The anatomist who created the popular yet controversial “Body Worlds” exhibits of preserved human corpses in elaborate poses has died at age 81. Gunther von Hagens began developing his so-called plastination process in the 1970s, replacing body fluids with liquid plastic that hardens to prevent decay and leave tissues intact. The technique allowed him to stage the first “Body Worlds” show in Japan in 1995 before bringing his collection of partly skinless corpses to cities around the world. The show used corpses of people who had agreed to donate their bodies for plastination, but critics argued that von Hagens’ work was sensationalist. A statement issued by von Hagens’ family and his Institute for Plastination did not provide a cause of death, though the anatomist had said in 2010 that he was living with Parkinson’s disease. His family said he had asked that his body be made available for plastination after he died, a wish they planned to carry out.
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