Monday, September 5, 2011

WDM, IA - Whose Body Is It?

We began the day at the doctor’s office for Gary’s annual exam. Pretty healthy but the doctor asked him if he was trying to lose weight since he was 4 pounds lighter than last year. Looks like I need to feed him more. Meanwhile I asked to be scheduled for a colonoscopy. I had asked for this in July when I had my annual physical but had never been called back. So I asked again to be scheduled. (A colonoscopy? What am I thinking? Maybe I should have my head examined also.) Gary’s thinking I can get it done in Mexico when we visit Yuma, AZ again this winter. I’m thinking not.

Next we headed over to view a water bed frame advertised for sale on Craig’s list. I had e-mailed the seller and he e-mailed me back this morning saying it was outside his house for viewing and, if I wanted it, I could take it and put the money in the mailbox. Well, you have to know the rain was heavy today. I asked him if he had it covered. He never e-mailed me back and we knew why when we saw the bed. Here it is, in all its warped beauty. Does he really think he can sell this? Maybe for kindling - when it dries out.

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Luckily, the day gets better.

We went to the Science Center in downtown Des Moines to see an exhibit called the Body Worlds Vital. I’m sure many of you have heard of this exhibit as we have since it has traveled throughout the world. I was squeamish and reluctant to attend, not wanting to see organs, muscles and blood vessels from real human beings. However, I had heard that it was exceptionally good and, not wanting to waste this opportunity, we went. 32,000,000 worldwide have seen this exhibit and Gary and I added our numbers to this.

It was fascinating, not repulsive at all and I would urge anyone to go see it. Firstly the exhibit relies upon individual donors who have donated their bodies willingly for science, medicine and exhibits like these. Secondly, it is an amazing learning experience. When I was young, we used to flip through the plasticine pages in the encyclopedia section on the body and see how each section of the body was layered in. However, this was a two-dimensional view. This exhibit is a three dimensional view and it is so much easier to see how everything is related and fits together to make a human being ‘work.’ Finally, it is a paean to the amazing human body and an impetus to take good care of this gift we all have. (Excuse me while I do some more sit-ups before I finish this blog posting.)

The process by which their bodies are prepared for viewing is called plastination. I know I don’t understand every nuance of this process but suffice it to say that everything in the body, the organs, the skin, the skeleton, the blood vessels, the brain, etc are all encased in clear plastic, arranged into the position desired and then hardened. There - science made easy. It might have taken years to develope this process (actually developed by Gunther von Hagens in 1977) but I’ve got it down to about one short sentence. The process takes from 1 - 3 years to get the body plasticized and into position depending upon how elaborate it is. One exhibit, a rider astride a horse, took 3 years.

Most bodies which have been plasticized were healthy and at the top of their form however, there were also plasticized diseased bodies to show how disease can affect the various organs. Bodies with lung cancer, obesity, osteoporosis, alzheimers, and lungs assualted by smoking were used to compare with healthy bodies. Quite frankly, you walk out of the exhibit not only in awe at the complexity of the human body but also vowing to take better care of your own. You can actually walk all around the exhibits to see all sides of the muscles, the skeleton, the organs, etc. Some were enclosed in clear plastic cases but most were not.

I have no pictures of what we saw since we were asked to take no pictures. I’m not sure why since there are scads (another scientific term) of pictures out on the internet that obviously someone took, but, you know me, I obey the rules. The exhibit began with the basic skeletal framework, then added muscles and tendons which overlap like basketry, then organs, then blood vessels. There were about 12 - 15 human forms, one a runner, one an archer with a bow, another a cowboy with a lariat, two flamenco dancers, two ballet dancers with the man holding the woman above his head, and many others.

It was a large complete exhibit. Several times we thought it was over but we entered another room and the wonders continued.

Is it obvious that I think all of you should see this exhibit if you can? I am sometimes squeamish but, if I can see it, you can too.

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