Körperwelten: the fascination of authenticity

As the now notorious Professor Gunther von Hagenss controversial “Body Worlds” exhibition finally reaches London, Dora Vertes remains outraged after seeing it in Brussels …

he human body is the most fascinating machine I have ever seen. I am now finishing my third year of medical school, and I chose to study medicine so that I might understand the body better.

I have studied the anatomy of the human body and done dissection: I learnt to respect death. I have met patients, listened to their problems, and tried to understand them: I have learnt to respect life.

Gunther von Hagens thinks that everyone has to learn about the body. He uncovers it to let people see whats inside—the machine, without soul. He invented a technique called plastination—the fixation of an organic object, in this case the human body—which prevents putrefaction. After dissection, the body is dehydrated and then impregnated with a resin that polymerises and hardens in the tissues.

The technique itself is interesting: the dissected part of the body …