If I asked you to guess when the last public autopsy took place in the United Kingdom, your answer might date back a century or two. In reality, the last public autopsy in British history took place in 2002, just 24 years ago.
It was performed by German anatomist Gunther von Hagens in a London theatre, in front of a sold-out audience of 500 people. Another fun fact: it was actually the first public autopsy to be performed in the UK in 170 years – the previous one had been back in 1832!
There has not been another live-audience human autopsy in the UK since. However, von Hagens’ fascinating travelling exhibition, which displays real human bodies, is very much still around, and currently back in London. The exhibition showcases the unique plastination technique that made him famous, exploring anatomy and all of the weird and wonderful quirks of the human body.
13 November 2026 10:00 + more dates
Sussex Mansions
Who was Gunther von Hagens?
Born in 1945, Gunther von Hagens was a German anatomist best known for his signature plastination method – a unique technique to preserve biological tissue specimens, including large animals and whole human bodies.
He invented and later patented the technique in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and eventually founded the Institute of Plastination in Heidelberg, Germany, in 1993. In 1996, he opened a second plastination institute in China and became the director of a plastination centre in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
He is also known for creating the world’s most successful travelling exhibition, titled Body Worlds. As mentioned above, the exhibition showcases his fascinating plastination technique in cities around the globe, with over 58 million visitors to date.
What is plastination?
Plastination is a technique to preserve bodies or individual body parts. It works by replacing water and fat with plastics (hence the name, “plastination”). This results in robust, scientifically accurate specimens that can be handled and displayed for a long time with no decay.
The process was first used to preserve smaller tissue samples, until new equipment in the early 1990s made it possible to plastinate entire bodies. Each full-body specimen can take up to 1,500 hours to plastinate, even with a large team of experts on the job.
What is the Body Worlds exhibition?
The Body Worlds exhibition first opened back in 1995, when it debuted in Tokyo, Japan. It has since grown into the most successful travelling exhibition in the world, touring over 175 cities and amassing over 58 million visitors to date.
The exhibition displays von Hagens’ plastination method through real human bodies and body parts, willingly donated to the von Hagens institutes. Reportedly, over 23,000 people have donated their bodies so far. With such a wide variety of anatomical specimens, the exhibition aims to make basic life science more accessible to all, educating the public about anatomy, physiology, and health.
What can you expect at the Body Worlds exhibition?
Body Worlds is certainly not a boring showcase of rigid anatomical models. Von Hagens’s signature style involves displaying human bodies in expressive, dynamic poses, adding an extra layer of intrigue and fascination to the exhibition. Many of the plastinates are posed mid-movement, such as a gymnast flipping backwards on a balance beam, so you can discover how certain muscle systems work in action.
The dissected body parts and slices complement the full-body models by allowing a peek into individual anatomical structures and systems in the flesh. In combination, the displays provide captivating insights into how the body works and changes, including disease, brain function, cardiovascular health, foetal development, and more.
Now, Body Worlds is back in London for its third visit, and this edition is all about joy. Body Worlds: The Anatomy of Happiness explores the effects of happiness on the body, revealing how joy and wellbeing impact our anatomy through von Hagens’ signature specimens alongside interactive installations.
Body Worlds: The Anatomy of Happiness
13 November 2026 10:00 + more dates
Sussex Mansions
