By Christopher Thompson

With the surge of zombie flicks pouring out of Hollywood, you might be relieved to see the Detroit Science Center’s exhibit, Our Bodies: The Universe Within, where the undead don’t try to eat human flesh. Instead, these specimens on display provide a creatively educational way to show those of us who are not scientists what it looks like underneath that skin of ours. With 135 anatomical displays of all parts of the human body, and 20 human bodies stripped of their skin and seemingly brought to life in animated poses that reveal various parts of their insides, you will see the whole inside of the human body and then some. And these aren’t fake bodies and body parts, either—they’re just as real as you or me.

Two similar traveling exhibits, “Body Worlds” and “Bodies…The Exhibition,” have stirred up some controversy over whether there was consent given to use these bodies for science. There seems to be less controversy here at the DSC as these bodies (all from China) were all donated with the consent of the individual to be used for the purposes of scientific research. And they’ve been put to good use, creating this great window into what makes us tick.

Some years ago, researchers at the University of Michigan, developed a way to preserve bodies called plastination that doesn’t produce any odor or any potentially carcinogenic toxins. In plastination, water and fat is replaced with reactive, pliable plastics that allow the body to be manipulated into different positions before hardening. The process takes anywhere from 1,200 to 1,500 hours to complete, and leaves the specimens dry and odorless.

Every part on display is from a real human, with the exception of the eyes, which would be cloudy even after plastination. The musculoskeletal system and the internal organs are the major focuses of the exhibit, and it’s impressive to see all of those organs crammed in a tiny area of the human body. The exhibit also looks at the genitalia, tendons, nerves, and arteries.

In fact, the arteries are one of the neater parts of the exhibit. To make these blood vessel specimens, the plastination process must be put to quite creative use. As with the rest of the body, the blood vessels of a specimen are filled with the plastic. The difference comes after the hardening of the plastic. Acid is then dumped over the bodies, which dissolves everything except for the plastic, leaving behind a map of the arteries, later painted bright red or green or blue. The end product quite resembles a coral reef. This plastic is pliable, but brittle, and underneath the blood vessels exhibits there are plenty of broken bits of the plastic fallen to the floor.

At the end of the major part of the exhibition is the prenatal gallery, which has displays of aborted fetuses, several of them in the third trimester of life in the womb. Despite the controversial subject matter, these are impressive to look at, though, because their translucent skin allows one to look at all of their developing insides. There is also a final, small, “part two” of the exhibition that has a familiar sight for those who have seen the Jennifer Lopez movie, The Cell, and the scene with the horse thinly sliced into numerous sections. Here, it’s not a horse, but a human that’s run through a vertical mandoline. After this final display, there’s a chance to leave clever and witty comments to share with other visitors.

This exhibit is something everybody should see. And luckily the DSC has decided to extend its run of the show, due to record breaking attendance over the last month, to September 3, 2007. Tickets are $24.95 for adults, $22.95 for seniors, and $19.95 for children. There’s also an IMAX film to watch in the Dome theatre called The Human Body. In order to see that, adults must pay an additional $3.00, and seniors and children must pay an additional $2.00.

Visit www.detroitsciencecenter.org for more information.

Chris Thompson is thedetroiter.com’s tireless, intrepid intern.