Museum of human body in health & disease

At first frightening, taking a closer look at the inside of the human body helps you lead a healthier life.

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Self Improvement

What lies beneath

The Museum of the Human Body lets the public get a close look at the internal workings of our anatomy
10/09/2012
Arusa Pisuthipan

The room is chilly. Dead bodies are everywhere. People walk around looking at the cadavers with wide eyes of astonishment. Organ parts, some sliced, some whole, are all over the place.

"I am not scared," said Jutima Nopuijit, a first-year biology student at Chulalongkorn University. "At first I did not dare come to this place. But when I see human bodies and those organs with my own eyes, they are impressive." 

This was Jutima's first visit to the Museum of the Human Body, located at her university. Opened last month, the museum in the Faculty of Dentistry's compound features preserved whole human bodies, unborn babies, sliced body parts, internal organs and blood vessels...

...The entire set of human bodies and body parts is worth over 100 million baht and was transported to Thailand last year. Japanese experts helped with the set-up, including body posture and arrangement, tagging and preservation.

All the human bodies and body parts on display have undergone plastination.

Invented in 1977 by Polish anatomist Gunther von Hagens, plastination replaces water and fat inside tissues of dead human beings or animals with certain types of plastic, be they silicone, epoxy resin or polyester copolymer. The process is time-consuming. Preparing a technically correct whole-body plastination requires between 1,000 and 1,500 hours, or up to nine weeks.

...The only item visitors can touch, lift and feel the weight of is a brain.

The display is elaborately arranged into sections in accordance with the body's organ systems. This gives the viewer an almost inside-out look at the nervous, circulatory, gastrointestinal, male reproductive and respiratory systems, to name a few.

Smokers will be able to see what their lungs look like and they can compare theirs with healthy lungs.

The highlight is a series of slices of a whole body which allows visitors to see inside, layer by layer, how the systems fit together...

...''Seeing thoroughly inside human bodies, I think a lot of people would come to think of the importance of their health,'' said Jutharat, a traditional Thai chiropractor who also teaches.

''People these days forget to look after themselves. They spend too much time working and doing things that are actually bad for their health.

''So after people come to this museum and see for themselves the body parts of the healthy and the unhealthy, at least I hope that they will go back home with the feeling that they need to love themselves more and also care more for their health...

...Plastic body parts are chemically cured with gas, heat or UV light and with this, they become hardened.

(Source: Bangkok Post, Self Improvement, What lies beneath, The Museum of the Human Body lets the public get a close look at the internal workings of our anatomy, Arusa Pisuthipan, 10/09/2012, link)


Anatomy Study Vocabulary

anatomy - the scientific study of the structure of the body of humans, animals and plants; how the parts of the body are put together (See Wikipedia)
anatomist - a person who is an expert on anatomy (or who teaches or does research on anatomy) 
cadaver - a dead body, a lifeless body, a corpse 

plastination - a method in anatomy of preserving bodies or body parts: "the water and fat are replaced by certain plastics, yielding specimens that can be touched, do not smell or decay, and even retain most properties of the original sample" (See Wikipedia)
the human body parts on display have undergone plastination

Gunther von Hagens - the German inventor of plastination (See Wikipedia)
Body Worlds - an exhibition of humand anatomy prepared using plastination that has traveled the world (See Wikipedia and website)

tissue (biology) - "a cellular organizational level intermediate between cells and a complete organism. A tissue is an ensemble of similar cells and from the same origin, that together carry out a specific function. These are called tissues because of their identical functioning. Organs are then formed by the functional grouping together of multiple tissues. The study of tissue is known as histology or, in connection with disease, histopathology" (See Wikipedia)
tissues of dead human beings

internal organ - a collection of tissues in the body that performs some function such as the heart, lungs, kidney, skin, etc (See Wikipedia)
organ - Same as "internal organ"
organ parts -Same as "internal organ"
 
self - dealing with yourself, not other people
improvement - when something gets better or when you make it better การปรับปรุง, การทำให้ดีขึ้น
Self Improvement - taking some action in your life to improve yourself (losing weight, gaining new knowledge, eating healthy food, etc)

get a close look
look closely - look at the details of something (be getting very near or "close" to it)

internal - existing or happening inside a person, object, organisation, place or country ภายใน
internal workings - the way something works inside (example: the internal workings of a computer inside the box)

The Museum of the Human Body lets the public get a close look at the internal workings of our anatomy

astonishment - great surprise at something that happens, amazement ความประหลาดใจ (See Wikipedia)
wide eyes of astonishment

chilly - very cold

looking at the cadavers with wide eyes of astonishment

sliced - cut into thin pieces
whole - not cut into pieces (one big piece)
all over the place - scattered, in many places with

organ parts, some sliced, some whole, are all over the place

The room is chilly. Dead bodies are everywhere. People walk around looking at the cadavers with wide eyes of astonishment. Organ parts, some sliced, some whole, are all over the place.

dare - be brave and have courage to do something dangerous
I did not dare come to this place

impressive - makes you admire and think very highly of it ซึ่งน่าประทับใจ ประทับใจ
those organs are impressive

"I am not scared," said Jutima Nopuijit, a first-year biology student at Chulalongkorn University. "At first I did not dare come to this place. But when I see human bodies and those organs with my own eyes, they are impressive." 

