Stomach of common bottlenose dolphin

The method of dry preservation allows to keep the same organ appearance as in vivo. Some organs, especially parts of the digestive system: gullets, stomachs and intestinal loops, were inflated to give them back their volume. Once inflated, they were sometimes reinforced by introducing tow or other material. In some cases, also these preparations display details highlighted with water-soluble colors, under a layer of shellac to prevent the difficulties of dry-preserving certain anatomical structures. The main problem with these preparations remains their great fragility (I.V.S.L.A. Collection).