation and preservation of a dead body to achieve this effect...
.
Other methods used in modern times include the Silicone S 10 Standard Procedure, the Cor-Tech Room temperature procedure, the Epoxy E 12 procedure, and the Polyester P 35 (P 40) procedure. The Silicone S 10 is the procedure most often used in plastination and creates opaque, natural-looking specimen. Dow Corning Corporation's Cor-Tech Room Temperature Procedure is designed to allow plastination of specimen at
room temperatureRoom temperature is a common term to denote a certain temperature within enclosed space at which humans are accustomed. Room temperature is thus often indicated by general human comfort, with the common range of 68°F to 77°F , though climate may acclimatize people to higher or lower...
to various degrees of flexibility using three combinations of polymer, crosslinker and catalyst. According to the International Society for Plastination, the Epoxy E 12 procedure is utilized "for thin, transparent, and firm body and organ slices", while the Polyster P 35 (P 40) preserves "semitransparent and firm brain slices". Samples are prepared for fixation through the first method by deep freezing, while the second method works best following 4–6 weeks of preparation in a formaldehyde mixture.
Uses of plastinated specimens
Plastination is useful in anatomy as well as serving as models and teaching tools. Plastination is used at more than 40
medicalA medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine.In addition to a medical degree program, some medical schools offer programs leading to a Master's Degree, Doctor of Philosophy , or other post-secondary education. Medical schools can also...
and
dental schoolA dental school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches dentistry. Upon successful completion, the graduate receives a degree in Dentistry, which, depending upon the jurisdiction, might be a bachelor's degree, master's degree, a professional degree, or a...
s throughout the world as an adjunct to anatomical dissection.
Students enrolled in introductory
animal scienceAnimal science is described as "studying the biology of animals that are under the control of mankind". Historically, the animals studied were farm animals, but courses available now look at a far broader area to include companion animals, for example dogs, cats, horses and captive animals...
courses at many universities learn animal science through collections of multi-species large-animal specimens. Plastination allows students to have hands on experience in this field, without exposure to chemicals such as formalin. For example, plastinated
canineThe dog is a domesticated form of the Gray Wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The domestic dog has been one of the most widely kept working and companion animals in human history...
gastrointestinal tracts are used to help in the teaching of
endoscopicEndoscopy means looking inside and typically refers to looking inside the body for medical reasons using an instrument called an endoscope...
technique and anatomy. The plastinated specimens retain their dilated conformation by a
positive pressurePositive pressure is a pressure within a system that is greater than the environment that surrounds that system. Consequently if there is any leak from the positively pressured system it will ingress into the surrounding environment....
air flow, which allows them to be used to teach both endoscopic technique and gastrointestinal anatomy.
In another example, The Department of Animal Science and Industry at Kansas State reconstructed the skeleton of an acutely
laminiticLaminitis is a disease of the digital laminae of the hoof . It is most well known in horses and cattle.-Pathology:The digital laminae are responsible for suspension of the axial skeleton of the animal within the hoof and dissipate concussive forces during locomotion...
thoroughbred broodmare that had been euthanized. The final project was a complete, mobile
skeletonIn biology, a skeleton is a rigid framework that provides protection and structure in many types of animal, particularly those of the phylum Chordata and of the superphylum Ecdysozoa. Exoskeletons are external, as is typical of many invertebrates; they enclose the soft tissues and organs of the...
that is used as a teaching aid in equine classes.
With the use of plastination as a teaching method of animal science, fewer animals have to be killed for research, as the plastination process allows specimens to be studied for a long time.
The
North Carolina State UniversityNorth Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States...
's College of Veterinary Medicine in
Raleigh, North CarolinaRaleigh is the capital city of the state of North Carolina, the seat of Wake County and the second largest city in North Carolina. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S...
uses both PC (plastic coating) and PN (plastination) to investigate and compare the difference in the two methods. The PC method was simple and inexpensive, but the plastinated specimens (PN method) were more flexible, durable, and lifelike than those preserved by the PC method. The use of plastination allowed the use of many body parts such as muscle, nerves, bones, ligaments, and
central nervous systemThe central nervous system is the part of the nervous system that functions to coordinate the activity of all parts of the bodies of bilaterian animals—that is, all animals more advanced than sponges or jellyfish. In vertebrates, the central nervous system is enclosed in the meninges. It contains...
to be preserved.
The
New York University College of DentistryThe New York University College of Dentistry is one of 14 schools and divisions at New York University. The current dean is Dr. Charles N. Bertolami, D.D.S., D.Med. Sc. He was previously the dean of the University of California, San Francisco, School of Dentistry for 12 years...
