N o v e m b e r 3 0 , 2011
^nrtlanb (Obstruer
P age 13
Giving Life to Anatomy
continued
fro m page 9
Encased in other glass boxes are
internal human specimens from head
to toe: ankle, knee, and thigh bones;
elbow, shoulder, and hip joints and
other ball-and-sockets; an infants’
skull, an adult vertebral column, tho­
racic organs, stomach, and an open
heart.
After peering through the glass
at a human spine, a father patted his
son on the back and said, “See,
yours is small because you're a kid,
but when you’re an adult, it will be
that size.” Next to the large double
S-shaped spinal column is a gnarled
vertebrae twisted and deformed by
disease.
Many of the pieces emphasize
the effects of disease and stress on
the body and brain. For example,
healthy lungs, white and speckled,
were placed next to those blackened
by years of smoking and the charred
lungs of a coal miner.
Shrunken livers, artificial hips,
mammory glands with breast can­
cer, kidneys wrought with tumors,
arthritic and prosthetic knees, and
an enlarged heart are among health­
informing specimens.
“This is what I’ll end up having,”
said a woman pointing to a knee of
stainless steel to her kids. “One of
those metal things replacing my
knee.”
Like the transparent sliver of a
gemstone, thin slices of body parts
illuminate human skin, muscle, bone,
and everything in between in an­
other specimen. One long slice of a
300-pound man exposes the thick
fatty layer of tissue attributed to
severe obesity.
PHOTO BY C a RI HACHMANN/THE PORTLAND OBSERVER
O f the entirely preserved and
An OMSI visitor takes in Body Worlds and the Brain, an exhibit
erect human cadavers, there is a
that shows the anatomy o f the human body, both in its resilience
swinging baseball batter, a juggling and fragility.
soccer player, a back-bending yoga
lady, an upside-down trick skate­ situated according to their profes­ angles and reveal deeper truths about
boarder, a head-first diver, a pair of sion, portrayed all muscles neces­ the physical human body.
figure-skaters, an acrobatic ringman, sary to perform the movements of
Most shockingly displayed is the
and the orthopedic body fitted with their unique stunts, often with sec­ drawer man, a giant of a person
artificial corrections.
tions of the body removed or flayed standing vertically with chunks of
Each figure, naked-of-skin and open behind mirrors to offer new his body pulled outward like draw-
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ers to unveil his organs inside. The
X-lady looks like she could be a
freak leader of an alien invasion with
her crossed legs and m uscles
splayed open from cheek to shin.
Other displays incl ude our mam­
mal counterparts, like the tallest
animal in the world - a giraffe—
which stands ceiling high with its
22- pound heart and seven-vertebra
neck, equal to that of a human neck.
There’s a luminescent red light
illuming the blood vessel configu­
ration of a rooster and a small lamb,
and body slices of an alligator and
other creatures.
Upon exiting the easily two-
hours spent inside the exhibit, which
drew over400,000 people during its
first 2007 opening in Portland, visi­
tors are encouraged to sign a guest
book.
One lady thanks the body do­
nors responsible for Body W orld
and the B rain’s existence.
“I am very thankful to those
who donated parts o f them selves
to make it possible,” she wrote.
And to the e x h ib its’ creators,
“Thank you for investing all the
time and effort it took to put it
together— it was worth it.
Another guest appreciated the
wealth of health information.
“I will continue to eat healthier
and spend time taking care of my
body,” she said.
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