Plastination: Through ages

Plastination, the technique of preserving the biological tissue or whole body in its life-like state for long term, was developed in 1977 by Gunther Von Hagen. The idea was to utilize the available cadavers or samples in the best possible way to provide students of science with hands-on training into the wonders of life. The preserved tissue and body of humans and animals were also exhibited in galleries to educate the people on the workings of body tissues and organs. Even though, in early ages, the practise was viewed with serious ethical issues, the wonders of human body stated to fascinate humans and people stated donating their bodies to be platinized after their death and to be used for educational purposes. This article discusses on the basic principles and techniques of plastination and how plastination has evolved along with science. It discusses on the different synthetic polymers used as the impregnation media and the different procedures that have been developed from the basic technique. The idea is to create a dry and easy to work with specimen of a biological tissue that can do justice to the intricate and mesmerizing structure of a living tissue.