Discover Human Anatomy Like Never Before!

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Frequently Asked Questions

General
Uses
Content
Contact


General

What is the Visible Body?
The Visible Body is the only fully interactive 3D human body application available. The Visible Body is currently in its beta release and is completely free to registered users.

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How do I register for the Visible Body?
Click the "Get Started" button on the Home page or the "New User" link in the upper right. Submit the required information and you will receive a confirmation email at the address provided. Click on the link in the email or copy and paste it into your browser's address bar to complete the registration process.

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Is the Visible Body really free?
Yes, the Visible Body is completely free to registered users.

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Why do I need to register to use the Visible Body?
We are continuing to develop the Visible Body in many ways to make the experience more powerful and useful for users. The information you provide during registration, along with the information we gather about how the Visible Body is used, will help make the Visible Body even more powerful and useful.

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How long did the Visible Body take to create?
The Visible Body is the result of years of development and collaboration between our specially trained team of biomedical visualization experts and software engineers.

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Uses

Are partnerships available?
We look forward to discussing any partnership ideas you might have. Please email partners@visiblebody.com to discuss partnership opportunities.

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Are customized versions available?
Customizations of the Visible Body are available to corporations, publishers, universities, and other potential partners. The Visible Body can be customized to include specialized visual or textual content to complement product marketing material, new or existing Web sites, curricula, textbooks, or other print or electronic platforms. Customizations can include specialized anatomical or product-specific content, as well as animations showing processes in action at the macroscopic, cellular, or molecular levels. For further information, please email sales@visiblebody.com.

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Can I access the Visible Body offline?
The Visible Body is a Web-delivered application and requires an Internet connection.

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Can I order the Visible Body on CD/DVD?
The Visible Body is a Web-delivered application requiring an Internet connection and is not available on CD or DVD.

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Can I use the Visible Body as a teaching resource in my classroom or computer lab?
We encourage you to use the Visible Body with your class! We hope you will share with us your feedback about the site and any suggestions for improvement you may have. While customized versions of the Visible Body are available for a fee, we plan to maintain free access to this version for public use.

If you ask your students to sign in to the site, we request that each student sign up separately, as long as each student is over the age of 13. Any student under 13 will need a parent, guardian, or teacher to sign up for him or her (by law we cannot collect personal information, such as an email address, from users under 13).

Please also be sure that students' computers meet the Visible Body's recommended system requirements. If using shared computers in a lab, we strongly urge users not to use the "Remember me on this machine" feature.

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Is there a version with no nudity (skin) and/or reproductive system for use with less mature audiences?
A "G-rated" version of the Visible Body is currently in development. In the meantime, users can avoid adding the Integumentary and Reproductive Systems.

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Content

Is the 3D human body model complete and anatomically accurate?
The Visible Body is the most complete, highly detailed, and anatomically accurate human body model available. It is designed to deliver the level of detail necessary to teach a college-level Anatomy and Physiology course.

All anatomical content has been reviewed for accuracy by our panel of experts, including physicians and anatomists. Please see the release notes for a list of missing structures. All listed structures are in development.

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Is there a male version of the Visible Body?
A male version of the Visible Body is currently in development.

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Why can't I find the XXXX [anatomical structure]?
For various reasons, you may be unable to find certain structures.

If you have not added all systems to the viewing area, the systems which have not been added to the viewing area will not be available. Just click the green "Add" button to add each system.

You may be looking for an anatomical structure under its common name rather than its technical name. For example, searching for "knee cap" won't produce a result of "patella" -- the knee cap's technical name. We plan to include common-name searching in our next release.

Please see the release notes for a list of missing structures. All listed structures are in development.

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What naming convention and style is used in the Visible Body?
We have combined several styles in wide use across Anatomy and Physiology and medical textbooks and Web sites; we use American English spelling.

When possible, we include additional information in the names to aid with searching and to facilitate understanding. For example, "premolar" is used instead of "bicuspid" to describe the appropriate teeth, but we include "bicuspid" and the numbers commonly used to identify each tooth in parentheses.

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Why are some organs normally considered to be parts of two body systems only listed in one body system?
To keep the menu easy to use and because of some technical limitations we are currently listing each organ in only one system. For example, the pancreas is listed in the Digestive System and not the Endocrine System, where it could also be listed. Other examples include the ovaries (we've chosen the Reproductive over the Endocrine System) and the neurohypophysis (we've chosen the Nervous System over the Endocrine System).

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When I rotate around some objects, they seem to disappear. What's happening?
The Visible Body geometry features one-sided textures to improve download times and performance. Some anatomical structures will seem to work like a one-way mirror: you will see a "reflection" from one side, but you will see straight through the other side as though the object isn't there. We are currently working on improving certain areas where this effect may be confusing.

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Why are there are small gaps between some vessels, nerves, etc.?
The models that make up the Visible Body have been optimized for use on the Web while maintaining the highest level of detail possible. Some small gaps and visual anomalies in the anatomy are generated during the Web-optimization process. We are continually striving for the best balance between performance, accuracy, and aesthetics.

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Contact

Who should I contact for partnership or customization information?
We look forward to discussing any partnership or customization ideas you might have. Please email partners@visiblebody.com to discuss partnership opportunities. Please email sales@visiblebody.com with customization inquiries.

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How do I change my password?
Registered users can click the "Edit Profile" link in the upper right to change passwords and security question information.

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How do I unsubscribe from emails?
Registered users can click the "Edit Profile" link in the upper right to change email subscription preferences.

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How do I contact technical support?
Please refer to the items listed on the technical support page to troubleshoot the most common support issues. If you still need to contact technical support, send an email to technicalsupport@visiblebody.com. Please remember that the Visible Body application is a free beta release. Emails are responded to as time permits and in the order they are received -- thank you for your patience.

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How do I report a bug?
We appreciate any help you can provide documenting bugs. Please send an email to bugreport@visiblebody.com to report a bug.

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