Stories

Visitors to Bodies Revealed with a penchant for Shakespeare may recall Hamlet's immortal words, "What a piece of work is man".

A scary conductor

Others might substitute 'work' for 'meat' after witnessing the mutilated bodies of real people preserved for the public's edification, and/or entertainment.

Even in the Halloween season, staring at ten full corpses and 250 body parts is certainly not for the squeamish.

Stripped of flesh and exposing meticulously dissected internal organs, these preserved bodies are the human embodiment of a car workshop manual illustration.

Skeleton soldier

Many of the 'specimens' on display at Birmingham's Custard Factory look like they could jolt into life, plunge through their glass cases and tear at your flesh like one of Clive Barker's Hellraiser demons.

In an eerie twist some of have been dissected in vivid athletic poses and displayed out in the open; one grips a golf club as though admiring a well-placed approach shot

Blood vessels in a hand

Substitute the nine-iron for a cutlass and you can imagine this dissected golfer swinging at you like skeleton soldier in Jason and the Argonauts.

Another man clasps a basketball as though faking a pass, yet despite the exposed organs it's the subject's eyes that many who see the exhibition will remember.

Over-eating

All of the elements of the human body are carved into view, allowing a glimpse at a person's skeletal, muscular, reproductive, respiratory and circulatory systems.

The subjects' muscles and body parts are painted in different shades to distinguish them, which also has the effect of making the people appear more 'otherworldly'.

Other organs such as the heart are pebble grey because there's no blood. 

An unusual view

And the real-life horror of how we often abuse our bodies and organs by over-eating and dodging exercise is another feature of the exhibition, which includes a comparison between a healthy lung and one ravaged by smoking.

An empty exhibit box next to the lungs with a cigarette packet-sized slot in the top is for 'converts' to dispose of their boxes.

Liquid silicone

"The educational impact of this exhibition is immeasurable," says Dr Roy Glover, anatomist and the exhibition’s chief medical director.

"For centuries, the medical community has learned about the inner workings of the human body through the study of real human bodies.

The exhibition runs until 30 January

"Now it is possible for the public to gain an intimate knowledge as well."

The 68-year-old from Michigan was not physically involved in the dissection of the bodies as this was carried out by a partner organisation in China, but says he oversaw the work via a computer link showing digital images.

He dismisses concerns about public taste and decency by saying "nobody's arm is twisted", claims more than 500,000 children have already visited the exhibition on its tour of the world, including his won grandchildren.

He even says he'd allow his own body to be exhibited after his death.

Organisers say anatomists use a polymer preservation process to preserve the specimens, preventing the natural decay process as the human tissue is permanently preserved using liquid silicone rubber.

The exhibition is in Gibb Street

Small organ

They say all water is removed from a specimen by replacing it with acetone and the body placed into a liquid silicone mixture within a vacuum chamber. Under vacuum, the acetone becomes a gas that is completely replaced by the polymer mixture and then the silicone polymer is hardened.

Preparation time varies; a small organ may take only a week, while a full-body may take up to one year to prepare.

"The end result is a dry, odourless, permanently preserved body containing no toxic chemicals," adds a Bodies Revealed spokesman.

"It retains the look of the original, but functions as if it were rubber.

Cremation

"All of the bodies and organ specimens in Bodies Revealed came from individuals who died from natural causes and chose to donate their bodies to accredited medical universities in the People’s Republic of China.

"When the Bodies Revealed exhibition ends, all specimens will be returned for cremation."

The brain is said to be the most difficult organ to preserve as it is primarily composed of lipids (fat) and water.

During the process of polymer preservation, it can shrink significantly during dehydration and to manage this problem, it's dehydrated in a cold acetone to maintain its original size and shape.

Bodies Revealed will be at the Custard Factory, Birmingham, from 30 October 2009 until 30 January and is open every day except Monday.

Organiser recommend children attend the exhibition with a teacher or parent as an adult guide.