under the skin

Dive into the body with the most famous anatomists on TikTok

Real human cadavers are some of Tik Tok's newest stars.

by Emma Betuel

This is Justin Cottle, a lab director at the Institute of Human Anatomy in Utah – A human cadaver lab.

He's also the face of their Tik Tok account, which has 4 million followers.

With each TikTok, Cottle takes users deep inside the body.

For example...

This is a real Human Skeleton

This TikTok got 29,500 likes.

A real skeleton looks much different than a model. Bones are made of cells that are constantly remodeling.

In Cottle's words, that gives them "character."

This is a real human heart

This video got 282,000 likes.

The tissue visible when Cottle opens up the heart are what heartstrings actually look like.

These are the muscles in the forearm

This video got 124,300 likes.

There are 20 muscles in the human forearm alone.

In the TikToks, Cottle is careful to remain respectful to the cadavers. No identifying marks, like faces, are shown.

The cadavers willingly donated their bodies to science.

Now, they teach millions on TikTok.

β€œIt's very far-reaching,” Cottle says.

"It's very impactful"