History of Amputation & Prosthetics
Origins
Amputation is derived from the Latin amputare, to cut away, from amb (about) and putare (to prune) by the end of the 17th century amputation was accepted as the medical term.
A prosthesis is an artificial extension that replaces a missing body part.
History
Believed to be the oldest known prosthesis, is the Capua Leg which was
discovered in a tomb in Capua, Italy. The leg made out of copper and wood dating
back to 300 BC.
In the early Christian period limb loss was the result of trauma or 'nonsurgical'
removal, and survival was generally regarded as very low chances.
Then followed a period around the 15th century when surgical experimentation, mainly on gangrenous limbs or those already terribly damaged, where the patient was given a choice with the aim of saving their life and achieving a healed stump, despite the difficulties with infection and the lack of effective control for pain or blood loss. The survival rate was still small as many succumbed to shock and infection.
16th Century leg design
The main area of development came in the 19th century along with the development of anaesthetics and later infection control. In the American Civil War many men lost limbs due to canon and rifle shot, which would shatter bone sections making it impossible to repair the fracture. This led to well off people looking at means to replace the lost limb. Below is the patent for a wooden replacement leg, but this would have been a very heavy device.
Benjamin Franklin Palmer patented 1846 |
19th century wooden leg |
 |
Another 19th Century leg made from leather with a steel hip hinge would have proved lighter and possibly more comfortable to the wearer. Not a million miles away from today's suspension socket and carbon fibre limbs.
For the less well off there was always the simple peg leg held in place using leather straps.
Leg manufacture circa 1918
The 20th century noted marked improvements in surgical techniques and also a move to increasingly sophisticated prosthetic limbs. During the 1914 World War almost 240,000 British soldiers lost limbs and many spent long periods at Queen Mary's Convalescent Auxiliary Hospital, Roehampton, London. The House originally built in 1712 was enlarged in 1915 to become a specialised orthopaedic hospital and artificial limb fitting centre for soldiers maimed in World War 1. With thousands needing them, Queen Mary’s Convalescent Auxiliary Hospital had 200 beds by 1918 and soon became a renowned centre of excellence for prosthetics and the care and rehabilitation of such patients.
The latest developments involve biomechatronics, where the new limb is connected directly to the end of the bone and with the use of computer technology the limb becomes almost a direct replacement. Although the standard artificial limb for every-day use is given to most amputees, these can be upgraded to have special devices to aid in the participation of sports and recreational activities. There are also significant developments with the cosmetical coverings to make the limb almost seamless to the onlooker.