The process is called "plastination," in which body fluids are replaced with a liquid plastic to preserve the body.
There are over 22 million people who have visited the roaming exhibit since it began in 1995 in Japan, according to an AP report.
The "Body Worlds" anatomy exhibit began with a man named Gunther von Hagens, a 62-year-old German anatomist, who developed the "plastination" technique back in 1977.
von Hagens' exhibit displays real human bodies that may graphically reveal dissections of organs, whereas others are completely intact and displayed in poses.
More than 7,600 people have already agreed to donate their bodies to von Hagens' Institute for Plastination. Of these, 461 people have already died, according to the manager of the North American body donation program.
Several of the donors feel that they'd rather have their bodies preserved in this way than to have their families "waste" the money on funeral expenses.
Some donors are hoping that scientists and medical researchers in the future may be able to glean some information from their bodies for medical advances.
However, others believe this is ethically wrong. Accusations exist stated that "Body Worlds" and others who have similar exhibits have obtained bodies unethically.
The AP reports von Hagen as stating, "When I go to the people on the street, to the masses, they have to like what I show ... they have to experience an aesthetic shock. Therefore, they have to open their hearts to themselves. Therefore, they have to fall in love with the specimen, and then it will keep in their minds."
