prosthetics

pros·thet·ics

P0610000 (prŏs-thĕt′ĭks)n. (used with a sing. verb) The branch of medicine or surgery that deals with the production and application of artificial body parts.

pros′the·tist (prŏs′thĭ-tĭst) n.

prosthetics

(prɒsˈθɛtɪks) n (Surgery) (functioning as singular) the branch of surgery concerned with prosthesis

pros•thet•ics

(prɒsˈθɛt ɪks)

n. (used with a sing. v.) 1. the branch of surgery or of dentistry that deals with the replacement of missing parts with artificial structures. 2. the fabrication and fitting of prosthetic devices, esp. artificial limbs. [1890–95] pros′the•tist (-θə tɪst) n.

prosthetics

the branch of surgery dealing with the replacement of missing limbs or organs with artificial substitutes. — prosthetic, adj.See also: Surgery

the branch of surgery dealing with the replacement of missing limbs or organs with artificial substitutes. — prosthetic, adj.See also: Medical Specialties

Thesaurus

Noun

prosthetics - the branch of medicine dealing with the production and use of artificial body partsmedical specialty, medicine - the branches of medical science that deal with nonsurgical techniques

Translations

Prosthetics

(1) A form of medical care.

(2) A medical-engineering discipline concerned with the restoration of lost body parts and (in part) functions of individual organs in sick and disabled persons for the purposes of rehabilitation. In the narrower sense, prosthetics deals with the design, production, and use of prostheses and other orthopedic devices, such as corsets and footwear. From the social standpoint, prosthetics provides sick and disabled persons with special means of locomotion, including canes, crutches, compact wheelchairs, wheeled beds, and lever-controlled and motorized wheelchairs.

Prosthetics is a transitional discipline between medicine and engineering and is directly related to such fields as orthopedics and traumatology, plastic surgery, physiology, biomechanics, and electronics.

Although it did not take shape as an independent discipline until the 19th century, prosthetics is mentioned even in remote antiquity. The Greek historian Herodotus wrote about a certain Hegesistratus (500 B.C.), who made a wooden leg for himself and served in the Persian army. The Roman historian Pliny told of a commander who, having lost an arm during the Second Punic War (218–201 B.C.), was able to hold his shield with the aid of a specially made iron arm. On display in a Nuremberg museum is a metal arm made in 1509. In 1552, A. Paré made a leg prosthesis with a knee hinge and lock. In 1800 the Englishman D. Potts obtained a patent for a wooden leg with knee and ankle hinges; movements were regulated by rods. In the early 19th century, the Dutchman van Peeterssen invented an above-elbow prosthesis in which the fingers were contracted by a spring and extended by contraction of the muscles of the shoulder girdle on the other side of the body. In the 1870’s the French physician Gripouilleau made an attachment for a hand prosthesis for performing several tasks. Tool holders, such as a hook, ring, or clamp, were made for any point of amputation of the arm.

The development of prosthetics in Russia is associated with I. P. Kulibin, N. I. Pirogov, and others (seeORTHOPEDICS). In 1877 the Committee for Aid to Crippled Soldiers was formed to help military casualties obtain prostheses. In 1878 the Red Cross provided funds for the manufacture of prostheses. On the initiative of the orthopedists R. R. Vreden, G. I. Turner, G. A. Al’brekht, and V. A. Betekhtin, an organization plan for prostheses was worked out, and by 1916 shops in 12 cities were making fiber, plywood, leather, and gauze-gelatin prostheses. The development of prosthetics in the USSR was made possible by the creation of a good supply of materials and technical expertise, the training of skilled personnel, and the application of modern achievements in science and technology. Much of the credit belongs to N. N. Priorov, N. N. Burdenko, N. A. Bern-shtein, M. I. Sitenko, and B. P. Popov. In the USSR there are now more than 100 enterprises manufacturing prostheses, orthopedic devices, and semifinished products for prostheses. Hospitals for primary and complex prosthetics have been organized in plants that manufacture prosthetic and orthopedic devices. Mobile teams in vehicles outfitted with shops for working with prostheses serve disabled individuals living in remote sections of the country.