museum - a building where objects of historical, scientific or artistic interest are kept พิพิธภัณฑ์
compound - an area enclosed by a fence or wall; an area in which a group of buildings stands บริเวณ บริเวณบ้าน
the museum in the Faculty of Dentistry's compound

preserved - kept in good condition, not damaged or destroyed คงอยู่, สงวนไว้  ซึ่งปกป้องไว้
preserved whole human bodies

blood vessels - the small tubes that run all over your body carrying blood to different parts of it

This was Jutima's first visit to the Museum of the Human Body, located at her university. Opened last month, the museum in the Faculty of Dentistry's compound features preserved whole human bodies, unborn babies, sliced body parts, internal organs and blood vessels...

transported - moved from one place to another place

posture - position of the body, e.g., sitting, standing, walking, etc. ท่าทาง เช่น ท่านั่ง ท่ายืน
body posture
body posture and arrangement

tagging - putting a tag on something (to identify the thing)
preservation - keeping something as it is, especially in order to prevent it from being damaged or destroyed การสงวน

...The entire set of human bodies and body parts is worth over 100 million baht and was transported to Thailand last year. Japanese experts helped with the set-up, including body posture and arrangement, tagging and preservation. All the human bodies and body parts on display have undergone plastination.

silicone - a substance used to make many different things (See Wikipedia)
polyester copolymer

resin - a sticky substance produced by some plants and trees, often used for making paints, glue and plastic สารสังเคราะห์ที่มีคุณสมบัติเหมือนยางธรรมชาติ
epoxy resin -  a very strong glue, also called "epoxy" (See Wikipedia)

time-consuming - uses a lot of time
process - a series of actions that you take in order to achieve a result แนวทางปฏิบัติ, กระบวน, วิธีการ

time-consuming process - an activity that uses a lot of time, a lengthy activity
the process is time-consuming

technically - according to an exact understanding of rules, facts, etc.

Preparing a technically correct whole-body plastination requires between 1,000 and 1,500 hours, or up to nine weeks. ... 
touch, lift and feel the weight of a brain.

Invented in 1977 by Polish anatomist Gunther von Hagens, plastination replaces water and fat inside tissues of dead human beings or animals with certain types of plastic, be they silicone, epoxy resin or polyester copolymer. The process is time-consuming. Preparing a technically correct whole-body plastination requires between 1,000 and 1,500 hours, or up to nine weeks. ...The only item visitors can touch, lift and feel the weight of is a brain.

elaborately - in a very detailed and complicated way ที่วิจิตรงดงาม
The display is elaborately arranged into sections

inside-out - 1. going from the inside to the outside; 2. looking at the inside first before the outside
an almost inside-out look at the nervous

respiratory - involving breathing; relating to the process of breathing air in and out เกี่ยวกับการหายใจ ระบบทางเดินหายใจ
respiratory system - (See Wikipedia)

circulatory system - the part of the body used to move blood around the body (See Wikipedia)
gastrointestinal system - the stomach, intestines and parts of the body that process food (See Wikipedia)
male reproductive system - the parts of a man's body used to make babies (See Wikipedia)

lungs - the organs in your chest that fill with air when you breathe ปอด
see what their lungs look like

series - many things (next to each other, or one happening then another happening, then another....)
series of slices

highlight - the most exciting, impressive, or interesting part of an event;  the important part that gets people's attention จุดสำคัญ เรียกทับศัพท์ว่า ไฮไลท์  เน้น ย้ำความสำคัญ
The highlight is a series of slices of a whole body

layer - a thin sheet of a substance; a level of material, such as a type of rock or gas, which is different from the material above or below it ชั้น
layer by layer - when the outside of something is covered by many layers one after another 
see inside, layer by layer

fit together - the coming together of parts, putting parts together to makes something
how the systems fit together...

The display is elaborately arranged into sections in accordance with the body's organ systems. This gives the viewer an almost inside-out look at the nervous, circulatory, gastrointestinal, male reproductive and respiratory systems, to name a few. Smokers will be able to see what their lungs look like and they can compare theirs with healthy lungs. The highlight is a series of slices of a whole body which allows visitors to see inside, layer by layer, how the systems fit together...

traditional - things (clothes, music, customs, etc.) that have been part of a country or society for a long time
chiropractor - a special kind of doctor who treats medical problems by manipulating the spine (See Wikipedia)
a traditional Thai chiropractor

curing (chemistry) - "a term in polymer chemistry and process engineering that refers to the toughening or hardening of a polymer material by cross-linking of polymer chains, brought about by chemical additives, ultraviolet radiation, electron beam or heat. In rubber, the curing process is also called vulcanization" (See Wikipedia)
chemically cured with gas

UV light - a type of light that has a shorter wavelength than visible light but longer than X-rays (See Wikipedia)

Plastic body parts are chemically cured with gas, heat or UV light and become hardened. ...''Seeing thoroughly inside human bodies, I think a lot of people would come to think of the importance of their health,'' said Jutharat, a traditional Thai chiropractor who also teaches. ''People these days forget to look after themselves. They spend too much time working and doing things that are actually bad for their health. ''So after people come to this museum and see for themselves the body parts of the healthy and the unhealthy, at least I hope that they will go back home with the feeling that they need to love themselves more and also care more for their health...Plastic body parts are chemically cured with gas, heat or UV light and with this, they become hardened.