The Cadaver Factory

Shelves are lined with buckets of hearts, lungs, livers, intestines, and other organs. Disembodied heads bob in tubs of water alongside arms, necks, and torsos. Skinless skeletons lie on tables as workers sew on muscles and veins.

Welcome to SynDaver Labs. Although it may look like Dr. Frankenstein’s workshop, the Florida factory doesn’t actually make monsters. In fact, it builds synthetic cadavers and body parts for science. Doctors and medical students practice on them, and researchers can use them to test new medical devices. Some of SynDaver’s spookily realistic models have made appearances on TV shows like MythBusters and Grey’s Anatomy. The company has even created a fake dog for veterinarians!

Shelves are lined with buckets of organs. Heads, arms, and legs bob in tubs of water. Skinless skeletons lie on tables. Workers get ready to sew on muscles.

Welcome to SynDaver Labs. The Florida factory might look like a scene from a horror movie, but it doesn’t make monsters. It builds realistic looking but fake bodies, called cadavers. Doctors and medical students practice on them. Researchers can use them to test new medical devices. Some of SynDaver’s spookily lifelike models have appeared on TV shows like MythBusters and Grey’s Anatomy. The company has even created a fake dog for veterinarians!

Assembling a body begins with artificial tissues. These are made of different combinations of water, salt, and fibers, such as nylon or cotton. Varying the proportion of each ingredient changes a tissue’s properties. “For example, more water makes it softer, but if you add more fiber, the tissue becomes more dense,” says Christopher Sakezles, SynDaver’s founder and president.

The company has invented more than 100 different kinds of fake flesh. “We can mimic everything from the mucus in your nose to the marrow inside your bones,” says Sakezles. By adding tissues in layers, like papier- mâché, technicians sculpt organs, muscles, bones, and blood vessels. These designs can be quite complex. “There are seven different materials that go into just making an artery,” says Sakezles.

Once all the parts are complete, a team stitches them together. “We sew from the inside out, starting with the bones of the skeleton,” says Sakezles. “Then the muscles go on, then the organs and the circulatory system, and finally the skin.” The whole process takes about three weeks.

The finished cadavers look so lifelike that they’re often mistaken for the real thing. “Once, a surgeon told me that if he closed his eyes and put his hands on the model, he wouldn’t know the difference between it and a real person,” says Sakezles. He has seen a range of reactions. “A lot of people are frightened. Some actually throw up.”

But Sakezles isn’t scared by his creations. “I think their accuracy makes them beautiful,” he says.

When building a body, workers start with synthetic organs. Each organ is made from fake tissues. These tissues are made of different combinations of water, salt, and fibers, such as nylon or cotton. Changing the amount of each ingredient also changes a tissue’s properties. “For example, more water makes it softer. But if you add more fiber, the tissue becomes more dense,” says Christopher Sakezles. He’s SynDaver’s founder and president.

The company has invented more than 100 different kinds of fake flesh. According to Sakezles, they can make everything from the snot in your nose to the blood-producing marrow inside bones. Technicians create organs by adding tissues in layers. They then add muscles, bones, and blood vessels. These designs can be quite complex. “There are seven different materials that go into just making an artery,” says Sakezles.

Once all the parts are complete, a team stitches them together. “We sew from the inside out, starting with the bones of the skeleton,” says Sakezles. “Then the muscles go on, then the organs and the circulatory system, and finally the skin.” The whole process takes about three weeks.

The finished cadavers look so lifelike that they’re often mistaken for the real thing. “Once, a surgeon told me that if he closed his eyes and put his hands on the model, he wouldn’t know the difference between it and a real person,” says Sakezles. He has seen a range of reactions. “A lot of people are frightened. Some actually throw up.”

But Sakezles isn’t scared by his creations. “I think their accuracy makes them beautiful,” he says.