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Courtesy photo

Body Worlds 3, now at Arizona Science Center, features a graphic display
of real human anatomy specimens in various stages of activity and health.
(Click picture for full size image)

Courtesy photo

Smokers beware. Pictured above are real human lungs permanently damaged by years of tobacco use. The lungs and many other damaged organs, as well as healthy specimens, are part of the Body Worlds 3 exhibit on display at Arizona Science Center.
(Click picture for full size image)

Body Worlds exhibit an eye opener
by Jim Crawford

PHOENIX – Fascinating.

That’s the only way to describe the Body Worlds 3 exhibit currently on display at Arizona Science Center.

The exhibition features more than 200 authentic human specimens, including entire bodies, individual organs and transparent body slices that have been preserved through a process called plastination.

The much publicized and talked about exhibit is bustling at all times during business hours. Long lines await every session which take place about two hours apart, the amount of time the ticket attendant says you can expect to spend.

Visitors enter the darkened exhibit hall to find glass cases filled with real–yes–real body parts in various stages of development and health.

Ever wonder what an arthritic knee looks like? It’s not pretty. You have to go and see for yourself to put things in perspective.

What about smokers’ lungs? Talk about gross. Pitch black.

“I wonder if you showed those to a smoker, would it make any difference?” quipped Mike Chunko of Phoenix. “I doubt it.

“It’s (the exhibit) probably more information than you can process at once,” Chunko said. “Amazing.”

In response to the many comments the smoker’s lungs have elicited from viewers, Body Worlds organizers have adopted an “I Quit” campaign.

BODY WORLDS 3, in partnership with the American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Arizona Medical Association and Arizona State University, Polytechnical Institute launched its “I Quit” campaign from March 5‑May 28.

This effort is in support of Arizona’s Smoke‑Free Act, which takes effect May 1.

To celebrate the launch of “I Quit,” representatives from the American Lung Association will be on site to inform Arizona Science Center visitors about various smoking cessation resources available through a weekly health talk series on Mondays throughout the month of March.

“I Quit” was conceived by Body Worlds in Denver in 2003 after exhibit cleaning crews kept finding unfinished packs of cigarettes discarded on the glass display case containing the smoker’s lung.

“Each rejected pack marked a victory by one person against nicotine addiction,” Dr. Angelina Whalley, a doctor and designer of the Body Worlds exhibitions, said in a news release. “Many visitors to the exhibition reported to us that they had tried everything to quit smoking but only stopped after seeing the smoker’s lung on display.”

Smoking‑related diseases claim an estimated 430,000 American lives each year, and smoking is directly responsible for 86 percent of lung cancer cases, according to American Lung Association research. This habit also causes most cases of emphysema and bronchitis.

Organizers have placed containers at the exit to the exhibit where smokers can toss their cigarette packs if they choose.

“The container was full after the exhibition was over in Boston,” Williams said. “It was very dramatic.”

The song about the “hip bone is connected to the thigh bone” comes to mind while wandering through the labyrinth of human pieces and parts.

We all look much the same without our skin on. Skinless, Miss America loses her belle‑of‑the‑ball status.

Our bodies are inhabited by millions of blood vessels and tiny nerves, plus all kinds of thingies and doodads that hold us together.

One of the most intriguing parts of the exhibition is the healthy versus the diseased organ. A cancerous lung, a tumor or an aneurism are very vivid and real.

Exhibition attendees can actually view these denizens of death up close and personal.

The audio option adds clarity to an already mind‑boggling exhibit. Viewers carry a cell phone device and when they reach a particularly interesting display they punch in a three‑digit code. Descriptions of the specimens, along with their preparation, provide insightful commentary well worth the few extra bucks.

Anatomy 101 was never like this.

GG Golden from Chicago and her friend Paulette Olsen, of Fountain Hills, were adding personal touches to the various damaged body parts they saw.

“There’s Jimmy’s lungs,” Golden said. “There’s Bob’s liver. Fascinating.”

Olsen agreed.

“It was a real awakening,” she said.

It’s not all pieces and parts either. There are full‑size people, male and female, sans skin, engaged in various forms of physical activity: archery, hurdling, skate boarding, all designed to dramatize the stress and strain we put on our anatomy and our resiliency as humans.

One doctor viewing a heart specimen at a particular case gave an impromptu explanation about the vessels in the heart and the ones most likely to cause a fatal heart attack.

“That’s the widow‑maker,” he said, pointing to a particular artery.

Scary.

BODY WORLDS 3 extended the hours of operation from 9 a.m.– 9 p.m., March 10‑31 in order to accommodate spring break visitors with last ticket entry at 7:45 p.m. To purchase tickets online visit azscience.org or call (602) 716‑2000.

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