Nicolás E. Ottone; Carlos Torres-Villar; Ricardo Gómez-Barril; Nathalie Álvarez-Ricartes; Bárbara Levimán; Marcela Lizarraga; Víctor Hugo Rodríguez-Torrez; Maria Revelo-Cueva; Ana Belén Toaquiza & Carlos Veuthey

Plastination, introduced by Gunther von Hagens in 1977, has become a transformative tool for preserving biological specimens and investigating human morphology. Over 400 institutions worldwide currently employ this technique for education and research. Among the diverse plastination methods, epoxy resin (E12 Biodur) sheet plastination has proven particularly valuable in morphological research due to its transparency, dimensional stability, and compatibility with imaging and histological analyses. This review, based entirely on documented evidence from recent decades, synthesizes the methodological evolution, technical refinements, and multidisciplinary applications of epoxy resin plastination in anatomical research. Studies across multiple regions of the body have demonstrated its capacity to preserve intricate structures, arterial, venous, neural, and fascial, while maintaining spatial accuracy. Integration with micro-CT, MRI, confocal microscopy, and histological staining has expanded plastination’s research scope into histo-morphology, surgical anatomy, and medical education. Epoxy plastination remains the gold standard for high-fidelity morphological visualization, bridging macroscopic anatomy, imaging, and microstructural science.

KEY WORDS: Plastination; Epoxy resin; Sheet plastination; Morphological research; Anatomical preservation.

OTTONE, N. E.; TORRES-VILLAR, C.; GÓMEZ-BARRIL, R.; ÁLVAREZ-RICARTES, N.; LEVIMÁN, B.; LIZARRAGA, M.; RODRÍGUEZ-TORREZ, V. H.; REVELO-CUEVA, M.; TOAQUIZA, A. B. & VEUTHEY, C. Research applications of plastination: A thematic review of epoxy resin techniques in morphological investigation. Int. J. Morphol., 43(5):1649-1657, 2025.