'Doctor Death's' Latest Cadaver Exhibition Opens at 02

 24 October, 2008

Dr Gunther von Hagens, the German anatomist and showman brings more than 200 posed and partially-dissected corpses to The O2.

The O2 exhibition aims to show the lifecycle of humans. The pregnant woman - the wife of a friend of Dr von Hagens - will probably be there again, and there will be foetuses from anatomical exhibitions dating from early last century.

There are cross-section slices of the human body "which are very colourful and more for people who love art". The show will also include a giraffe and an ostrich.

Dr von Hagens says improvements in the plastination technique he uses have enabled him to arrange specimens which are "more dynamic and sporty, with a greater range of expression".

He said: "I feel very well treated in Britain. The British people have a fondness for, what is the word, eccentricity. And I think in some ways I am eccentric. I am the Robin Hood of anatomy."

He is unapologetic about the entertainment component of his work. "Of course, to bring people in and ignite their curiosity, their body interest and health consciousness, I have to be sensationalist, but that must never overshadow the educational aim."

The show's "Fast Forward Face Transformer" shows visitors the effects of smoking and obesity on ageing, demonstrated using a photograph of their own face.

Body Worlds and the Mirror of Time opens at the O2 today (October 24) and will run until August 23 next year.

For more information and to book tickets visit www.visitlondon.com/bodyworlds  or call 0844 844 0003.