Young love is such dumb love.: Myth of the Human Body: An Educational Visit

“There is more wisdom in your body than in your deepest philosophy.” This canny saying by Friedrich Nietzsche epitomizes the one-of-a-kind exhibit that is currently in hit around the world – The Myth of the Human Body. It may be a bit disturbing but it was justified as an education in anatomy with a slant of "you-should-stop-smoking-and-start-living-healthy" moral lesson perhaps. This is an exhibit of human cadavers preserved that undergone the process of plastination which enabled the preserved bodies to maintain the appearance and characteristics of the human body. The genius behind these specimens is no other than the German anatomist and scientist named Dr. Gunther von Hagens.

The Myth of the Human Body Exhibit is located at the Neobabylon Building, Bayani Road, Taguig City. When we finally arrived at the vicinity of the venue, finding the exact building was not hard since one cannot miss its catchy Greek gods statues and tarpaulins inviting you to explore your body. Around 300 donated bodies (European and Chinese according to our guide) were featured in the exhibit. All of these have their own purpose and lesson to teach. The exhibit is generally divided into seven parts according to body systems: Heracles, symbolizes the muscular and skeletal system; Poseidon, represents the respiratory system; Dionysus, embodies the digestive system; Eros, for the reproductive system; Hades, emblematizes the circulatory system; Zeus that represents the brain and the nervous system; and lastly, Artemis, illustrates the fetal development.

Of course, we opted for a tour guide for us to understand and appreciate more the exhibits. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures inside the museum though there is an area for picture taking, so as we were waiting for our tour guide, we decided to take pictures outside. At the first portion of our tour, I really had deep thoughts regarding the eyes of the sample exhibits. I felt creepy and nasty because they look so real, as if the human cadaver is looking at me. But then, the tour guide said that those eyes were artificial, because the fastest decaying organ in our body is actually our eyes. At the Zeus hall, which showcases the different parts of the brain, I have learned that the more wrinkles you have on your brain, the smarter you are. That is why Einstein probably had a much wrinkled brain. But what interrupted me was when our tour guide used the phrase, “God created…” when we were in the reproductive system hall. Well, this may explain the boundary line between religion and science but we do not have much time to get a clearer view or perception about this controversial issue.

We were awestruck with some of the specimens like the Red Man, a network of blood vessels of the whole body. It was actually the highlight of the museum according to our tour guide. Seeing as they were too fragile and intricate, I cannot even imagine how they made it into that kind of masterpiece. My favorite section was actually the last portion – the Artemis section. Here is where we can see a woman who died of eclampsia in her seventh month of pregnancy, taking her baby with her. Another is the Monterey Man, a body of a 21-year old woman from China sliced into 97 pieces. I was just amazed on how they preserved, dissected and presented the specimens that way. This was by far the most wonderful creation I have ever seen. Honestly, I did not even found it freaky and nauseating. Instead, it was actually impressive and informative. It made me learn how my body parts work and what will my organs look like if I will encounter any disorder or disease. Particularly, I was shocked upon seeing the lungs of a non-smoker which are indeed black in color considering that they were the same as with the smoker’s lungs.

Truth be told, morbid curiosity drew me to this exhibit, knowing all the controversy surrounding it. What makes the exhibit controversial is how the bodies are dissected like a three-dimensional showcase of our insides. Looking at it in another perspective will definitely raise issues and emotions on the fact that actual bodies were used. While walking through the exhibits, I had to remind myself that they were once actual living human beings. However, being able to identify some muscles, nerves, blood vessels, bones and organs then being bombarded by a lot more structures we were aware of was really encouraging to study the body even better. Even the trivia that the guide gives and the questions he asks makes us evaluate how much we have learned in our anatomy-related classes and how much more we need to learn. The whole experience was very interesting in the sense that you will learn more about how your body works in a specified manner, and mind-blowing because you would realize the intensity of the fact that actual human bodies were used.