I see dead people: insights from the humanities into the nature of plastinated cadavers.

Accounts from the humanities which focus on describing the nature of whole body plastinates are examined. We argue that this literature shows that plastinates do not clearly occupy standard cultural binary categories of interior or exterior, real or fake, dead or alive, bodies or persons, self or other and argue that Noël Carroll's structural framework for horrific monsters unites the various accounts of the contradictory or ambiguous nature of plastinates while also showing how plastinates differ from horrific fictional monsters. In doing so, it offers an account of the varied reactions of those responding to exhibitions of plastinated whole bodies.

Anatomy's use of unclaimed bodies: reasons against continued dependence on an ethically dubious practice.

The use of unclaimed bodies has been one of the distinguishing features of the anatomy profession since the passing of nineteenth century legislation aimed at solving the problem of grave robbing. Only in more recent years has the use of bequeathed bodies supplanted dependence upon unclaimed bodies in many (but not all) countries. We argue that this dependence has opened the profession to a range of questionable ethical practices.

Engaging with plastination and the Body Worlds phenomenon: a cultural and intellectual challenge for anatomists.

Body Worlds, the international plastination phenomenon, has proved immensely popular with audiences worldwide. Never before has the human body been exposed to public gaze in such an accessible and intriguing manner. Dissected body parts feature alongside whole-body plastinates with their life-like poses ranging from those with Renaissance motifs to others with highly contemporary themes.

Who gets born? How did New Zealand's Bioethics Council arrive at its recommendations?

The Bioethics Council's Report Who Gets Born? elicited considerable public comment with its recommendation regarding the use of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for sex selection for social reasons. The Report was based on a process of deliberative consultation, in which determined efforts had been expended to obtain the views of ordinary New Zealanders. Consequently, the manner in which the recommendations, including this particular one on sex selective PGD, were informed by the consultation is of considerable interest.