Crowds, Controversy Follow Exhibits of Human Corpses

Aug. 18, 2005 — -- The exhibition at Tampa's Museum of Science and Industry is designed to offer a graphic, incredibly detailed look at the inner workings of our bodies. But attempts are under way to shut it down, because it features actual human corpses.

"Bodies, The Exhibition" is one of several educational touring displays that aim to teach the public about health and the body by showing actual human body parts preserved through a recently developed process known as plastinization.

The exhibit opened today, despite a move from the Florida State Anatomical Board which voted 4-2 to stop the show out of concerns that the people never gave permission for their remains to be displayed. According to the Anatomical Board, such authorization is required by Florida law. The Tampa exhibit uses unclaimed and unidentified cadavers from China.

"I just personally don't think that's an appropriate use of dead human bodies," said one board member, Phillip Waggoner.

"Their decision is an opinion. There is no law that we understand that governs what it is that we're doing," said Dr. Roy Glover, spokesman for Premiere Exhibitions, which organized the show.

Glover spent 36 years teaching anatomy at the University of Michigan's Medical School before signing on with this exhibit. He attended the Anatomical Board meeting on Wednesday and was surprsied that a group that typically governs medical schools would weigh in on a public exhibit, saying this would be a "stretch" of their authority.

"They knew that that information was not available because these were unclaimed bodies but they had come through the system in China in all the legal ways," Glover said. "They get used by medical schools to learn and to teach and so that's what we're doing -- we're just using them in a public environment."

The museum decided to open the exhibit two days ahead of schedule so that the public could see for themselves and has not yet faced legal action from the Anatomical Board.

Displays Gain Popularity Worldwide

Whether it's considered educational, fascinating or simply ghoulish, these exhibits are generating a global following. Spectators can see three-dimensional figures showing details of human tissue, from intricate webs of blood vessels to the structure of tiny muscles and bone tissue under the skin.

The Florida exhibit was previously shown in England and Korea, and is now debuting in the United States. Cleveland, Chicago and San Francisco are currently hosting these kinds of displays from differing promoters after Los Angeles became the first American venue for the tour last year.

The Cleveland and Chicago shows are run by "Body Worlds," an organization headed by Dr. Gunther von Hagens, the German researcher who first devised the plastinization method of replacing body water and fats with polymers. Since its premiere in Japan in 1995, "Body Worlds" has visited 19 cities including Vienna, Austria; Berlin; London; and Taipei, Taiwan; before arriving in California.

Supporters of the exhibitions say the somber, carefully arranged displays are an unparalleled educational tool, but the Florida exhibit isn't the only such show to run afoul of lawmakers.

In response to a similar exhibit, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance on Tuesday to "prohibit the display of human remains without appropriate written authorization from the deceased or the deceased's next of kin."

The San Francisco exhibit, "The Universe Within, The Human Body Revealed," has been on display at the Nob Hill Masonic Center for nearly six months, with adults and children lining up for a glimpse at 20 human specimens from China. The ordinance faces review, and is unlikely to be put into effect until after the show closes early next month.

"Both in our local jurisdiction and in the state laws that are present, there's no provision for using human remains for display for commercial purposes," said San Francisco's chief medical examiner, Dr. Amy Hart.

Alan Casalou, the Masonic Center's chief operating officer, said the exhibit benefits the Chinese Society for Anatomical Sciences. The show is a portion of its permanent collection, which is housed at the Museum of Human Anatomy in Beijing.

He sees the legal dispute as a natural response to the unique display. "The bottom line is this is new, so there are going to be questions and this is one way that they're worked through," said Casalou.

Looking Inside a Real Lung

The legal issues may be muddy, he says, but the educational benefit is clear.

Casalou said he's heard children vow never to smoke after comparing the lungs of a smoker and a non-smoker displayed in the San Francisco Body Works show.

They also learn more about their own body. "Kids can understand why it hurts to hit your funny bone because you see the nerve," said Casalou.

And that presentation is more compelling than teaching anatomy by using prepared models, according to Glover. "You really need the body because it's real and it's not some artists' idea of what it should be," said Glover.

"We can see the work that God has put into the body, so maybe it's a good thing," said Monsignor Laurence Higgins, a board member at Tampa's Museum of Science and Industry.

"When you see children come to the exhibit with their parents, they're not afraid of them," said Casalou. "There's sort of an awe or reverence or respect that you see among the people who come to the exhibit."

ABC Affiliates KGO-TV in San Francisco and WFTS Action News in Tampa, Fla., contributed to this report.