AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF RESEARCHERS AND EDUCATORS Renew today! ANATOMISTS FOCUSING ON ANATOMICAL FORM AND FUNCTION Newswww.anatomy.org VOLUME 18, NUMBER 1, MARCH 2009 IN THIS ISSUE President’s letter...2 Basmajian, YAPA winner...3 Human body exhibits: A guide to Postdoc fellowships given...4 Education research award...5 Members in the news...6 understanding the differences Outreach Grant report...9 by Ann Zumwalt Anatomy book shelf...10 Public policy...11 e have all seen the advertisements – on billboards primary distinction seems to Melissa Kraft joins AAA...17 and buses, in newspapers and magazines. The be the degree of transparency AAA in China...17 ads publicize “body exhibits” in which elaborate in the process by which the W Animals in research...18 and often beautiful dissections of human cadavers are companies obtain and prepare Report from AAMC...18 displayed for the paying public. These exhibits stir mixed the specimens on display. News & notes...20 reactions, eliciting in some awe and appreciation for the The two biggest exhibitions beauty and complexity of the human body, and in others are the Body Worlds series and Why publish in DD?...20 shock and even repugnance at the use of real human cadavers. Premier Exhibitions’ Bodies… Visible Human sculpture...22 Controversy aside, these exhibits have been wildly successful The Exhibition. A third display, In memoriam...25 since the first one opened in Japan in 1995, and they Our Body: The Universe Within, AAA in Wikipedia...26 continue to be extremely popular in cities across the globe. is also showing in a smaller Hotlinks...27 For most laypeople, these anatomy exhibits are the most number of cities in the U.S. RFAs & RFPs...29 tangible experience of gross anatomy they will ever have. The Body Worlds series includes AAA Annual Meeting...32 Our friends, families, and students attend the exhibits and the original Body Worlds, Body are introduced to anatomy as most have never had the Worlds 2 & The Brain, Body Worlds 3 & The Story of the opportunity before. As anatomists, we are often consulted Heart, and Body Worlds and the Mirror of Time. The Body by members of our community to discuss, interpret, and Worlds exhibits are produced by Gunter von Hagens, occasionally even act as guides through these exhibits. the inventor of the method of plastination that is used Because of this, it is important that we fully understand to prepare and preserve the bodies in all of these exhibits. the differences among these exhibits so that we are fully Premier Exhibitions produces Bodies… The Exhibition and informed in our conversations about them. Bodies Revealed, as well as a number of other non-anatomy Currently there are at least three different companies exhibits (e.g., Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition and Star Trek: The staging body exhibits in cities across the United States, with Exhibition). still more exhibiting in other countries. The exhibits have Most observers of these exhibits want to be reassured similar names and display similar full-body preparations in that the bodies were obtained in a reputable manner. their advertisements, leading many to mistakenly believe Because of this, a controversy that follows all of these they are all different versions of the same exhibit. The exhibits is the question of source and consent. First, can stated purpose of all of these exhibits is to educate the the source of each body be documented? Second, did the visitor about the beauty and complexity of the internal individuals on display consent to having their bodies used structure of the human body and, though they use different for purposes of anatomical education and/or display? Both themes and approaches, all of the exhibits seem to succeed of these questions stem ultimately from the human concern in this goal. Arguably, all of the exhibits are equally that the dead not be violated or exploited by the living. commendable as educational, awe inspiring, and unusual The major difference between the various exhibition experiences. Yet although the presentations themselves are companies is the degree to which they address these very similar, they are staged by different companies whose concerns. Currently, the only company that claims to be
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Human body continued from page 1 able to fully document the source of each body used in their exhibits is von Hagens’ Institute for Plastination (IfP), Members which provides the bodies used in the Body Worlds exhibits. in the The other companies make no such assertion. Lack of News such documentation, though not evidence of disreputable practice, leaves those companies open to suspicion. Isha Jain named as “Best Brain” Body Worlds by Discover magazine Body Worlds uses cadavers from von Hagens’ private body The December 2008 special issue of Discover magazine donation program, which was established in 1982 and on the “50 Best Brains in currently has a donor list of approximately 9,000 Science” identifies Isha individuals, with at least 546 deceased and accepted by the Jain as one of “5 Under IfP. The IfP categorically states the following: 20.” Jain, now a With the exception of a small number of specimens in freshman at Harvard, the Body Worlds exhibitions (specifically organs, body made nationwide parts, and foetuses) that were acquired from established headlines in December morphological institutes such as anatomy and pathology 2007 when she took first programmes, and historical anatomical collections, all of individual prize in the Kathy Iovine & Isha Jain the specimens in Body Worlds are donated bodies, willed Siemens Competition in by donors, for the express purpose of serving Body Math, Science and Technology for her work on zebrafish Worlds’ mission to educate the public about health and development, published in Developmental Dynamics anatomy. (www.BodyWorlds.com/en/media/releases_ (Vol. 236:9, 2668-2674). A podcast featuring an statements/releases_statements_2008.html?edit) interview with Jain and her mentor, Kathy Iovine, is available at
