The maverick doctor behind the first public autopsy in Britain for 170 years vows it is going ahead this evening, despite the threat of police action.
German doctor Professor Gunther von Hagens says he will stage the post-mortem examination before a sell-out audience in London later today.
He has received a written warning from HM Inspector of Anatomy, Dr Jeremy Metters, saying he has alerted police and asked they take "appropriate action".
But the professor insists he feels "perfectly entitled" to carry out the public autopsy, which will be televised by Channel 4.
A Scotland Yard spokesman refused to comment on whether police will attend the gallery, or if the professor will face arrest.
"It appears that Professor von Hagens is planning to undertake a procedure that would constitute a criminal offence under the Anatomy Act," Dr Metters said in a statement.
Neither the professor nor the venue had post-mortem licences under the Anatomy Act, Dr Metters says.
But Professor von Hagens said: "HM Inspector's attitude reminds me of the times when clergymen reserved the right to read the Bible.
"The time is over when the medics can insist on exclusive knowledge about vital medical procedures."
Professor von Hagens said last week that his public autopsy is in defiance of future changes in the law about post-mortem examinations and the storage of body parts, which would stop him bringing his infamous Body Worlds exhibition back to Britain after it closes in February next year.
PA