Director defends human bodies exhibit

The educational value of a controversial exhibition featuring dead people whose personal origins are unknown outweighs concerns about the derivation of the bodies, according to its educational director.

Cheryl Muré, speaking in advance of the opening of the "Human Body Exhibition" on Thursday, said people “should follow their own beliefs” when considering whether to visit it. She had no qualms about possible ethical issues.

“I do not. All the bodies have been legally donated, and the education value of this exhibition is totally undeniable. That is what speaks to me.”

The exhibition opens in Dublin on Thursday and will travel around Europe later in the year.

Featuring dramatic, detailed exhibits of full bodies, their flesh peeled back and muscles separated out from the bone to show internal organs, the spinal column, nerves and various systems, it is in turn breathtaking, fearsome and quite beautiful. The level of anatomical detail retained in the "plastination" process is undeniably impressive.

Questions have, however, been raised about how freely the bodies were donated, and the lack of knowledge about the individuals involved.

Ms Muré says all bodies were provided to the Hoffen biotechnique laboratory at the Medical University of Dalian in north-east China by the city morgue.

In a statement, provided to HK Exhibitions, the Florida-based company running the exhibition, Dr Hong Jin Sui, Professor of anatomy at the university said the department “only accepts specimens that have been legally donated, are free of infectious disease and certified to have died of natural causes”.

All fluids were removed from the bodies and a silicon polymer injected that "plastinated" them.

As well as full human bodies - some of which have been sawn their full length into into three and five slices, revealing the internal make-up of organs and bones - there are full male and female reproductive systems from the outside in, digestive systems and respiratory systems with healthy smooth, pale grey lungs shown alongside cancerous, black scarred lungs.

A section showing the capillaries and veins of the circulatory system is, in Ms Muré’s words, “quite beautiful, like works of art”.

“The mission is to show the complexity and beauty of our bodies. It’s something that students in anatomy departments have been able to view for centuries. The idea is to bring that to the public,” said Ms Muré.