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Published: July 23, 2007

Flayed and dissected, then soaked in acetone

Fetuses, corpses and body parts on display at macabre exhibition in San Diego (Part I)

This is Part I of a three-part series

Bodies...The Exhibition, a display of plasticized human corpses, pre-born infants and hundreds of body parts, continues at Westfield University Towne Center in La Jolla. Originally scheduled to run through September, the presentation, which opened May 12 and is sponsored by Atlanta-based Premier Exhibitions, will now end in November. It is listed on UTC’s web site under the category “Miscellaneous, Movie and Entertainment.”

The exhibit “is a must see,” according to a promotional flier. “At Westfield UTC, this striking new exhibition showcases real human bodies, giving visitors the opportunity to see themselves in a fascinating way like never before.”

In the “plastination” process pioneered by German doctor Gunther von Hagens, dead people are flayed and dissected, then soaked in acetone to replace body fluids, and then placed into a vacuum chamber filled with liquid silicone or polyester resins. The acetone vaporizes within the chamber and is replaced by the silicone or polymer mixture, eventually turning the body into a rubbery substance resembling beef jerky that can be painted and posed.

A similar exhibition at a Masonic hall in San Francisco in 2005, where corpses began leaking fluid, was banned after the board of supervisors adopted a measure prohibiting “the display of human remains without appropriate written authorization from the deceased or the deceased’s next of kin.”

On a recent Saturday afternoon, at least 50 people, including young children, stood waiting in the entrance line, with dozens more already inside the exhibit. The exhibit is composed of a series of galleries, each devoted to a different body system, such as skeletal, circulatory, digestive, reproduction, and fetal development. Human organs are housed in glass display cases, but “full-body” corpses are displayed in the open. Visitors are allowed to get as close as they dare but may not touch or photograph any of the exhibits.

At the entrance to the fetal development gallery, a sign was posted warning visitors that it contains displays of “the stages of embryonic and fetal development, as well as some birth defects that occurred during this time. All fetal and embryonic specimens in this gallery perished in utero from complications during pregnancy.” Inside the gallery were cases containing embryos from 18 days to eight weeks old, and fetuses from nine to 24 weeks’ gestation. Upon seeing the babies, one woman remarked about how amazing they were. Another case displayed fetuses, injected with dye, to highlight the stages of skeletal development. The last case in the gallery showed pre-born infants with birth defects such as anencephaly, visceral hernia, and spina bifida.

Bodies... The Exhibit and similar displays are huge money-makers. Since Premier Exhibits rolled out Bodies in 2005, an estimated 4 million people have flocked to view the shows, and the company’s stock price has gained more than 1,500 percent since the end of 2004, according to a May 24 San Diego Union-Tribune article. Admission prices to the San Diego exhibit are $26.50 for adults and $18.00 children, with audio headsets available for $6. Audio presentations throughout the exhibit are paired, with one geared for adults and the other for children.

At the end of the exhibit, visitors can handle a plasticized human liver, fill out organ donation cards, and purchase gifts such as anatomy books, skeleton key chains, and even a stuffed toy with detachable internal organs.

Tomorrow, Part II: “Dogged by questions about the origins of the corpses”

© California Catholic Daily 2007. All Rights Reserved.