The impact of Body Worlds on adult visitors' knowledge on human anatomy: A preliminary study.

ABSTRACT

Body Worlds is an anatomical exhibition that shows human remains to the public. It has been considered controversial since it raises ethical tensions and issues. However, organizers and supporters of Body Worlds have claimed the exhibition is intended to promote visitors' understanding over the human body. Despite these claims, no studies were found that support or refute the hypothesis that a visit to Body Worlds increases the public's objective knowledge on human anatomy. Consequently, the objective of this study was to determine the impact of Body Worlds on anatomical knowledge. We constructed and delivered a questionnaire to both a previsit random sample and a postvisit random sample of visitors of Body Worlds' event Facets of Life, in Berlin. The questionnaire was available in both English and German languages and contained (a) basic sociodemographic questions and (b) a valid and reliable anatomy quiz. The quiz consisted of 16 multiple-choice questions that assessed the ability to identify the location of major anatomical structures on the human body. Average scores achieved on the quiz by the postvisit sample (X¯= 9.08, s = 2.48, n = 164) were significantly higher (unpaired t = 3.3957, P = 0.0008) than those achieved by the previsit sample (X¯= 8.11, s = 2.69, n = 167). Our results suggest that a visit to Body Worlds' event Facets of Life may have a beneficial effect in anatomical knowledge. However, further studies with better empirical designs and fewer limitations are needed to confirm our results.