Body Worlds founder Gunther von Hagens dies at 81, with plan to plastinate his own body

German anatomist Gunther von Hagens, who invented plastination and created the Body Worlds exhibitions, has died at 81 in Heidelberg after a cerebral hemorrhage; he had Parkinson’s disease since 2008. He had long said he wished to have his body plastinated after death, and his Plastinarium announced that this would be carried out, though the display location was not yet decided. His work popularized preserved-body displays while sparking ongoing ethical debate about consent and spectacle in anatomy.