German anatomist Gunther von Hagens, known for creating the “Body Worlds” exhibition and developing the plastination technique, dies at 81, according to multiple outlets. Several reports describe plastination as a method that permanently preserves human bodies in rigid form, which he used for museum displays that toured internationally. The BBC and The Guardian report that von Hagens’ family and the Institute for Plastination say they will carry out his long-held wish for his own body to be plastinated after his death. Other outlets characterize the work as highly controversial, noting that “Body Worlds” drew both public fascination and public criticism. PBS NewsHour adds that the exhibitions included provocative public events, citing von Hagens conducting Britain’s first public autopsy in 170 years in London in 2002, despite government warnings about legality. Euronews reports that critics accused him of sensationalism, pointing to specific examples used in the displays, including a corpse posed on a plastinated horse and a pregnant woman display featuring an eight-month-old foetus.