Bodies Exhibit!

Hola a todos! Last Friday I went to Madrid with the third year biology students to see the Bodies exhibit there. They are real human bodies that after death have been preserved through plastification. The exhibit covers everything from the skin to bones. Each system of the body is represented in it's own section. The first thing I saw was plastified skin, which looked just like leather. It had been fully removed from the body in a whole piece. One of the most impressive parts of the exhibit was the circulatory system. They had removed all tissue around the veins and arteries from the lungs, an entire leg and the skull. It was so amazing to see the many veins and even the tiniest capillaries in the form of lungs.
My favorite part of the exhibit was the fetal development. There were fetuses that had died along with the mother before birth, plastified and on display. The development section began at 5 weeks with a tiny fetus and then continued to progress until birth. The coolest thing was that the skeletal system had been highlighted for easy viewing as it developed. It was amazing to be able to see exactly how everything forms in fetuses with real examples. I was amazed at how everything in the body fit together and worked in perfect balance. There were entire bodies that were plastified and put into common positions, with basketballs and footballs, so the muscles were easily viewed with the nervous system also in place.
There were several examples of disease represented in the exhibit. There were two sets of lungs next to each other, healthy lungs and a smoker's lungs to demonstrate exactly what smoking does to the lungs. Next to the smoker's lungs was a large clear plastic box with a whole in the top full of cigarette packs for those that felt compelled to quit then and there. There was the body of an obese woman and she was cut into three vertical cross sections in order to show how the body stores excess fat.
Overall I was very impressed with the exhibit. It did a great job of demonstrating how the body works together. I would recommend this exhibit very strongly to everyone. I was amazed at how perfectly preserved everything was and how well it demonstrates how the body works, as well as what it needs to continue to function properly. The exhibit is in Cincinnati right now and I really would suggest going to see it if you can, it really is impressive! I have posted the link below for anyone interested in the exhibit.

The Bodies Exhibit

Besos!