Body Worlds (German title: Körperwelten) is a travelling exhibition of conserved human bodies and body parts, prepared with a technique called plastination to reveal inner organs or structures. Its developer and promoter is German anatomist Gunther von Hagens, who invented the plastination technique. The exhibition has been shown in many cities in Europe and Asia; its web site claims that more than 12 million people have seen Body Worlds between 1996 and 2003.
One of the self-declared goals of the exhibition is the education of laymen about the human body, leading to better health awareness. Several full body specimen show the nervous system, the system of blood vessels, the muscles, and the inner organs. One exhibit compares the lungs of a smoker and a non-smoker. Prosthetics such as artificial hip joints or heart valves are shown embedded in real bodies. Human fetuses in various stages of development are also shown. All exhibits are accompanied with detailed descriptions.
The shows have been surrounded by controversy mainly because von Hagens prepared some "artistic" exhibits, such as a man carrying his own skin (based on a 16th century drawing by Gaspar Becerra), a man on a horse holding his brain in his hand, or a man kneeling in prayer, holding his heart in his hands. These are often seen as denigrating the deceased. Some religious groups object to any public exhibition of human corpses. Others accuse von Hagens of sensationalism. Supporters counter that all displayed people did sign over their bodies to von Hagens.
Van Hagens maintains strict copyright control over pictures of his exhibits. Visitors are not allowed to take pictures, and press photographers have to sign agreements permitting only one publication in a strictly defined context, followed by return of the copyright to van Hagens. Because of this, a German press organization has suggested that the press refrain from reporting about the exhibition altogether.
In 2002, during the exhibition in London, von Hagens performed a public dissection of a body, purportedly for educational purposes. This was the first public dissection in the United Kingdom for over 170 years. It appears that with his public dissection von Hagens committed a criminal act, but the authorities did not prevent his action, and have so far (24th November, 2002) not taken legal action against him. A planned public dissection in Munich was cancelled.
In 2003, officials of Munich tried to prohibit the exhibition there, arguing that it violate human dignity and laws regulating burials. Von Hagens appealed and managed to obtain a temporary injunction allowing the exhibition but requiring that the artistic exhibits mentioned above be covered.
The exhibition in Hamburg in 2003 took place in the rooms of an erotic art museum on the Reeperbahn. Initial objections of a local official to the artistic exhibits were overruled by officials of the Hamburg Senate.
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