A controversial scientist who preserves human corpses and displays them to the public has defended his latest exhibition.

Gunther von Hagens, whose Body Worlds And The Mirror Of Time exhibition opens to the public at the O2 Arena in London on Friday, said he was presenting a "health message."

A total of 200 cadavers from babies to the elderly have been arranged in lifelike poses, as part of the scientist's latest Body Worlds exhibition.

They have all been preserved using Dr von Hagens' controversial "plastination" technique. This involves peeling the skin back to reveal the inner organs, arteries and muscles and encasing it all in plastic.

"This exhibition is all about the cycle of life, from the spark of conception, to the development of a mature body, and it goes through to elderly people," he said.

"It shows the whole spectrum of life. It shows how we develop and we age. We realise how our lifestyle entrances our organs, our body, and in this way, our capability in life, our length of life and how we feel.

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