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Doctor stages public autopsy
LONDON, England -- The first public autopsy in Britain for 170 years has taken place, despite the threat of police action. The post mortem examination was performed by Professor Gunther von Hagens before a sell-out audience of 500 in an art gallery in London's East End where his exhibition of preserved human corpses has created a sensation. The German doctor's Body Worlds exhibition featuring "plastinated" human corpses went on display in London earlier this year after being shown in a series of other European countries. "I regard you all as newcomer students. When I take a critical step, I will announce it and you are free to close your eyes for that moment," von Hagens told the audience as he began the post mortem, the Associated Press reported. In front of the crowd and a TV camera crew, a white sheet was lifted off the body of the 72-year-old German man on a metal table, and von Hagens performed the autopsy. Describing it step by step, the doctor made a Y-cut across the man's chest and down his pelvis, the Associated Press reported. In the next hour, he removed the corpse's heart and liver, and used a circular saw to cut open his skull and remove the brain. The autopsy was shown on giant screens and the organs were passed around the audience on steel trays by the doctor's assistants as von Hagens answered questions. One of his assistants identified the body as that of a businessman who started drinking heavily after losing his job at 50. The man then drank up to two bottles of whiskey a day and was smoking heavily for the last 50 years of his life, the assistant said. The German man had given his consent to a post mortem examination, von Hagens said, adding that the family were also happy with a planned televised broadcast of the examination. Legal threatsBefore the service the doctor defended his plans and warned he would not be stopped by threats of legal action. HM Inspector of Anatomy, Dr. Jeremy Metters, who threatened the professor with "criminal penalties, "said he had alerted police and asked that they take "appropriate action." Metters added that neither the professor nor the venue had post mortem examination licenses under the Anatomy Act. But the professor insisted he was "perfectly entitled" to stage the public autopsy. "There is no law which makes this public autopsy illegal," von Hagens told the BBC's Today radio programme on Wednesday. "I am in a democratic country, so I can do anything within the law. It is fully legal and I will do it and I will not be stopped." He said the autopsy would fulfil recommendations made by the chief medical officer for a public education programme to show people what is involved in post mortem examinations. EthicsVon Hagens' exhibition Body Worlds received more than 2,000 requests for the available 500 tickets at £12 ($18) each. Dr. Roger Soames, of the British Association of Professional Anatomists, told Today on Wednesday: "To take a post mortem (examination) out of licensed premises and do it in a public place, I think, has ethical and moral implications. "I think the way Professor von Hagens is going about this issue is the wrong way. There is a need for a debate on giving the public access to learning more about their own bodies. I'm not sure if this is the way to do it." Campaigners said they had forced the professor to change his plan to use the preserved body of a 33-year-old German woman who had suffered from epilepsy and had given her consent to post mortem examination. Members of Epilepsy Bereaved, a charity that works towards preventing epilepsy deaths, said they would go ahead with a candlelit vigil outside the venue in protest. Public dissections were popular in 16th century Britain, with temporary anatomical theatres constructed in London. The last public autopsy took place around 1830. Copyright 2002 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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