Bodies in Plastic

CERC ^ | 11.01.06 | Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D.

[bvw]

Correction: "plastic models do not fulfill the voyeuristic impulse many A FEW here have already shown."

[Jotmo]

As for making these totally out of plastic instead of actual human bodies, NO ONE would go see it if it weren't from humans. That's the gimmick.

Exactly. It's the ghoulish nature of the display that is the attraction. But many people will deny it to prevent admitting to them selves that there is something in them that is fascinated by the sick and twisted.

[Cicero]

I hate to say it, but I think this "Catholic" bioethics group is, whatever its protestations, NOT CATHOLIC.

Respect for the person has always involved respect for the body. Consent of the individual concerned or of his family simply isn't sufficient to make this right.

If a person or a family is too stupid or out of touch to understand that, it still doesn't make it right. You'd might as well say that assisted suicide is fine, as long as you have proper consent. Well, it isn't fine; and neither is this.

[Ferndina]

I was in Orlando Florida this week, Dec. 5th thru the 9th, and I saw a brochure stating the exhibit was in Orlando.

[wideminded]

I saw one of these exhibitions today. Apparently there are multiple shows touring the country. The one I saw is called "Bodies ... The Exhibition". Anyone who says that it is sick or ghoulish or a symptom of the decline of civilization has not seen it. Although the complete bodies attract all the outside attention many of the exhibits are devoted to individual parts or systems of the body such as the nerves, circulatory system, muscles and tendons, etc. Most of the complete bodies have been dissected in a way that clarifies certain particular systems or how different parts of the body are arranged in relation to one another. The exhibition was generally very well organized.

As far as the idea that the exhibits could have just been made out of plastic, this does not make any sense. They are far too detailed for this to have been possible. You have to see the exhibits or know a lot about anatomy to understand why this is so. On the other hand the preservation process pretty much removes any "ickiness factor", so I sometimes had to remind myself that these had been real people.

As far as the subjects whose bodies are on display, I do not feel that the exhibit is disrespectful to them. I think many people would like the idea of being of such service to others even after their death. They are anonymous, at least to the viewer, but that is as it should be.

I found the exhibition to be incredibly interesting and wish that I had had more time to go it through more thoroughly. Most people will probably come away with a far better understanding of the human body than they have gained in their entire life. I would recommend the exhibition for anyone except very young children.

[Wormwood]

But many people will deny it to prevent admitting to them selves that there is something in them that is fascinated by the sick and twisted.

My wife and I saw the Bodies exhibition in Tampa twice.

Very interesting, and morbidly fascinating (but then again, I've always thought the human body was a thing of sublime beauty)

[aligncare]

As far as the idea that the exhibits could have just been made out of plastic, this does not make any sense...

I went to medical school and know that molds are cast from human systems as incredibly intricate as the nervous system. Many books have been published detailing this. One is a pictorial called, "The Nervous System".

[Aquinasfan]

Call me old fashioned but I think it is sick.

You're not "old-fashioned." This is timelessly sick --make that evil. It's a satanic denigration of the human person.

[wideminded]

I went to medical school and know that molds are cast from human systems as incredibly intricate as the nervous system.

When you have a complete body you can see how various systems relate to each other. For instance there were exhibits that simultaneously showed how the deepest layers of muscle are attached on the back, the complex arrangement of tendons around the hands and feet, and how the spinal cord is arranged inside the spine. Or dissections that showed all the structures inside the neck and what they are attached to. All these multiple layers that are attached in various ways indicate to me that any artificially constructed model is going to be missing a lot.

One of the more interesting exhibits I saw was the entire human nervous system, including the brain, laid out on a table. They also had the entire digestive system. I suppose these could have been cast in plastic without missing too much. But each individual system probably has to be cast in a different way.

When you studied anatomy in medical school, did you dissect a plastic human body?

I took a course in neuroanatomy where we examined and dissected real human brains. It would not have been the same thing if we were just looking at plastic models. For one thing, not every brain is the same.

[wideminded]

This is timelessly sick --make that evil. It's a satanic denigration of the human person.

