Prosthetics :: essays research papers

IntroductionProsthetics is the branch of surgery dealing with mechanical devices used to reproduce the form and agency of missing body parts. Prosthetics is the replacement of faulty or amputated body parts with artificial body parts. Artificial limbs have been in use since at least 300 BC. In AD 1509 German knight, Gtz von Berlichingen, called Gtz of the Iron Hand, wore an artificial hand with jointed fingers. Early in the nineteenth century a German prosthesist built a hand with fingers that could be flexed or extended and that could hold decipherable objects, such as a pen or a hat. Before World War I (1914-1918), wood was considered the best substance for making artificial legs, but later an aluminum alloy called Duraluminum, and more lately fiber materials, have made artificial limbs both lightweight and strong. In recent years, the manufacture of prosthetic devices has developed into a science. Artificial limbs with functioning joints brush off simulate natural motion. Hip joint prostheses can provide virtually normal mobility for people with damaged hip joints.HistoryArtificial limbs, in champion form or other, have been in use from ancient times. In 1885, a specimen was discovered in a tomb at Capua, Italy, on with other relics dating from 300BC. The celebrated artificial hand built in 1509 for the German knight Gotz von Berlichingen, who was called Gotz of the Iron Hand, weighed about 1.4 kg (3 lb.) and had articulated fingers so constructed as to be able to keep a sword or lance. The hand is in the Nrnberg Museum and is still in working order. Early in the 19th century a German prosthesist built a hand with fingers that could be flexed or extended without assistance and yet could still close to hold light objects, such as a pen, a handkerchief, or a hat. In 1851, a French prosthesist invented an artificial arm fitted with a wooden hand and attached to a leather socket that fitted the stump firmly. The fingers were half-closed, the thumb pivote d on a pin and could press firmly against the fingertips by a concealed, strong rubber band the grasp of the thumb could be operated by a mechanism attached to the opposite shoulder. The same inventor devised a leg that reproduced a natural gait and prolonged the stride.TechnologyBefore World War I, wood was universally considered the best substance for making artificial legs. Prosthetic devices made of leather reinforced with alloy bands tended to lose their shape and were therefore unsatisfactory.