Plastination's fascination

LEARNING TOOL: Beyond its shock value, plastination, invented by Prof Gunther von Hagens, is valuable in teaching medical students about anatomy and bodily functions.

PLASTINATION – the technique of preserving body parts indefinitely by removing fluids and impregnating them with silicone rubber – has received a lot of bad press since its invention in 1978 by Dr Gunther von Hagens, a medical doctor from the former communist East Germany.