Editing Plastination (section)

==Uses of plastinated specimens==
Plastination is useful in anatomy, serving as models and teaching tools.<ref name="nexusfall2004">{{cite journal |url=http://www.nyu.edu/dental/nexus/issues/fall2004/vonhagens.html |title=Life, Death, and One Man's Quest to Demystify the Inner Realms of the Human Body |journal=Nexus |date=Fall 2004 |access-date=13 February 2009}}</ref> It is used at more than 40 [[medical school|medical]] and [[dental school]]s throughout the world as an adjunct to anatomical dissection.
[[File:Histological section of bovine tongue.jpg|thumb|Histological section of bovine tongue, epoxy technique]]
Students enrolled in introductory [[animal science]] courses at many universities learn animal science through collections of multispecies large-animal specimens. Plastination allows students to have hands-on experience in this field, without exposure to chemicals such as formalin. For example, plastinated [[dog|canine]] [[gastrointestinal]] tracts are used to help in the teaching of [[endoscopy|endoscopic]] technique and anatomy.<ref>{{cite journal |first=L. |last=Janick |author2=R. C. DeNovo |author3=R. W. Henry |year=1997 |title=Plastinated Canine Gastrointestinal Tracts Used to Facilitate Teaching of Endoscopic Technique and Anatomy |journal=Cells Tissues Organs |volume=158 |issue=1 |pages=48–53 |doi=10.1159/000147910|pmid=9293297 }}</ref> The plastinated specimens retain their dilated conformation by a [[positive pressure]] air flow during the curing process, which allows them to be used to teach both endoscopic technique and gastrointestinal anatomy.

With the use of plastination as a teaching method of animal science, fewer animals have to be [[animal research|killed for research]], as the plastination process allows specimens to be studied for a long time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vet.ksu.edu/depts/ap/tour/labs/plastination.htm |title=KSUCVM Plastination Laboratory |publisher=Vet.ksu.edu |date=8 January 2009 |access-date=18 March 2010}}</ref>

TTT sheet plastinates for school teaching and lay instruction provide a thorough impression of the complexity of an animal body in just one specimen.
[[Image:Scheibenplastinat.jpg|thumb|TTT sheet plastinate of a fish]]

[[North Carolina State University]]'s College of Veterinary Medicine in [[Raleigh, North Carolina]], uses both plastic coating (PC) and plastination (PN) to investigate and compare the difference in the two methods. The PC method was simple and inexpensive, but the PN specimens were more flexible, durable, and lifelike than those preserved by the PC method. The use of plastination allowed the use of many body parts such as muscle, nerves, bones, [[ligaments]], and [[central nervous system]] to be preserved.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Holladay SD, Hudson LC |title=Use of plastinated brains in teaching neuroanatomy at the North Carolina State University, College of Veterinary Medicine |journal=Journal of the International Society for Plastination |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=15–17 |year=1989 |doi=10.56507/FEKB4686 |url=https://www.uqtr.ca/plast-journal/vol3/Holladay_15a17.pdf |access-date=19 May 2009}}</ref>

The [[University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio]] was the first school in the United States to use this technique to prepare gross organ specimens for use in teaching.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pathology.uthscsa.edu/parc/index.shtml |title=Pathology Academic Resource Center: UT Health Science Center – Graduate School of Biomedical Science |publisher=pathology.uthscsa.edu |access-date=22 September 2010}}</ref> The [[New York University College of Dentistry]],<ref name=nexusfall2004/> [[Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.welcometopcom.com/tours/phl-anatomy.php |title=Virtual Campus Tour: PCOM Anatomy Lab |publisher=PCOM.edu |access-date=29 July 2015}}</ref> [[University of Warwick]], and University of Northumbria<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.european-hospital.com/topics/article/4657.html |title=First University to Acquire von Hagens Plastinations for University Teaching |publisher=European-hospital.com |date=28 October 2008 |access-date=18 March 2010}}</ref> use collections of plastinates as teaching aids. The [[University of Vienna]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.meduniwien.ac.at/plastination/ |title=Vienna University Plastination Facility |publisher=Meduniwien.ac.at |access-date=18 March 2010}}</ref> and the [[University of Sheffield]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Medical Teaching Unit {{!}} Medical School {{!}} The University of Sheffield |url=https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/medicine/academic-unit-medical-education/medical-teaching-unit |website=www.sheffield.ac.uk |publisher=The University of Sheffield |access-date=5 September 2020 |language=en |date=1 September 2020}}</ref> have their own plastination laboratories. The first medical school in India to have a plastination lab was A.I.I.M.S, New Delhi with others following suit like Christian Medical College, Vellore, Government Institute of Medical Sciences, Greater Noida etc.