An anatomy lesson unlike any other is currently available in Salt Lake City as Gunther von Hagens' BODY WORLDS 3 opens at The Leonardo.

The exhibition aims to educate viewers as they get a chance to see inside the complex and interconnected network of muscles, tendons and blood vessels that make up the human body.

Gunther von Hagens' BODY WORLDS 3 & The Story of the Heart, opened Friday at The Leonardo in downtown Salt Lake City at 209 E. 500 South.

Visitors will see more than 200 actual, authentic human specimens, including entire bodies, individual organs and transparent body slices.

Creative designer and conceptual planner Angelina Whalley said the exhibit furthers a mission of health education for the approximate 25 million visitors to similar exhibits around the world.

"I try to present the body in a dramatic, memorable, beautiful way so that people can learn about anatomy, disease and health," Whalley said.

Whalley introduced the principle of comparative anatomy to the exhibits, by placing diseased organs next to healthy organs to give people a view inside what their lifestyle choices really amount to.

"Often visitors are overwhelmed by what they see, by the beauty, by the intricate design...," she said.

Whalley said they strive to present the human body in all its glory and complexity.

According to the Leonardo Web site, the BODY WORLDS specimens are preserved through a process called Plastination, invented by anatomist Gunther von Hagens' in 1977.

Through this process all bodily fluids and soluble fat are extracted to stop decomposition, and replaced with resins and elastomers that harden with gas, light or heat curing, giving the specimens the permanence they are displayed in.

The exhibit relies solely on donations. People in their lifetime donate their bodies specifically for Plastination.

Leonardo Executive Director Peter Giles said the incorporation of scientific invention along with aesthetic display made The Leonardo aim long ago to host this event.

"This exhibition embodies The Leonardo mission of fusing science, technology and the arts to ways that inspire human creativity and innovation," Giles said.

"Nowhere in the world could we have found an exhibition that delivers on this promise as well as BODY WORLDS."

Leonardo spokesperson Lisa Davis said the technology of Plastination allows for a presentation that unites science technology and beauty to help people see the human body differently.

"Even the presentation of it is very artful and beautiful and you see that versus a cadaver on the table and how incredibly different that experience is," Davis said.

She said that this is not only more aesthetically pleasing, but also unique.

"[It's] more accessible to regular people, it's a completely different way to look at the human body," Davis said.

Dr. Jeffrey Cline, a community clinic pediatrician with the University of Utah, said the experience should be inspiring while also transforming the way the general public looks at their bodies.

"We think that it's really quite an inspiring exhibit in regards to people really thinking about their lifestyles and health-related choices," Cline said.

Cline said he hopes this will ultimately lead to viewers altering their habits.

"People make changes after these exhibits. They make commitments to change their eating styles, their life styles and seek health care providers."

Copyright Brigham Young University 23 Sep 2008