Most of us are uneducated about the inner workings of our bodies, but with some new exhibits appearing at museums around the world, that's all changing. Dr. Oz talks with Dr. Roy Glover, chief medical adviser for BODIES… the Exhibition, about what can be seen in these exhibits and why actual human bodies are used.
In these museum exhibits, actual cadavers are carefully dissected and preserved, and then posed in ways that best exemplify the way our insides work. The athletic poses are particularly popular with both adults and children, according to Dr. Glover. "[It helps them] understand the body in a dynamic way—what muscles do, how they contract, move the limbs around, how muscles fix the skeleton so other muscles can be effective," he says. "When people see the body posed that way, they have a better appreciation of what the body is able to do."
There has been some controversy about the bodies used in these exhibits, specifically the legality and ethics of how they are obtained. Dr. Glover's company is partnered with a medical school in China, which legally receives the bodies of individuals who die of natural causes but have no family to claim the body. He stresses that all proper procedures are followed to allow these bodies into the country.
Some have questioned the benefit of using human tissue versus plastic models. "We want people to see themselves in a very real and lifelike way," Dr. Glover says. "Using real bodies is the best way to explain and impress upon people how beautiful the body is, how complex it is and how important it is to take care of it."
