German anatomist Gunther von Hagens stands next to plastinated human bodies on display in the exhibition "Body Worlds and The Cycle of Life" in Warsaw, Poland, on Dec. 1, 2018. File Photo by Jacek Turczyk/EPA
July 27 (UPI) -- Gunther Von Hagens, the inventor of the method of preserving the human body called plastination, has died at age 81.
Von Hagens' death was announced by Body Worlds, the traveling exhibition of his work. It said in a press release that Von Hagen died on Friday.
"Gunther von Hagens fundamentally transformed the field of anatomy," Body Worlds said in a press release. "Through Plastination -- the preservation technique he invented in 1977 -- he created an entirely new perspective of the human body for medical education, science and the general public."
Plastination involves using plastics to replace the body's water and fat, making the body or body parts dry and odorless for use in research.
