Body Worlds

Body Worlds (German title: Körperwelten) is a travelling exhibition of preserved human bodies and body parts, prepared with a technique called plastination to reveal inner organs or structures. Its developer and promoter is German anatomist Gunther von Hagens, who invented the plastination technique. The exhibition, first presented in Tokyo in 1995, has been shown in many cities in Europe and Asia; the catalogue for the North American tour of the exhibition, which began in Los Angeles in 2004, claims that more than 15 million people have seen Body Worlds (and a second traveling show, Body Worlds 2) between 1995 and early 2004.

Further reading

• Franz Josef Wertz, Brigitte Tag (eds.): "Schöne Neue Körperwelten, Der Streit um die Ausstellung", Klett-Cotta Verlag, Stuttgart 2001. Sixteen authors discuss the various ethical and aesthetical aspects of Body Worlds, in German.