(FILES) In this file taken on April 27, 2011 a young woman stands behind a body preserved by German plastinator Gunther von Hagens at the 'Body Worlds & The Story of the Heart' exhibition during the show's opening day in Berlin. Gunther von Hagens, the physician and inventor of plastination, has died. His family and the Institute for Plastination announced in Heidelberg on July 27, 2026 that he passed away on July 24, 2026 at the age of 81. Von Hagens was the creator of the 'Body Worlds' exhibitions, which display human anatomy using the plastinated bodies of the deceased. (Photo by JOHANNES EISELE / AFP via Getty Images)