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300 BCE
Cairo toe
Discovered in 1910, this wooden toe was discovered on the foot of an Egyptian mummy that dates back to 300 BCE, and is thought of as the first functional prosthetic. The small prosthetic is a wooden toe attached to the foot with a string Daley, Jason. “This 3,000-Year-Old Wooden Toe” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 21 June 2017, www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/study-ancient-cairo-toe-180963783/. -
300 BCE
Capua leg
The oldest known prosthetic leg - the Capua leg - was crafted by Romans from bronze and iron with a wooden core Spector, Dina. “The Incredible Evolution Of Artificial Limbs.” Business Insider Australia, 19 Aug. 2014, www.businessinsider.com.au/the-evolution-of-prosthetic-technology-2014-8. -
210 BCE
General Marcus Sergius
General Sergius is considered the first documented wearer of the prosthetic limb. In the second Punic War, Sergius los the his right hand, and was given a prosthesis, fashioned from iron, that allowed him to hold his shield and continue fighting “Roman Republic–Silver Denarius (of General Marcus Sergius Silus (116-115 BC.) Minted in Rome.” Catawiki, auction.catawiki.com/kavels/12236113-roman-republic-silver-denarius-of-general-marcus-sergius-silus -
450
Peg legs
Peg legs and crutches made of wood and fiber are invented -
1508
Gotz Von Berlichingen
Gots Von Berlichingen is one of the first to have a prosthetic hand crafted out of iron. He had lost his arm in a sword fight, and later replaced it with his prosthetic hand. -
1529
Ambroise Pare
Pare introduced ampuatation to the medical world, and is a very notable surgeon of his time. Later on, he began crafting prosthetic legs with locking knees, hinged prosthetic hands, and ocular prostheses. “Ambroise Paré.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Feb. 2018, simple.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambroise_Par%C3%A9. -
Peter Verduyn
Verduyn creates a prosthesis for the lower leg the incorporates unique hinges for the lower leg, as well as a leather cuff that provides an improved method of attachment to the leg -
Anesthesia
With the advent of gaseous anesthesia and improved sterilization, surgery time was lengthened, allowing doctors to perform ampuatatin with greater precision. As a result, usage of prosthetics began to rise, and the patient success rate increased rapidly “Inventions.” Yadin US History Final 2014, yadinhistoryfinal.blogspot.com/p/inventions.html. -
Ankle amputations
Sir James Syme describes his method for amputating at the ankle. Before this, ampuatations were made at the thighs. Cutting at the ankle later allowed the patient to walk again -
William Selvo
Salvo patents a prosthetic arm which made use of muscular motion from the opposite, functional arm to activate the prosthesis. A system of straps and cords allows the user to actuate the prosthetic fingers, making them open and close “Above-Elbow Prosthesis with DynamicArm.” Ottobock., www.ottobockus.com/prosthetics/upper-limb-prosthetics/solution-overview/above-elbow-prosthesis-featuring-dynamicarm/. -
Civil War promotes changes
The US government starts paying for war veterans that lost limbs. 30,000 amputees were reported on the Union side alone McLauchlin, Rhianna. “Civil War: Amputation by Granger.” Fine Art America, fineartamerica.com/featured/civil-war-amputation-granger.html. -
Changes in the hand
The cosmetic rubber hand now had fingers that can move and various other attachments, such as brushes and hooks -
Samuel Decker
A veteran of the Civil War, Decker designed his on artificial arms and became a pioneer of modular limb design “Civil War Veteran's Ingenious, Self-Designed Mechanical Arms”, twentytwowords.com/civil-war-veterans-ingenious-self-designed-mechanical-arms -
Gustav Hermann
Hermann invents the first aluminum leg -
ALPS
The National Academy of Sciences was formed by the federal government, and created the Artificial Limb Program. This program targeted the need for advances in prosthetics due to the volume of WWII veterans that required focused care in the area of prosthetics -
WWII ends
The war ends, and the need for prosthetics dramatically rises. However, artificial limbs had hardly advanced from the ones centuries ago, and the need to invent better prosthetics was called to attention -
Advancement
Russians create a functional moving prosthetic hand Americans create a fully functional prosthetic arm -
Ysidro Martinez
Martinez makes an improved below-knee prosthesis -
At Pittsburgh
Trials begin, and researchers at Pittsburgh University study and implement brain interface technology into prosthetics. This allows amputee test subjects to control a prosthetic arm to reach for, grasp, and place objects “Person Moves Her Robotic Arms Groundbreaking Brain-Controlled Prosthetic Attaches to Implant in Patient's Bone.” 13 Jan. 2016, www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech -
Today’s prosthetics
Today, most prosthetics are made of advanced plastics and carbon fiber composites. Electronic technologies make today’s prosthetics more controllable, even capable of automatically adapting their function during certain tasks. However, though they have been modernized, the basic components of prosthodontics limbs remain the same. Dailymail.com, Cheyenne Macdonald For. “Modern Orosthetics”.
