OUR BODY: THE UNIVERSE WITHIN is possibly the most valuable educational resource and visual opportunity that I have seen in my twenty years in practice as a Forensic Pathologist.

Let us go back to find out just how we have evolved in the field of science and medical research. By looking into the past; we can appreciate the wonders of Medical Science and innovation in the present, and realize just how significant and important the Study of Human Anatomy really is.

Modern medicine began in 1543 with the publication of the first complete textbook of human anatomy, De Humanis Corporis Fabrica by Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564). Vesalius can only be compared with Hippocrates in stature and importance. The great anatomist was a classicist by education. The Humanists at this time viewed the development of art and literature during the renaissance as a rebirth of the truth and perfection once possessed by the Greeks in antiquity. Vesalius extended this humanism to include anatomy. He knew from reading Cicero and Celsus that the ancients had dissected human bodies; he learned from Galen that Alexandria had been the center of anatomical research. Modern anatomy was indeed the resurrection of ancient anatomy.

However revolutionary his achievements may seem to the modern historian, for Vesalius, it was only the revival of the work of ancient anatomists. Anatomy, according to Vesalius,…should be recalled from the dead, so that if it did not achieve with us a greater perfection that at any other place or time among the old teachers of anatomy, it might at least reach such a point that one could with confidence assert that our modern science of anatomy was equal to that of old, and that in this age anatomy was unique both in the level to which it had sunk and in the completeness of its subsequent restoration. –De Fabrica, praefatio, 3r, ll.22ff.

This fascinating exhibit of actual human bodies and specimens and ancient and modern anatomical artwork brings to people of all ages the opportunity to understand their own bodies, in a way that was never before available to the general public. Medical students and all related medical disciplines have always been required to study the human body in order to understand its function and form. Now, we bring that vital and fascinating opportunity to everyone. Our Body: The Universe Within allows all who wish to view it an insight to the inside: giving you a true look at the inner workings of the extraordinary human body.

All of the specimens in this Exhibit are preserved by a process known as polymer impregnation. It is a process by which the body’s water and fat are replaced with reactive plastics. The plastic is initially pliable, enabling the bodies to be placed in different life-like positions, and then hardens after infusion. Organs are identical to their pre-preservation state down to the microscopic level. This allows one to view a true human body, with all organs, systems, ligaments and muscles intact and visible. It is truly the key to a new understanding and appreciation of one’s own body.

Come explore the mysteries and complexities of the Human Body with us.

Enjoy the Journey
Dr. Walter Hofman

Dr. Walter Isaac Hofman, M.D. serves as the Medical Advisor and
Consultant to OUR BODY: THE UNIVERSE WITHIN.

Dr. Hofman, a well-known and highly respected Doctor of Forensic Pathology has lent his knowledge and expertise to The Universe Within Touring Company, LLC for the presentation of the Exhibition, OUR BODY: THE UNIVERSE WITHIN.

Years of expertise in his former capacity as Medical Examiner for Dallas County, Texas as well as Acting Medical Director for Gloucester County in New Jersey, allows Dr. Hofman to professionally and medically guide the presentation of the Exhibition in its various educational, medical and anatomical components. Dr. Hofman brings to the Exhibition not only a sense of where the study of human anatomy has been, but, most importantly, where it is headed in terms of technology and study.

Dr. Hofman is a Diplomat of the American Board of Pathology and is certified in Anatomic Pathology, Forensic Pathology and Clinical Pathology. His medical school appointments include both a Professorship in Clinical Pathology at Philadelphia’s prestigious Temple University School of Medicine and a Professorship of Pathology at the venerable and distinguished University of Pennsylvania School of medicine. Dr. Hofman has the distinction of enjoying a teaching fellowship at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Hofman, in his role as medical and anatomical consultant to OUR BODY: THE UNIVERSE WITHIN, has assisted in the development of the Exhibition on many levels.