Gunther von Hagens, famous for exhibiting preserved corpses in his controversial "Body Worlds" exhibitions, has revealed that he is suffering from Parkinson's disease, a degenerative nervous disorder, and that he is preparing to go on show himself after his death.

"I want to prepare myself for the plastination of my own body and determine the place where I want to be exhibited after my death," von Hagens, 65, told Bild am Sonntag newspaper in an interview published on Sunday.

Von Hagens, who has been dubbed "Dr. Death," said the disease had progressed so far "that I start shaking uncontrollably at the smallest bit of stress." He said he wanted to be exhibited at his plastination facility in the eastern German town of Guben.

Von Hagens patented his "plastination" technique, which halts decomposition and preserves corpses by injecting them with resins, in the 1970s, and opened his first Body Worlds show in Japan in 1995. The Body Worlds website says some 28 million people have seen the exhibitions around the world since then.

He runs several plastination centers, including one in China. The shows display skinless bodies in various poses such as running, jumping, playing instruments and even having sex. Critics have called them tasteless and disrespectful towards the dead.