TAMPA – After obtaining legal documents, signing paperwork and settling debates, 20 Chinese finally made their way into the United States.
Then, they were put on display at a museum.
The Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa currently hosts the Bodies exhibit that allows visitors to get an up close and personal look at the human body – inside and out.
The exhibit, which is now open until Sept. 4, features nine galleries, each of which contains different parts of the human body, including entire human cadavers.
Separate galleries exist for each system of the body, such as the nervous and reproductive systems. A gallery that focuses on the cardiovascular system displays an entire body with only the blood vessels that make it up.
Putting human bodies on display is not a new idea. The proposal to preserve human tissue to put bodies on display originated in Europe in the 1970s and was initially meant for use in medical education, said David Conley, vice president of exhibits at MOSI.
Human bodies were then displayed in art galleries and museums beginning in the late 1990s, he said.
Scientists later developed a technique, known as a “polymer preservation process,” to keep the bodies from decomposing.
“Silicone material is impregnated into every cell in the body,” Conley said.
Through this process, every body cell and tissue is essentially turned into silicone, a very durable substance that prevents the body from falling apart for many years, he said.
Initially, the plan to import the bodies from China to put on display at MOSI spurred great debate, and Florida law could have prevented the exhibit from taking place.
Skepticism arose concerning the origin of the bodies and whether or not proper consent was given to use them for display.
MOSI finally put the bodies on display, even though the state Anatomical Board denied the museum’s request to showcase them.
Since its opening in August 2005, the Bodies exhibit has attracted attention from visitors of all ages.
“There have been over 300,000 visitors so far,” said Tyler Underhill, a MOSI employee.
John Janus, a 19-year-old student at Palm Harbor University High School, had his own opinions about the bodies.
“I thought a few of (the bodies) could be prisoners because you could see where the wounds were,” Janus said.
Janus, along with other museum visitors, was able to hold both a healthy and damaged human brain in one of the gallery rooms.
“It wasn’t unsettling, just more fascinating to me,” he said.
Nikhil Kundra, 16, had a chance to visit the museum on a school field trip with his biology class from Berkeley Preparatory School.
Kundra said the way the bodies were preserved was fascinating.
“Everything is displayed so meticulously,” he said.
Kundra also held a human heart and lung and saw the effect of smoking on the lungs, he said.
He said his favorite room was one in which several fetuses were displayed in jars, documenting the growth stages of a human fetus.
“You could really be up close to a 4-week-old fetus and see how it grows,” Kundra said.
The exhibit allows visitors a detailed view of how the human body is structured and organized, far beyond the dimensions of colored diagrams in a textbook.
“It’s totally fascinating to see the real thing and what’s really there,” said Conley.
He said he hopes visitors will gain a “sense of health and wellness” through a first-hand look at the damaging effects of drugs on the body and strive to live healthier lifestyles.
Conley said almost everyone who has seen the exhibit has left with a positive impression.
“(The exhibit) has been incredibly popular and incredibly informative,” he said.
The Museum of Science and Industry – Bodies Exhibit is open through September 4, 2006. MOSI is at 4801 East Fowler Ave. in Tampa.
