Preservation of human tissue by plastination: An anatomical perspective

The necessity of preserving human tissue has increased over the years because of various reasons. Preserved tissues play a crucial part in the teaching and research of anatomy. This review paper has compiled the basic techniques of human tissue plastination from the anatomical perspective and its advantages over typical methods. One of the most effective techniques we used to preserve human tissue is plastination. It was developed by German anatomist Dr. Gunther Von Hagens. After him, many improvements are made to get maximum results. Because of this technique's advancement, we can see an accurate 3-D sample of human tissue, which is anatomically correct and looks almost real. There are essential procedures for all types of plastination like fixation, dehydration, defatting, force impregnation, positioning, and hardening. Silicone, epoxy, and polyester are primarily used as the polymer. Acetone is used for dehydration. Removal of fat is crucial for tissue preservation by plastination. Plastinated specimens are used in laboratories for teaching anatomy, in research institutes for morphological studies, and also in forensic to solve crimes. After analyzing several research articles, it was concluded that plastination has much more advantages than other human tissue preservation techniques for anatomical usages.

Lições de anatomia

As duas pinturas de Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) nas quais o artista holandês retrata lições de anatomia em 1632 e 1656 revelam limitações que a leitura de uma obra de arte pode impor ao olhar contemporâneo se nos ativermos apenas ao universo de nossa subjetividade, ignorando o panorama histórico no qual tais representações foram criadas. A partir dessa constatação aparentemente óbvia, o presente trabalho pretende apontar os parâmetros clássicos que determinaram a longa tradição das práticas anatômicas e alguns de seus desdobramentos contemporâneos, com especial enfoque nos trabalhos do polêmico artista, ou seria melhor dizer, médico e anatomista alemão Gunther Von Hagens. Como no Atlas Mnemosyne, de Aby Warburg, a associação de imagens estrutura o eixo das reflexões.

Características anatômicas do ser humano nos diferentes períodos da expressão artística

Esse trabalho foi caracterizado por ser um projeto de cultura e extensão universitária visando expandir os conhecimentos da Universidade de São Paulo para a comunidade. De forma educativa e expositiva, objetivou-se correlacionar aspectos sobre a anatomia e arte, mostrando a importância histórica, desde a época pré-histórica até os dias atuais. O trabalho foi realizado com alunos do Ensino Médio em escolas estaduais do estado de São Paulo, sendo atingidos 210 alunos no total. Os alunos participaram de apresentações que mostravam obras artísticas correlacionadas com peças anatômicas. Observou-se que os resultados condisseram com a realidade da educação brasileira, em que 150 alunos, (74%) não dedicavam nenhum tempo fora da escola para o estudo da arte. Constatou-se que os alunos tinham informações sobre o tema (114 alunos, 56%), as quais obtiveram pela internet e nas aulas de artes, demonstrando uma evolução no modo de comunicação e obtenção de informações. Concluiu-se que os alunos se sentiram gratificados pela apresentação, o que foi observado pela análise qualitativa realizada com o instrumento de avaliação.Descritores: Anatomia; Arte; Ensino Fundamental e Médio.ReferênciasAzevedo Junior J. Apostila de Arte – Artes Visuais. São Luís: Imagética Comunicação e Design; 2007.Isaacsson W. Livro Leonardo da Vinci. São Paulo: Intrínseca; 2017.Baumgart TF. Breve História da Arte. São Paulo: Martins Fontes; 1999.Haag C. Entre a cátedra e o ateliê. Agosto 2012. Disponível em http://revistapesquisa.fapesp.br/2012/08/10/entre-a-c%C3%A1tedra-e-o-ateli%C3%AA/>. Acesso em 12 de fevereiro de 2019.Nascimento MEPA. Pedagogia Freinet: Natureza, Educação e Sociedade. Campinas, SP: Editora da Unicamp; 1995.Infantosi AFC, Klemt A. Visualização 3D da dissecção crânio: a surfasse method for visualising the 3d dissection of the human skull. Rev Bras Eng Bioméd. 2000;16(1):27-37.Barbosa AM. Teoria e prática da educação artística. São Paulo: Cultrix; 1975Fraher JP; Evans DJ. Training tomorrow’s anatomists today:a partnership approach. Anat Sci Educ. 2009;2(3):119-25.Adro CO. Anatomia comparada da articulação temporomandibular [dissertação]. Lisboa: Faculdade de Belas Artes, Universidade de Lisboa; 2011.Rebollo RA. “De humani corporis circus” de Gunther von Hagens. Scientiæ zudia. 2003;1(1):101-7.

Plastynacja – sztuka, piękno, prowokacja, patologia?

This text is about so called plastination and is divided into seven parts:introduction, defnition, idea and goal of plastination, technique of plastination, exhibitions of plastinates, body donation after death in goal of exhibitions, plastination – art, beauty, provocation, pathology and resume. Plastination is a technique or process used in anatomy to preserve bodies or bodyparts, frst developed by Günther von Hagens in 1977. The water and fat arereplaced by certain plastics, yielding specimens that can be touched, do notsmell or decay, and even retain most properties of the original sample.

Plastination technology for anatomical studies in Nigeria: Opinion of teachers at medical institutions

Dr. Gunther von Hagens developed plastination as a technique of tissue preservation in 1977. He used a delicate method of forced impregnation with curable polymers like silicone, epoxy or polyester resins for preservation of anatomical specimens. With plastination, every part of a biological tissue is treated, preserving it for educational purposes. Hence, there are vast applications in the medical field. We set out to survey the knowledge and opinion of lecturers of anatomy about plastinated specimen use in medical schools through the administration of questionnaires to respondents who participated at the Society of Experimental and Clinical Anatomists of Nigeria (SECAN) conference in 2011. It was found that 50.0% and 23.75% of respondents respectively, had their masters and doctorate degrees in Anatomy. Less than 8.0% utilised plastination as a tool for teaching as against 40% (plastic models), 36.25% (cadavers) and 15.0% (pathology pots). Conventional methods such as fixation by immersion (15.0%) and embalming (52.5%) with formaldehyde were commonly used for long term preservation of tissues in their various institutions. These methods were found to be less costly (25.0%), easy to use (56.25%) and the only method (12.25%) available, even though they posed some health hazards (96.0%). Whilst only 6.25% of the respondents did not know anything about plastination, 93.75% were aware of it. The advocacy for preservation of tissues by plastination has been gradual in developed countries. We recommend the use of plastinates in medical schools in Nigeria.