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The Daily Wildcat

The Daily Wildcat

 

    Students to see anatomy exhibit

    Most students’ idea of a fun Saturday afternoon probably doesn’t involve staring at a bunch of naked dead people. But it’s another story for aspiring medical students.

    The Honors College and the College of Science will be sending 75 UA students to the Arizona Science Center in Phoenix Feb. 24 to see the Body Worlds 3 exhibit.

    “”Many of our students are interested in going to medical school, and this is a wonderful opportunity for them to see organs that are diseased and get a sense of that,”” said Gail Burd, associate dean of the College of Science.

    Body Worlds, created by German anatomist Dr. Gunther von Hagens, features bodies preserved in a variety of poses as well as organs and organ systems. The bodies are featured sometimes without skin in order to showcase the human anatomy.

    Body Worlds 3 is one of three different exhibits being shown nationally. The other two exhibits are being shown in Dallas and Chicago, said Georgina Gomez, a media and public liaison for Body Worlds.

    The showcase will be at the Arizona Science Center until May 28, said Catherine Desberg, marketing manager for the Arizona Science Center.

    “”The purpose of the exhibition is to educate the public about anatomy and give people an understanding of how their body works in hopes that would inspire them to lead a healthier lifestyle,”” Gomez said.

    The bodies were preserved using a technique invented by von Hagens called plastination. Plastination is the process of replacing the fluids in the body system with a polymer in order to preserve the body, according to the Body Worlds Web site.

    The bodies displayed in the exhibit were donated to Body Worlds by individuals before their death.

    Gomez said each of the bodies are in different poses, with titles such as “”The Hurdler,”” “”Skin Man”” and “”The Javelin Thrower.””

    “”In the Phoenix display there are some specimens in athletic poses,”” Gomez said. “”There’s a skateboarder and then there’s some more traditionally posed specimens. There’s a kneeling woman. There’s one called the Skin Man, and he’s holding his skin up to show how big it is.””

    In addition to full body poses, Body Worlds juxtaposes healthy human organs, such as lungs and livers, with diseased organs, such as a smoker’s lung and a liver with cirrhosis.

    “”There’s definitely a theme of comparative anatomy, and you can compare side by side,”” Gomez said.

    The exhibit is at the Arizona Science Center, 600 E. Washington St., Phoenix.

    Tickets for UA students are $18.50 and $22 for adults.

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