1. Would you want to go to a doctor who had never seen the inside of the human body?

2. Do you feel that anatomical knowledge should be restricted to doctors?

3. Don't Catholics believe that the "human person" is different from the human body?

[dvan]

The Nazis made lampshades from human skin. Now we have a new art form emerging don't we? Perhpas the other parts can be recycled into useful articles. /end sarcasm.

[wideminded]

4. What about all those body parts of saints that are on display?

[wideminded]

The Nazis made lampshades from human skin. Now we have a new art form emerging don't we?

If this were an exhibit of skin lampshades, you would have a point. The exhibition I saw was entirely focused on illustrating the inner working of the human body.

[aligncare]

That maybe the difference in our interpretation of the purpose of the exhibit. The training of doctors and neuroanatomists is different from educating the public at large.

BTW...I have no moral objection to the exhibit. Some folks do, however, for religious or other reasons. Some consideration should be given them. That's all I would add.

[Aquinasfan]

4. What about all those body parts of saints that are on display?

The bodies of the saints are treated with the reverence due them, in sharp contrast to these circus freak shows.

See how the Church reverences the body of St. Bernadette of Lourdes.

Note that the Church doesn't charge admission to see her sliced in half and propped up on horseback.

[ican'tbelieveit]

I went twice. Once with work, and took my kids back a few weeks later.

It really depends on the person. Wideminded makes an excellent point about the medical profession not having access to bodies before practicing.

I loved the displays, and not for voyeuristic or ghoulish reasons. When my boss was interested in what part of his knees were giving out, he could see it, see how it interacted with all other parts of his body by its connections. Some of my favorite parts were the circulatory system (around the lungs, wow) and the lungs of smokers and miners.

[wideminded]

When my boss was interested in what part of his knees were giving out, he could see it, see how it interacted with all other parts of his body by its connections.

Funny you should mention that. I have had knee problems in the past so I also paid attention to the various knee displays at the exhibit. I felt that they gave me a better understanding of the knee than all the diagrams and plastic models I had previously seen.

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

"a man has been peeled down to his musculature, and he carries his skin on his arm like an old raincoat"

Nah. Nothing ghoulish or tawdry about that...

There's a Vesalius engraving from the 16th Century that shows basically the same thing. I can't find that one right now, but here's another:

[wideminded]

See how the Church reverences the body of St. Bernadette of Lourdes.

It's not clear that you actually read the page you linked to. It states that surgery was performed on the body of St. Bernadette to remove relics. They removed some parts of her ribs, liver and diaphragm. Also her kneecaps and pieces of muscle and skin. They were talking about removing her heart. This was all under church supervision.

The bodies of the saints are treated with the reverence due them,

It appears that over time, many of their bodies have been hacked to bits to feed the desire for relics. I myself have seen a number of these relics including the entire hand and forearm of a saint that was contained in a silver glove-shaped reliquary with a rock crystal window. All this seems somewhat morbid to me.

in sharp contrast to these circus freak shows.

The exhibit I attended was not a "circus freak show" but a highly educational illustration of the workings of the human body. Granted there were a few bodies that were posed in certain ways but even these served to illustrate certain points concerning anatomy. Perhaps I would find a body mounted on a horse to be a little over the top. They didn't have this at the show I attended. Also I don't really fault the show for using a little hype. Or for charging admission, given that preparation of the exhibits must have been extremely expensive and time consuming.

Note that the Church doesn't charge admission

No, but they do have a gift shop. Also "L'Espace Bernadette" has large meeting rooms (with Internet access), accomodation for 200 people, dining rooms seating 1000, 2 chapels, etc. Someone must have paid for all that.

BTW I had actually seen a picture of the body of St. Bernadette previously and marvelled at the amazing "incorruptible" condition it appeared to be in, the quality for which it is famous. But according to the page you linked to:

1. The body is not at all incorruptible. Even in the early 20th century there were serious signs of decay. Also the original coffin contained various preservative substances.

2. Most remarkably, the beautiful face and hands of the body of St. Bernadette are actually a wax mask created by a sculptor!

As the incorruptibility of her body was one of the factors that led to her canonization, and is what probably draws many pilgrims, there seems to be a certain element of hype here as well.

[Xenalyte]

The padre makes exactly zero new arguments. Every point he makes has been made before, and most of the time less wordily.