Bodies: The Exhibition

The company received the cadavers for research from the Chinese government, who donated them because all the bodies, at the time of death, had no close next of kin or immediate families and remained unclaimed.

The dissections took place at the Dalian University in Liaoning, China and the resulting specimens were leased to Premier Exhibitions for the five-year duration of the show.

The exhibit of the polluted lung of the smoker also includes a clear standing box in which guests can discard their cigarettes and tobacco products after viewing the display.

Guests are notified by a small sign at the exhibit of the sensitivity of the fetus gallery just before entrance into the area, and given the option to skip that room if so desired.

The essence of the process is the replacement of water and fatty material in the cells of the body first by acetone and then by plastics, such as silicone rubber, polyester or epoxy resin.

[13][14][15][16] From 2006, The New York Times and the 20/20 television program have published reports on a "black market" in Chinese cadavers and organs,[17][18] sparking a Congressional inquiry,[19] an investigation by former NY Governor Andrew Cuomo,[20] and the resignation of Premier's CEO Arnie Geller.

[25] Thomas Hibbs, Baylor University ethicist, compares cadaver displays to pornography in that they reduce the subject to "the manipulation of body parts stripped of any larger human significance.

"[26] Even if consent were to be obtained, Rabbi Danny Schiff maintains that we should still question what providing "bodies arranged in showcases for a hungry public" says about a society.