doe: AnatoARTE - Exhibition

(Content warning: Description/picture of medical procedures, bones, animal parts & fetus)

Okay, so once again I'm quite late on posting these. This was an exhibition I went to late November of 2015. It was an exhibition called AnatoARTE, and it was basically about anatomy and the different ways one can preserve specimen for studies. So there was everything from taxidermy to plastination. I have to admit that at the time I was really busy with finals and everything, but my partner eventually coaxed me into going, and I'm so glad that I did. It was wonderful, and I actually learned a lot.

These were preserved using what is know as "Osteotecnia". I wasn't able to find a translation, but it basically makes up what is usually done by any bone collector. The specimen goes under a boiling bath to remove any remaining tissue (except the bone of course). Later on the bone is bleached, usually done with peroxide, to not only whiten but also disinfect. And lastly an acrylic spray is applied to conserve it.

Skull of a cappuccino monkey (Cebus capucinus)

Domestic cat skull (Felis catus) next to one of a puma (Puma concolor)

Cow cranium (Bos taurus) with diprosopus

This jaw belonged to a cow that had a bone tumor

The skull on the right is of a southern Pudu (Pudu puda) which are the world's smallest deer.

This one is really interesting; it consists in the art of injecting polymers into the veins and arteries to acquire an anatomical model of the circulatory system. Later on the original tissue is corroded leaving only the model behind. What you see above is a pudu heart (Pudu puda).

And then there is taxidermy, and I'm sad to say that I've seen better. The one above it a pudu, although it doesn't even come close to what one of these cute creatures look like (alive).

Once again I could find the translation for this one. This is the method of "diafanizacion", which is used to study bones and fetus growth throughout different stages. You use alizarin to stain the bones and later conserve the specimen in jars with glicerin. Above you can see the tiny bones of a human fetus and a full grown frog.

This probably was, by far, my favorite part of the exhibition. These are all specimen preserved using the method of Plastination. It's one of the most modern techniques that is used in anatomical study and one obtains a more realist anatomical specimen. This is achieved by substituting the liquids within an organ with silicone.