Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Plastination Procedure @ Pcom: Current Practice And Future Uses, Derek D. Jolley, Vishwant R. Tatagari, Kerin M. Claeson

Research Day

Introduction: Since its invention by German anatomist Gunther von Hagens, the process of forced-impregnation plastination of organic specimens has become the standard for the preservation of biological tissue specimens. This practice serves as the most practical method to preserve these specimens for study and is utilized at PCOM regularly for this purpose. During the steps of plastination, aqueous and lipid tissues are replaced by a curable polymer to produce plastinates that do not decompose, can be handled without gloves, and retain most characteristics of the original specimens. For decades, PCOM used this method to prepare a permanent teaching collection …