Body Worlds makes the body accessible to

Editor - I was disappointed by last months review of Gunther von Hagenss work by Dora Vertes.¹ I found the review patronising and self righteous: the author seems to think that only medics should be allowed to see inside the human body, and anybody else with an interest must be perverted.

If von Hagens presented the bodies traditionally then the exhibition would have only appealed to a limited audience. As it stands, the accessibility of the bodies has allowed a very different type of person to see what bodies can look like, and, in a way, learn more about themselves.

Learning parrot fashion is long outdated, and any school teacher will tell you that kids remember things if they find them interesting. For all those who have visited the exhibition, it will be hard to forget the spinal sclerosis or enlarged hearts. Just because the exhibition has wide appeal is no reason to criticise the content. Not only is Body Worlds interesting, but it is informative as well.

Vertes seems to think that the entire exhibition was produced to make money. The same could be said of anyone who works: even doctors work for money. Vertes has perhaps overlooked the huge costs imposed on such an exhibition travelling the world: hiring gallery space, packing and transport, and publicity. Also, if the exhibition was put on to make money, why was there a two week period when anyone under 18 years old could view the exhibition for free?

Medical students are taught to be non-judgmental, so I wonder why the studentBMJ has published what are in my mind such conservative and outdated opinions? Surely most current medical students would view Body Worlds as a celebration of how fascinating and amazing the human body is, not an immoral way of making money?

1. Vertes D. Körperwelten: the fascination of authenticity. studentBMJ 2002;10:168. (May.)