In the USSR, the fundamental principles governing prostheses are set forth in the Basic Principles of Health Legislation of the USSR and the Union Republics of 1972. The categories of individuals entitled to free prostheses or to prostheses at a reduced cost and the conditions and procedures for supplying the prostheses are specified in additional legislation enacted by the USSR and the Union republics. Public health agencies are responsible for supplying citizens with dental and ocular prostheses, while social security agencies provide other types. Directives issued by these agencies closely regulate procedures for supplying prosthetic and orthopedic devices, schedules for the manufacture, repair, and exchange of the devices, and warranty periods. Citizens being fitted with complex prostheses are placed in hospitals located in plants that manufacture prosthetic and orthopedic devices. Industrial workers, office workers, and members of kolkhozes are given an allowance for temporary incapacity for work while they are in the hospital (but not for more than 30 calendar days).

Interest among physiologists, particularly specialists in biomechanics, has led to a deeper study of the motor functions of disabled persons in relation to the movements of healthy individuals; this has given rise to new requirements in the construction of prostheses. Various materials have been approved for use in modern prosthetic devices. New approaches to research, such as biomechanical and physiological methods, are used to study individuals who wear prostheses. Soviet scientists were the first to devise and introduce artificial arms with bioelectric control. For children wearing prostheses, N. A. Shenk has proposed rigid sleeves that can be lengthened as the patient grows. L. M. Voskoboinikova has constructed prostheses for abnormally developed extremities, and A. N. Vitkovskaia has designed prostheses for young children. Important advances have been made in the clinical aspects of prosthetics. These include studies of the levels at which extremities should be amputated and methods for doing so, determination of the causes and prevention of diseases and defects of the stump, the introduction of a method of fitting a prosthesis directly on the operating table, and the identification of problems encountered by children who wear prostheses after amputations and by children suffering from anomalies in development of the extremities.

Achievements in prosthetics in the USSR are reported in the journal Ortopediia, travmatologiia iprotezirovanie (Orthopedics, Traumatology, and Prosthetics, since 1955) and in Protezirovanie i protezostroenie (Prosthetics and Prosthesis Construction), a collection of the works of the Central Scientific Research Institute of Prosthetics and Prosthesis Construction (founded 1948). The principal foreign publications are Bulletin JSPO (since 1972, Copenhagen), Orthotics and Prosthetics (1947, Washington, D.C.), Bulletin of Prosthetics Research (1964, New York), Orthopädie Technik (1949, Wiesbaden), and Orthopädie Technische Informationen (1969, Berlin). International organizations include the International Association of Orthotists and Prosthetists (INTERBOR, founded 1958) and the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO, founded 1970).

REFERENCES

Kopylov, F. A., V. A. Betekhtin, and M. S. Pevzner. Meditsinskie osnovy protezirovaniia. [Leningrad] 1956.
Popov, B. P. “Protezirovanie.” In Mnogotomnoe rukovodstvopo ortopedii i travmatologii, vol. 1. Moscow, 1967.
Protezirovanie i protezostroenie: Sb. trudov, fasc. 25. Moscow, 1971.