In addition to his body donation program, von Hagens the bodies and parts being displayed were not, or did not accepts bodies from other sources to prepare for academic belong to, Chinese prisoners who may have been victims of study. In the past, he has been accused of accepting torture and execution.” Currently, such a statement appears and storing bodies from questionable sources. In 2004, on a link from the website for the New York exhibit (www. the German magazine Der Spiegel accused von Hagens prxi.com/nycrefunds/). of accepting the bodies of executed Chinese prisoners. On the main website for Bodies… The Exhibition, Ultimately, von Hagens acknowledged that he could not Premier makes no claim to be able to document the prove that the bodies in question, which he had accepted source of each individual in its exhibits. The only related from Chinese officials but says he never intended for display, information on the Bodies… The Exhibition website is: had not been executed. The bodies were returned to China All of the bodies were obtained through the Dalian for burial. Since then, von Hagens says he has stopped Medical University Plastination Laboratories in the using any Chinese bodies in his exhibits and has converted People’s Republic of China. Asia possesses the largest his Chinese plastination site (one of a number around the and most highly competent group of dissectors in the world) to one that prepares only animal specimens. world, and they are highly skilled in preparing the Premier Exhibitions bodies for educational and scientific purposes. Currently, human specimens in medical schools in China, the The other major body exhibition company is Premier United States and other countries throughout the world Exhibitions, which produces the highly publicized Bodies… are donated or unidentified bodies. The Exhibition and also Bodies Revealed. In early 2008, an (www.bodiestheexhibition.com/bodies.html; FAQ #8) ABC News investigation into the purported black market trade [Author’s note: Unidentified bodies are infrequently, if of human bodies in China drew attention to Premier’s ever, used for teaching in United States medical schools.] connection to a Chinese plastination company (http:// abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=4296982&page=1). At the Premier’s inability to document the identity or cause of time, Premier insisted that it obtained its bodies from China’s death of any of its cadavers does not necessarily mean that Dalian Medical University Plastination Laboratory, but the the bodies they display were obtained through questionable university denied any relationship with Premier Exhbitions. channels. It simply means that Premier is not able to ABC News claimed that Premier actually obtained its bodies identify the source of the bodies, and is therefore not able to from a private company, Dalian Medi-Uni Plastination Co., demonstrate consent on the part of the individuals. Ltd., and raised suspicion that the Chinese company was Premiere is not the only company that lacks such purchasing the bodies of executed prisoners. documentation. The website for Our Body: The Universe The controversy led to an investigation by the New Within states: “All of the anatomical specimens contained York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. The investigation in Our Body: The Universe Within originate from China and ended in a settlement with Premier, which stated: have been provided for the exhibit consistent with the laws of China ... While we do not have the specific identity of Advocacy groups and media reports have alleged that each anatomical specimen, they have been donated through some of the bodies on exhibit were Chinese prisoners who medical schools and other research facilities in China to were executed. Although Premier previously maintained promote education, science and medical research of the that the allegations were without basis, an investigation by human body.” (www.ourbodytheuniversewithin.com) Attorney General Cuomo showed that the company was As anatomists, many of us view these exhibits with unable to demonstrate the cause of death or the origin of admiration for the quality of the dissections and appreciation the decedents… Despite repeated denials, we now know for the fact that they inspire laypeople to learn about that Premier itself cannot demonstrate the circumstances anatomy. Equally important is the understanding that the that led to the death of the individuals. Nor is Premier origins of the displayed bodies are not always clear. We may able to establish that these people consented to their be asked by laypeople about these exhibits and perhaps about remains being used in this manner. (Cuomo Settlement the origins of the cadavers used in them. Certainly, many Statement, May 29, 2008; www.oag.state.ny.us/media_ non-anatomists will not know or understand that the exhibits center/2008/may/may29a_08.html) represent different companies with different procurement As a result of this settlement, before displaying a body practices. This article is intended to educate the anatomy in New York, Premier must document the source of each community about these exhibits so that we can respond in an body and body part, the cause of death, and the decedent’s informed and knowledgeable manner. consent to the use of his or her body. If they continue to Ann Zumwalt, Assistant Professor, display specimens obtained before the settlement, they Dept. of Anatomy and Neurobiology, must clearly state that they are “not able to confirm that Boston University School of Medicine
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