The first public autopsy for 170 years has gone ahead before a paying crowd on Wednesday despite police threats that they would intervene.

Professor Gunther von Hagens defied warnings from Scotland Yard that his show in front of a sell-out crowd of 500 at London's Atlantis Gallery could be illegal.

Among the audience were anatomy professors, asked to attend and monitor proceedings by Scotland Yard.



I was a bit surprised by the speed of it all but there is no delicate way of doing this with finesse

Cristina Koppel

Audience member

Prof von Hagens' subject was a 72-year-old man who had donated his body to the German doctor's controversial Bodyworlds exhibition of human corpses.

The audience was told he had been a businessman who started drinking heavily and smoking at the age of 50.

His organs will be taken back to Germany after the post-mortem to be "plastinated" to form part of the Bodyworlds exhibition, the professor said.

Prof von Hagens had been threatened with "criminal penalties" if he went ahead.

'Criminal offence'

HM inspector of anatomy, Dr Jeremy Metters, had sent him a written warning which said the planned procedure would be "a criminal offence under the Anatomy Act" as neither he nor the venue had post-mortem examination licences.

However, Professor von Hagens said he was making a stand for the "democratisation of anatomy".

He told the BBC he would rather go to jail than cancel the autopsy.

The autopsy was shown on giant screens inside the east London art gallery.

The waiting list for tickets was more than 1,000 long and around 200 hopefuls were left disappointed outside the gallery in the rain.



I have liberated the lungs and the heart

Prof von Hagens

Professor von Hagens said he believed he was "on good legal grounds" to hold the autopsy in public.

There were gasps from the audience as he cut into the head of the body and sawed through the skull with a hacksaw.

After opening the chest, Prof Von Hagens stuck his hand in deep and, with the help of a colleague, pulled up a huge portion of innards.

He declared: "I have liberated the lungs and the heart."

In all, eight organs are removed in a standard autopsy - the heart, both lungs, liver, spleen, kidneys and the brain.

Many viewers covered their mouths and noses as the stench from the open body filtered into the auditorium.

'Just amazing'

Accountant Louise Cotton, 40, said: "I think it's absolutely fascinating. I've never seen anything like it before, it's just amazing."

Medical student Cristina Koppel, a fourth year student at Imperial College in London, said: "I was a bit surprised by the speed of it all but there is no delicate way of doing this with finesse."



Action against Prof van Hagens is on the basis of unlawful autopsy, and not a matter of censorship

Dr Evan Harris

Liberal Democrats

A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said the anatomy professors would watch the autopsy to check if it breached the law but would not say if the professor would face arrest.

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Dr Evan Harris said: "There are good reasons to restrict the performance of autopsies to licensed people and licensed places, not least of which is the importance of ensuring adequate consent and to protect those members of the public who do not wish to view human remains.

"Health ministers should be clear that action against Prof van Hagens is on the basis of unlawful autopsy, and not a matter of censorship."

Televised

Channel 4 is planning to televise the autopsy later on Wednesday. It defended the decision to broadcast the event.

A spokesman said: "The broadcast, at midnight will be preceded by a clear and specific warning and a studio debate before and after footage of the autopsy is shown will put the event in its proper context."

According to Bodyworlds' organisers, over 550,000 people have visited the exhibition since it opened in March.