 The models used in the film were inspired by Dr.  Gunther von Hagens (qv) popular exhibition "Body Works" in which  real cadavers are plasticized after being dissected. One character  even mentions this process when we see the hall for the first time  at the beginning of the film, but no real cadavers were used as the  director thought it "too macabre". The models were created by a team  headed by Joachim Grüninger (qv) and Birger Laube (qv). The  models were so accurate and detailed that the films medical  advisers thought they could be used as actual teaching specimens.