I admit it. I tend to be squeamish. I can’t watch surgery videos or bloody boxing matches. But on the other hand, I’ve always loved full color plates of the human body in textbooks and encyclopedias, especially when the drawings are divided up into body systems and have plastic overlays. I love the way these books show the average person a visual (though drawn) closeup of the organs of the body, something the non-medical student or non-EMT never gets to see.
So when I saw an ad on a taxi for The Bodies Exhibition in New York City, I took notice. My first reaction was, Wow, cool. Real bodies and body parts? I’d like to see that. So, when my birthday rolled around, and I decided to go to New York to see The Bodies, I went online and bought for my daughter and myself our dated and timed tickets.
But on the bus ride there, I had my second reaction: Wow. Real bodies and body parts? Do I really want to see that?
I mean, the exhibition is not of models and drawings of the human system. They have real bodies, organs, and systems that once were part of living human beings. Will I make it through the exhibition?
As we headed downtown to South Street Seaport where the New York version of the Exhibition is housed, I expressed my concern to my daughter, and asked her to keep an eye on me, helping me out if I start turning green.
When we got to the building, we showed our timed tickets to the guard. A big group of students were just leaving, and he asked us to wait. I wondered how many high school and college science classes came here for a field trip, a privileged look into the human body.
The guard then directed us up the escalator, which took us to the main floor of the exhibition.
At the top, the first thing we had to do upon surrendering our tickets was to read the rules: stuff like, don’t use flash photography, no food or drink, and above all, don’t touch the bodies .
Our first look was at a whole human body form, mainly revealing its muscles. Like many of the whole bodies in the museum, it was arranged into a sports pose. It had simple plastic doll’s eyes, and its hands held a ball.
I stood transfixed at what was for me a first-time wonder.
Surprisingly, I did not feel squeamish, nor did I regret paying the ticket price to come.
Instead I was awed.
I felt an immediate sense of the privilege of looking at a human body, more or less like my own, but in a view I never had seen before, and likely will never see again.
I was ready to move on, undaunted, through this adventure.
For the most part, the exhibition is organized into human systems, each getting its own room: muscular, skeletal, circulatory, endocrine, nervous, respiratory, digestive, urinary, and reproductive systems.
Sometimes we would see whole or nearly whole bodies revealing the featured system. In cases, we would often see specific organs or just a system itself without the full human frame.
It was amazing how they were able to use a new technique called Polymer Preservation which allowed the organs to be preserved without formaldehyde-filled cylinders so viewers may see a permanent specimen that will not decay. They also used a technique which allowed the organs not featured in the system of a particular room to be removed, while the featured organs or system would be remarkably and clearly revealed.
For example, I was astonished to see in a case the entire circulatory system of just the veins arteries, and capillaries completely preserved in the correct form. That was very helpful to me. I could see a specific organ or system without having to take into account the other systems or organs normally nearby. How tiny are the capillaries in our fingers or feet, for example. And we got to see them without having to see past the parts that normally surrounded that system.
So delicate, so perfectly preserved, so amazing.
Most of the organs and systems displayed were of normal, healthy character. But sometimes for educational purposes, a particular disease or infirmity would be displayed. For example, in addition to healthy lungs, there were lungs with emphysema also shown in the respiratory system room. We found it interesting that in the same room there was a plexiglass case filled a third of the way with visitors’ discarded cigarette packs. If I’d been a smoker, seeing the hard, blackened lungs nearby would have caused me to reconsider my habit.
It was fascinating to see a whole ear, and the smallest bone in the body, the ear’s stirrup. Engrossing to get a glimpse into the mysterious endocrine system. Sobering to be up close to diseases or malformations. Inspiring to discover an unborn fetus inside its mother.
Throughout the museum were knowledgeable docents, all medical students or therapists. It was helpful to be able to ask questions as we looked on some rather unfamiliar organs.
At the end of the exhibition was, of course, the museum’s gift shop, full of excellent books, such as Gray’s Anatomy , and visual aids to expand on our newly-sparked knowledge.
But the most unexpected part at the end of this fascinating journey was the opportunity to hold some real human organs specimens.
The docent manning the hands-on exhibit explained we were allowed to hold the two brains she had on her table – one normal and one with Alzheimer’s disease. She explained to us the difference, “Can you see the wider gaps here in the diseased brain?” I don’t know why I was surprised to actually see a visible difference. We also got to hold another pair of lungs marred with emphysema, not nearly has blackened as the earlier one in the respiratory system room.
In case you are wondering, I felt absolutely not squeamish as I held the specimens. On the contrary, I considered it a privilege. Remember, too, that each specimen of this type was processed by Polymer Preservation, so it felt only rubbery, not so much like a natural body organ. But the image of each was clear, and gave me insight I hadn’t had before.
For parents, this is a great opportunity for children to see the Exhibition, if you feel you can guide them through sensitively. But make sure to be prepared for the many questions they may have, especially about people of the opposite sex, because there are specimens of each there (whole bodies as well as reproductive systems).
I sincerely recommend The Bodies Exhibition to any visitor who would like to know more about the human body, and see it up close. The price tag is a little steep, compared to that of other museums. But it really is worth it to get this privileged glimpse into the inside world of the human.
For advance reserved tickets at your city’s exhibition, go to The Bodies Exhibition’s homepage.
