Subscribe to RSSBody Worlds 3 Exhibit in LA
Just saw the Body Worlds 3 exhibit at the California Science Center in LA. This is the second one I’ve personally been to. Admittedly it isn’t for everyone. The exhibit features 200 dead humans preserved in a process called Plastination. There is a short video explaining the process. Basically it works very much as you might expect. Platics are used to freeze the bodies cells as they are so they don’t decompose. There is more to it than that but I think that describes the basics. If you get a chance I highly recommend checking it out. Unfortunately it will only be in LA through Sept 7.
So, why would you want to look at dead bodies frozen in place? Well the exhibit pulls back the skin (literally) and reveals the inner workings of the human body. Each display reveals something different about the way our bodies work. One area shows the development of the fetus and other displays involving pregnancy. They have a plastinated fetus for each of pregnancy with a gap between week 9 and 18. Other areas focus on the damage we can do to them if we do take proper care of ourselves. Heart attack, strokes, emphysema, and other examples are all shown.
If you are a smoker then you need to see this exhibit. It features a cross-section of several lungs: one is a normal healthy lung, one is a normal smokers lung, and another is a lung with emphysema. My description is going to be woefully inadequate and they wouldn’t let me take pictures. Normal lung was white-ish with spots of light-grey. This could be normal pollution but since we don’t know where this person lived we can’t really say for sure. Smoker’s lung was dark-grey to black throughout with small pockets of air. Those are where the lungs tissue has started to lose elasticity and “stick” together. The lung with emphysema was much like the smoker’s lung but with big holes. It is easy to see why such a person has diminished lung capacity. Without the elasticity in the lung tissue they can’t expand and contract to accept air. Oh, and by the way, they effects of tobacco on your lungs is irreversible. Get anyone you love that still smokes to this exhibit. There is a place to toss our your cigarrettes before you leave. So why are tobacco products still on the market and raw milk is banned in many states?
Another thing that was really evident in this exhibit is the positive effect of exercise on the organs. We can see the positive effects on the outside of the body the more we exercise but the effects on the inside are not as obvious. For instance, a good cardio routine will help you increase your lung capacity and you can feel the difference the more you work out. But it is truly amazing to see the difference. An athletes lungs and heart actually grow in size and are larger and stronger than they were before exercise.
Lance Armstrong is used as an example of the positive effects of exercise. Granted he is genetically predisposed to higher capacity but his stats are still pretty amazing. His resting heartbeat is about half of a normal healthy person’s. What that means is his heart is so strong and his cardiovascular system is so tuned that each beat pushes more blood throughout his body than is normal. His heart thus needs to beat less in order to keep him alive. But on the flip side, during exercise, his heart rate goes way up… over 200 beats/min. Conventional wisdom says that for someone his age he should not exceed low-180s. But his body is so conditioned that it can take extreme exertion.
On the opposite side of the spectrum there is a cross-section of 308 lb man which I am going to guess is about 5′10″. His heart and lungs are small and there is a thick layer of fat all the way around. Particularly noticeable is the stomach fat which hangs over as a flap. This guy clearly has been exercising at all. In his shape he could have easily died of a heart attack. The heart is a muscle and a weak one will respond poorly when unusual stress is applied to it. A strong one can handle more before giving out. So which one do you want to have? Kinda shows the importance of regular exercise as part of your daily routine. You want to keep that heart nice and strong.
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