ATSU-SOMA Anatomy professor’s work in plastination goes from classroom to camera
Posted: July 23, 2024
An A.T. Still University-School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona (ATSU-SOMA) Anatomy professor known for her work in creating plastinated anatomical specimens had her work featured during an episode of CSI: Vegas.
Associate professor Ellen Savoini, PhD, MSc, is internationally recognized for her work in plastination. Developed in 1978 by Gunther von Hagens, plastination is a means of tissue preservation that prevents animal or human tissue from decaying through the infusion of silicone. This allows for the creation of dry, lifelike, and easy-to-handle plastic models.
Dr. Savoini learned the technique in 2016 at a workshop conference in Toledo, Ohio, and today she runs Bare Bones Concepts, where she creates and sells plastination specimens for educational purposes.
This past February, Dr. Savoini’s specimens traveled from the anatomy lab to TV filming locations in California, where they were featured in the May 5, 2024 CSI: Vegas episode, “The Artist is Present.”
“I was working at home, and I get this phone call, and I personally think it’s a prank because the guy says that he’s this producer from Los Angeles,” she said. “But he says, ‘We’re filming next week.’ It was immediate.”
After setting up a Zoom meeting with the set designer to determine which specimens to send, Dr. Savoini shipped off the plastinated organs to California, where they made their small-screen debut.
Seeing her plastinated specimens take this unexpected journey from the anatomy lab to the TV screen was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Dr. Savoini, and demonstrated a unique way in which science and creativity can intersect and bridge the gap between academia and popular culture.
In addition to her role at ATSU, which she began in 2020, Dr. Savoini is a professor of anatomy at Yavapai College in Prescott, Arizona, where she also utilizes these specimens in her teaching. She uses animal organs from meat processing plants in creating her specimens, repurposing byproducts that would otherwise be discarded.
Although these organs are from animals, Dr. Savoini explained how these specimens often allow students in the lab to idealize the anatomy of human organs better, due to their enlarged size.
“I try to cut my hearts for display so students can go, ‘Oh, I totally get why the anatomy looks like this,’ because they can see it 3D,” she said.
“It pops up in my reviews a lot, so students like it. I try to make it fun but I also try to be serious. I don’t like it when people try to make anatomy too fun, and they’re somewhat disrespectful of the body. There’s a fine line between being light-hearted and making it enjoyable versus being crass,” she explained.