Body Worlds and the Brain exhibition

Telus World of Science is displaying the Gunther von Hagens’ Body Worlds and the Brain exhibition until early January. The exhibit is renowned for the human bodies, specially preserved through a method called plastination, that are displayed in life-like postures. Different specimens allow visitors to appreciate the functional anatomy of the various body systems, including fetal development.  

Since debuting in 1995, over 30 million people in 50 cities have seen Body Worlds. Dr von Hagens invented plastination in 1977 in an effort to improve the education of medical students. He created the Body Worlds exhibitions to bring anatomy to the public. 

Understandably, an exhibit that presents human material in such a frank and vivid manner will attract both positive and negative interest, but such a valuable educational opportunity clearly deserves the support of the medical community. In addition to a special focus on the anatomy and function of the brain, the exhibit will allow people to see the consequences of a number of modifiable behaviors such as smoking, obesity, and poor eating habits. These are conditions that are not only important considerations for individuals, but are also major public health concerns. 

Visitor numbers are expected to be very high. Educational materials for school groups and adults are being prepared and extensive community consultations are underway.

Physicians interested in more in­formation can find it at www.scienceworld.ca/bodyworlds and www.bodyworlds.com. Timed tickets are now available from Science World, either by phone at 604 443 7500 or online at www.scienceworld.ca/bodyworlds.
—Lloyd Oppel, MD
Vancouver

Lloyd Oppel, MD, MHSc, FCFP(Em). Body Worlds and the Brain exhibition . BCMJ, Vol. 52, No. 9, November, 2010, Page(s) 479 - News.



Above is the information needed to cite this article in your paper or presentation. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) recommends the following citation style, which is the now nearly universally accepted citation style for scientific papers:
Halpern SD, Ubel PA, Caplan AL, Marion DW, Palmer AM, Schiding JK, et al. Solid-organ transplantation in HIV-infected patients. N Engl J Med. 2002;347:284-7.

About the ICMJE and citation styles

The ICMJE is small group of editors of general medical journals who first met informally in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1978 to establish guidelines for the format of manuscripts submitted to their journals. The group became known as the Vancouver Group. Its requirements for manuscripts, including formats for bibliographic references developed by the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), were first published in 1979. The Vancouver Group expanded and evolved into the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), which meets annually. The ICMJE created the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals to help authors and editors create and distribute accurate, clear, easily accessible reports of biomedical studies.

An alternate version of ICMJE style is to additionally list the month an issue number, but since most journals use continuous pagination, the shorter form provides sufficient information to locate the reference. The NLM now lists all authors.

BCMJ standard citation style is a slight modification of the ICMJE/NLM style, as follows:

  • Only the first three authors are listed, followed by "et al."
  • There is no period after the journal name.
  • Page numbers are not abbreviated.


For more information on the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals, visit www.icmje.org

BCMJ Guidelines for Authors

Leave a Reply