. and
University of WarwickThe University of Warwick is a British campus university located on the outskirts of Coventry, West Midlands, England. It was established in 1965 as part of a government initiative to expand access to higher education, and in 2000 Warwick Medical School was opened as part of an initiative to train...
use collections of plastinates as teaching aids. The
University of ViennaThe University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is, therefore, the oldest university in the German-speaking world and one of the largest in Central Europe.-History:...
has its own plastination laboratory.
Ethical concerns
Concern over consent of bodies being used in the plastination process has arisen. Over 20 years ago, von Hagens set up a
body donationBody donation is the donation of the whole body after death for medical research and education. For years, only medical schools accepted whole bodies for donation, but now private programs also accept donors...
program in
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
and has signed over 9,000 donors into the plastinate program: 531 have already died. The program has reported an average of one body a day being released to the plastination process. Ninety percent of the donors registered are German. Although von Hagens says he follows strict consent procedures for whole-body specimens, he maintains that "consent is not important for body parts." Von Hagens' body donations are now being managed by the Institute for Plastination (IfP) established in 1993.
Plastination exhibitions
For the first 20 years, plastination was used to preserve small specimens for medical study. It was not until the early 1990s that the equipment was developed to make it possible to plastinate whole body specimens, each specimen taking up to 1,500 man hours to prepare. The first exhibition of whole bodies was displayed by von Hagens in Japan in 1995.
Over the next two years, Von Hagens developed the Körperwelten (
Body WorldsBody Worlds is a traveling exhibition of preserved human bodies and body parts that are prepared using a technique called plastination to reveal inner anatomical structures...
) public exhibitions, showing whole bodies plastinated in lifelike poses and dissected to show various structures and systems of human anatomy. The earliest exhibitions were presented in the
Far EastThe Far East is a term used in English mostly equivalent to East Asia and Southeast Asia, sometimes to the inclusion of South Asia for economic and cultural reasons."Far East" came into use in European geopolitical discourse in...
and in Germany, and Body Worlds exhibitions have subsequently been hosted by museums and venues in 47 cities worldwide, attracting more than 26 million visitors.
In 2004,
Premier ExhibitionsPremier Exhibitions Inc is an Atlanta, Georgia-based company that organizes traveling exhibitions.Its two most prominent exhibits are artifacts from the RMS Titanic and BODIES.....
began their "Bodies Revealed" exhibition in Blackpool, England which ran from August through October 2004. In 2005 and 2006 the company opened their Bodies Revealed and Bodies The Exhibition exhibitions in
SeoulSeoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest city of South Korea. With a population of over 10 million, it is one of the world's largest cities. The Seoul National Capital Area, which includes the major port city of Incheon and most of Gyeonggi-do, has 24.5 million...
(South Korea),
TampaTâmpa may refer to several villages in Romania:* Tâmpa, a village in Băcia Commune, Hunedoara County* Tâmpa, a village in Miercurea Nirajului, Mureş County* Tâmpa, a mountain in Braşov city....
(Florida) and
New York (NY)New York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
respectively. Another exhibition site in 2006 was the
Houston Museum of Natural ScienceThe Houston Museum of Natural Science is a science museum located on the northern border of Hermann Park in Houston, Texas, USA. The museum was established in 1909 by the Houston Museum and Scientific Society, an organization whose goals were to provide a free institution for the people of Houston...
in Houston (Texas). The West Coast exhibition site opened on June 22, 2006 at the Tropicana Resort & Casino Las Vegas NV. ,
BODIES... The ExhibitionBODIES… The Exhibition is an exhibition, operated by Premier Exhibitions, Inc., featuring real, whole and partial body specimens that have been dissected and preserved through a plastination process, displaying the complexity of the human body....
is showing at the
Ambassador Theatre (Dublin)The Ambassador was Dublin's longest-running cinema, and was operational on and off until 1999. It is now a music venue.The building was constructed as part of the Rotunda Hospital in 1764 as an assembly hall and social rooms...
in Dublin, Ireland.
Plastination galleries are offered in a few college medical schools including
University of MichiganThe University of Michigan, Ann Arbor is a public research university located in the state of Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university, the flagship campus of the University of Michigan, and one of the top public universities in the world...
and the Vienna University Gunther von Hagens maintains a permanent exhibition of plastinates and plastination at the Plastinarium in
GubenGuben is a town on the Lusatian Neisse river in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. Located in the Spree-Neiße district, Guben has a population of 22,184 as of 2004...
, Germany.
Further reading
First published as }}
External links
Links from the Institute of Biomedical Science
Film references