The polluted lung of a smoker

[nsd_user663_1610]

From the "Bodies, The Exhibition", now in Portugal until September 2007.

no-smoking-pt.blogspot.com/...

[nsd_user663_388]

is this the lung of a smoker?

[nsd_user663_1839]

I doubt it's a real lung. Surely it would decompose if left out like that?

[nsd_user663_1704]

Real or not, it looks gross!

Welcome back to the forum SarahJane hows things with you?

[nsd_user663_1610]

Yes they are real!

Here, is the process.

To help you see what a body really looks like on the inside, this Exhibition uses real human bodies that have been preserved so they do not decay.

A human specimen is first preserved according to standard mortuary science. The specimen is then dissected to show whatever it is that someone wants to display. Once dissected, the specimen is immersed in acetone, which eliminates all body water. The specimen is then placed in a large bath of silicone, or polymer, and sealed in a vacuum chamber. Under vacuum, acetone leaves the body in the form of gas and the polymer replaces it, entering each cell and body tissue.

A catalyst is then applied to the specimen, hardening it and completing the process.

This method of preservation creates a specimen that will not decay. This offers thousands of unique teaching possibilities for educators at all levels, including

medical professionals, archeologists and other scientists.

From: bodiestheexhibition.com/bod...

[nsd_user663_1875]

these are so gross!!