Paré and Prosthetics: The Early History of Artificial Limbs

Abstract

There is evidence for the use of prostheses from the times of the ancient Egyptians. Prostheses were developed for function, cosmetic appearance and a psycho-spiritual sense of wholeness. Amputation was often feared more than death in some cultures. It was believed that it not only affected the amputee on earth, but also in the afterlife. The ablated limbs were buried and then disinterred and reburied at the time of the amputee's death so the amputee could be whole for eternal life. One of the earliest examples comes from the 18th dynasty of ancient Egypt in the reign of Amenhotep II in the fifteenth century bc. A mummy in the Cairo Museum has clearly had the great toe of the right foot amputated and replaced with a prosthesis manufactured from leather and wood. The first true rehabilitation aids that could be recognized as prostheses were made during the civilizations of Greece and Rome. During the Dark Ages prostheses for battle and hiding deformity were heavy, crude devices made of available materials - wood, metal and leather. Such were the materials available to Ambroise Paré who invented both upper-limb and lower-limb prostheses. His 'Le Petit Lorrain', a mechanical hand operated by catches and springs, was worn by a French Army captain in battle. Subsequent refinements in medicine, surgery and prosthetic science greatly improved amputation surgery and the function of prostheses. What began as a modified crutch with a wooden or leather cup and progressed through many metamorphoses has now developed into a highly sophisticated prosthetic limb made of space-age materials.

Yabani Bir Kızıl Geyikte (Cervus elaphus) Parsiyel Ön Bacak Amputasyonu ve Protez Bacak Uygulaması

“…Prostheses were developed for cosmetic, function and sense of wholeness in human 10 . Butt et al reported about complications including problems in standing and breakdown of the contralateral supporting limb after the amputation.…”

“…Prosthetic covers consist of foam shaped by the prosthetist to look like the missing limb. Attachable prosthetic devices have been used in different animal speices including horse, cattle, dog with variable success [10][11][12][13] .…”

Biomaterials – a history of 7000 years

“…James Potts fitted his prosthetic leg consisting of a wooden shaft and socket, steel knee joint, and an articulated foot with artificial cords or catgut tendons that connected knee flexion with foot flexion. The tendon system caused the first incorporation of dorsiflexion and plantar flexion of the foot with accordance to knee movement, an aspect of prosthetic feet production that is used and desirable today [6]. Though amputated, the limb went on to lead a somewhat macabre after-life as a tourist attraction in the village of Waterloo in Belgium; Potts' prosthesis made for Anglesey can still be admired at the Science Museum in London.…”

The Application of Nanotechnology for Implant Drug Release

“…Organ failure caused by trauma, congenital defects, infection or cancer has always been a major problem for human health. As a result, implants that support or replace our body parts have been in use for millennia as evidenced by ancient dental implants [ 1 ], wooden prosthetic limbs [ 2 ] and precious metal plates for use in cranioplasty after surgical trepanation [ 3 ]. Major new improvements in treating organ failure took place in the twentieth century including the fi rst successful donor organ transplantations of kidneys in 1954 [ 4 ] and of hearts in 1967 [ 5 ] as well as the development of complex artifi cial electromechanical organs such as the Jarvik-7, the fi rst working total artifi cial heart, implemented in 1982 [ 6 ].…”