Corpse display leads to 'body trail'

The display of bodies has reached Glasgow

A public exhibition featuring a dissected human body has been forced to move between venues three times in one day in Glasgow.

The corpse is part of the Body Worlds exhibition which has sparked controversy in several countries.

The bodies are preserved using a new technique called plastination, which was invented by east European scientist Professor Gunther von Hagens.

I created the exhibition to demystify human anatomy and to give everyone the opportunity to learn about how their bodies work

Professor Gunther von Hagens

He said the corpses are educational and has encouraged children to visit.

But when the display opened at Strathclyde University on Monday morning there was a difficulty with parking facilities.

Glasgow City Council's Gordon Ritchie explained: "It was organised with the Strathclyde University union.

"The exhibition was meant to be on their property and they had parked their vehicle directly opposite the births, deaths and marriage registrars."

The display then moved to George Square, in the city centre, but quickly attracted the attention of the police and was forced to move on again.

'Human anatomy'

The city's school of art intervened at this point and gave permission for the exhibition to be put on display in the students' union.

The full Body Worlds exhibition in London contains 200 anatomical specimens, 25 of which are whole human bodies.

The plastination technique drains the body of fluids before replacing them with a type of plastic which goes rigid, allowing the skinned bodies to be exhibited in life-like poses.

Professor Gunther von Hagens created the exhibition

Organisers say the exhibition has been seen by 8.5m people worldwide - including almost a million children under the age of 14.

The London exhibition continues until September, but Professor von Hagens is also planning to visit eight universities across Britain.

"It is important that as many people as possible see the Body Worlds exhibition," he said.

"I created the exhibition to demystify human anatomy and to give everyone the opportunity to learn about how their bodies work. "

He has also stressed that all the bodies used in the exhibition were donated willingly.

However, the initial decision to bring one of the exhibits to Glasgow has been described as "very insensitive" by a campaign group.

Organs retained

Geraldine MacDonald runs Sorro, which was formed by parents who discovered their children's organs had been retained without authorisation after post-mortem examinations.

Organs were retained by a number of Scottish hospitals, including Yorkhill Children's Hospital in Glasgow.

"He is entitled to do what he wants but the parents of Sorro will not be going anywhere near it," said Ms MacDonald.

"It brings things back."