SynDaver employees stitch together synthetic muscles.

Brian Blanco for Atlas Obscura

STANDARDS

CCSS: 6.RP.A.1, MP2, MP3, MP6

TEKS: 6.4B

The Cadaver Factory

SynDaver Labs creates human models that look and feel like the real thing

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.

Use the information to find the ratios of ingredients for SynDaver’s different synthetic body parts. Write all answers in simplest form. Record your work and answers on our answer sheet.

Use the information to find the ratios of ingredients for SynDaver’s different synthetic body parts. Write all answers in simplest form. Record your work and answers on our answer sheet.

Muscle is made up of 85 parts water, 12 parts fiber, and 3 parts salt. What’s the ratio of fiber to total muscle? What type of ratio is this?

Muscle is made up of 85 parts water, 12 parts fiber, and 3 parts salt. What’s the ratio of fiber to total muscle? What type of ratio is this?

A. Organs are 39 parts water, 9 parts fiber, and 2 parts salt. What’s the ratio of salt to fiber?

A. Organs are 39 parts water, 9 parts fiber, and 2 parts salt. What’s the ratio of salt to fiber?

B. What’s the ratio of a whole organ to the amount of water in it?

B. What’s the ratio of a whole organ to the amount of water in it?

A. Blood vessels are made up of 55 parts water, 44 parts fiber, and 1 part salt. What’s the ratio of salt to the blood vessel’s total parts?

A. Blood vessels are made up of 55 parts water, 44 parts fiber, and 1 part salt. What’s the ratio of salt to the blood vessel’s total parts?

B. What’s the ratio of salt to water and fiber together?

B. What’s the ratio of salt to water and fiber together?

A. Bone is 2 parts water, 49 parts fiber, and almost no salt. What is the ratio of fiber to water?

A. Bone is 2 parts water, 49 parts fiber, and almost no salt. What is the ratio of fiber to water?

B. What property do you think this proportion gives to bone?

B. What property do you think this proportion gives to bone?

A. By weight, a whole cadaver is 6 parts bone, 55 parts muscle, 3 parts blood vessels, 12 parts organs, and 24 parts skin. What’s the ratio of the mass of the bones to the total mass of the cadaver?

A. By weight, a whole cadaver is 6 parts bone, 55 parts muscle, 3 parts blood vessels, 12 parts organs, and 24 parts skin. What’s the ratio of the mass of the bones to the total mass of the cadaver?

B. If the bones of a cadaver weigh 3 pounds, how much does its skin weigh?

B. If the bones of a cadaver weigh 3 pounds, how much does its skin weigh?

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