[Raptor235]

In different parts of the world, people deal with death and dying in a variety of ways, with as many different funerary rituals as there are fish in the sea. The same is true for the ways in which different human groups ‘process’ and/or ‘preserve’ their dead. As I see it, plastination is yet another method of processing – albeit a recently developed method.

The plastination of human bodies is generating much discussion and controversy as the exhibits increasingly gain mainstream publicity.

Extremely simplified, the process of plastination, “the polymer impregnation of perishable biological specimens” is the dehydrating of the body using acetone, followed by the insertion of liquid plastic polymers into the various soft tissues, (veins, muscles and organs). The body is then placed in a vacuum chamber, where it hardens and is ultimately preserved. This process can be done on any body – human or animal – in whole or in part. You can find the entire article here http://www.aboutmyplanet.com/religio...ssing-our-dead