Since, two-thirds of the approved zoology laboratory syllables, defined by the ministry of science, research and technology are on the topic of morphology and anatomy; therefore, a broad range of vivisections are done in laboratories and most of the samples are wild and taken from the environment. this educational system is against animal rights and seriously harms the environment. it is worth mentioning that the biology department of the islamic azad university of mashhad has taken steps in preventing vivisection (animal anatomy) by designing software and fixation methods of high educational quality.
Methods
Plastination: it's a marvelous technique used in anatomy to preserve bodies or body parts, first developed by gunther von hagens in 1978. in this technique, the water and fat are replaced by polyester that can be processed.
the process is as follows:
fixation: this stage is done by floating the sample in %10 formaldehyde for a period of one month. dehydration: we use the gradual method in a temperature of -15 degree centigrade. it is first placed in a bath of %92 acetone, then in %97 acetone and finally in %100 acetone. the duration of every bath for each concentration is 10 to 14 days.
degreasing: it takes one to two weeks depending on the volume of the sample and it is done by acetone in room temperature.
high-pressure saturation: in this stage, the sample is placed in polyester in a vacuum chamber; the vacuum is created via pump, acetone evaporates in vacuum and polyester penetrates the sample's texture and replaces by acetone.
processing: in this stage the sample is exposed to uv radiation. the purpose of this stage is to dry the sample in a way that it can be touched.
Results
The plastinated samples are dry, odorless, non-poisonous, with properties of the original sample, and their durability increase through years because of their flexibility and less weight.
Conclusion
The plastinated samples are dry, odorless, non-poisonous, with the properties of the original sample, and their durability increases by years due to their flexibility and less weight. producing these samples brought us a remarkable decrease in costs (e.g. buying cadavers, buying and breeding animals, fixation substances, and preservation methods) and time. these samples are more durable and resistance and they have more educational value than their humid samples (samples stored in fixative solutions).
