Following on from Anatomy for Beginners which concentrated on the anatomy of life, anatomist Dr Gunther von Hagens and pathologist Professor John Lee now turn to the process of understanding death. Shown in SBS, now available in DVD.

It’s said that the dead tell no tales—but an autopsy reveals a lot about how a person lived and died. In this four-part series, world-renowned anatomist Gunther von Hagens and pathologist John Lee study and dissect human cadavers—preserved through plastination, von Hagens’ patented process—and clearly illustrate the causes of death. Each program features eye-opening lessons in anatomy and pathology, offering an in-depth look at the intense hands-on training that precedes a career in medicine. A follow-up to Anatomy for Beginners. Viewer discretion is advised. Contains clinically explicit language and demonstrations.

This DVD is divided into 4 sections:

Circulation. Looking at diseases affecting the circulatory system.

Cancer. They illuminate the difficulties of diagnosing and treating a disease that is a result of the body's own cells multiplying uncontrollably. 

Poisoning.  Dissects the body of a dialysis patient who died of kidney failure to reveal that we are more likely to die of internal poisoning than by a surreptitious dose of arsenic. 

Ageing. Illustrate the process of ageing revealing the internal extent of ageing damage.

 

 

$29

 

Note: This DVD is Pal format, used in Australia, Asia, UK & NZ. For other countries (US) it can only be played on computers & Laptops.

 

    

 

Format: Pal; All regions; Running Time: 200 mins.

In an autopsy, an examination of the major organs is made after death in order to work out what diseases were present and how they caused the death of the patient. The word 'autopsy' comes from the Greek, meaning 'to see for oneself'. It has the alternative name of 'post mortem', which is Latin for 'after death'.

Naked-eye appearances of body tissues are frequently enough to establish disease states. The diagnosis can often be refined though, by additional investigations such as examination of tissues under the microscope (histology) or chemical studies of blood, urine, stomach contents and other body fluids. Autopsies are performed by medically qualified doctors who have specialised in the discipline of histopathology. These are the same doctors who diagnose disease in tissue samples and surgical specimens taken from living patients.

The autopsy demonstrations in the programmes employ similar techniques to the clinical standard. But they were designed to present a clear view of the anatomy and pathology and as such they represent partial, rather than full autopsies. The autopsies in the films did not have any medico-legal purpose, since causes of death had, in all cases, already been registered in the manner required by German law.

This series causes controversy when shown in the UK http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2493291.stm

Read also the profile of Dr. von Hagens http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2494643.stm

http://www.channel4.com/science/microsites/A/autopsy/index.html

See also The Anatomist's website with Dr. Gunther von Hagens

 
DVD content

Circulation

The series begins by looking at diseases affecting the circulatory system, a major cause of death in the UK. Von Hagens and Lee explain that rather than life hanging by a thread, it hangs by a tube. In particular they demonstrate the complex network of blood vessels that deliver oxygen to our vital organs. If some of these narrow, harden, become blocked or burst, they can damage the heart and end in what we understand as a heart attack.

Cancer

In the second programme of the series von Hagens and Lee take a look at cancer. They illuminate the difficulties of diagnosing and treating a disease that is a result of the body's own cells multiplying uncontrollably. Von Hagens dissects a woman who died of bowel cancer to reveal the site of the primary tumour and the other parts of her body that it affected. He also reveals the silent spread of tumours in the frozen body of a woman who died from breast cancer.

Poisoning

When von Hagens and Lee address the subject of poisoning, they are not thinking of a murder mystery. Von Hagens dissects the body of a dialysis patient who died of kidney failure to reveal that we are more likely to die of internal poisoning than by a surreptitious dose of arsenic. Lee explains how the body can be contaminated if critical organs like the kidneys and liver malfunction and fail to filter out poisonous byproducts of metabolism.

Ageing

In the last programme, von Hagens and Lee illustrate the process of ageing. To reveal the dread process for us all to see, the two scientists compare the bodies of two live models - an 84-year-old and a 24-year-old. Von Hagens then compares sections from the cadaver of a woman over 80 years old with the same sections from a much younger woman. By revealing the internal extent of ageing damage, von Hagens and Lee demonstrate the widespread effects of ageing and explain why we can't life forever.

 

 
Over the last couple of decades, Dr Gunther von Hagens has pioneered novel techniques of plastination, a process which essentially replaces the water and fat of ordinary human tissues with wax. This has allowed him to prepare an unrivalled collection of durable anatomical exhibits of great educational value and aesthetic quality.

He has brought these specimens together in the travelling Body Worlds exhibition, with the aim of allowing ordinary people to see the wonders of anatomy for themselves. That people are interested in the subject is attested by the 15 million worldwide that have visited the exhibitions. It is exhibited in Australia under The Amazing Human Body.

See also article on Body Worlds: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_Worlds