N. I. KONDRASHIN and V. G. SANIN

prosthetics

prosthesis

[pros-the´sis] (pl. prosthe´ses) (Gr.) an artificial substitute for a missing part, such as an eye, limb, or tooth, used for functional or cosmetic reasons, or both.Artificial Limb. Advances in the field of surgical amputation and the art of designing artificial limbs have made it possible for persons who have lost a limb to be equipped with a prosthesis that functions so efficiently, and so closely resembles the original in appearance, that they can resume normal activities with the disability passing almost unnoticed.Materials Used in the Prosthesis. A variety of materials can be used for the manufacture of artificial limbs. Wood, especially willow, is the most popular because it is comparatively light and resilient, and is easily shaped. Aluminum or an aluminum alloy is used when lightness is particularly desirable, such as in a limb for an aged person. Plastic limbs are also available. Leather and various metals are used for reinforcement and control.Powering the Limb. Most artificial limbs are powered by the muscles, either those remaining in the residual limb or other available muscles. The muscles of the residual limb often can be considerably strengthened by physical therapy. Muscle power can be reinforced by means of springs, straps, gears, locks, levers, or, in some cases, hydraulic mechanisms.The Artificial Lower Limb. The most commonly fitted artificial limb is the knee-jointed leg, used by persons whose lower limbs have been amputated above the knee. This prosthesis is powered by the hip and remaining thigh muscles, which kick the leg forward. The key points in such a limb are the socket, where it fits onto the residual limb, the knee, and the ankle. The possibility of walking with a normal gait depends primarily on the successful alignment of the socket joint; the knee usually consists of a joint centered slightly behind that of the natural leg, as this has been found to afford greater stability; sometimes the ankle joint is omitted and flexibility of the ankle achieved by the use of a rubber foot.The Artificial Upper Limb. The choice of a particular artificial upper limb depends largely on the person's occupation. There are many different types, ranging from the purely functional, which will enable a person to perform heavy work, to the purely cosmetic, which aims only at looking as natural as possible. Those persons whose work requires them to do heavy lifting are often fitted with a “pegarm,” a short limb without an elbow joint, which is easily controlled and has great leverage.The Artificial Hand. There are many different types of artificial hands. Many artificial upper limbs are so constructed that they can be fitted with a selection of different hands, depending on the type of work to be done. Researchers generally agree that the various types of hooks offer the greatest functional efficiency. These reproduce the most powerful function of natural hands—the pressure between thumb and forefinger. There are also artificial hands that combine a certain amount of utility with cosmetic value, often by means of a cosmetic glove covering a mechanical hand; others are designed simply for appearance, though they may offer some support as well.
Most hooks and hands are mechanically connected to the opposite shoulder and operated by a shrugging motion. However, a procedure known as kineplasty" >kineplasty uses the person's own arm and chest muscles to work the device. In this method, selected muscles are tunneled under by surgery and lined by skin. Pegs adapted to the tunnels can then be made to move an artificial hand mechanism. Kineplasty is used when skill rather than strength is desired.Protecting the Residual Limb (Stump). In a person with an artificial limb, there is always a danger of irritation or infection. A sock is worn to cover the residual limb, and this should be washed daily; the residual limb itself should also be washed regularly and carefully, particularly between skin folds. When the artificial limb is not being used, the residual limb should be exposed to the air if possible.

Types of lower limb prostheses. A, Below-knee endoskeletal prosthesis. The strength is derived from the inner endoskeleton. B, Below-knee exoskeletal prosthesis. The strength is derived from the outer exoskeleton. C, Above-knee endoskeletal prosthesis. D, Above-knee exoskeletal prosthesis. Exoskeletal (E) and endoskeletal (F) hip disarticulation prostheses. From Myers, 1995.Angelchik prosthesis a C-shaped silicone device used in the management of esophagitis" >reflux esophagitis; it can also be placed around the distal esophagus during a laparotomy. (

Placement of the Angelchik antireflux prosthesis. From Ignatavicius and Workman, 2002.)Austin Moore prosthesis a metallic implant used in hip arthroplasty" >arthroplasty.Charnley prosthesis an implant for hip arthroplasty" >arthroplasty consisting of an acetabular cup and a relatively small femoral head component that form a low-friction joint.penile prosthesis see penile prosthesis.

pros·thet·ics

(pros-thet'iks), The art and science of making and adjusting artificial parts of the human body. See: anaplastology.

prosthetics

(prŏs-thĕt′ĭks)n. (used with a sing. verb) The branch of medicine or surgery that deals with the production and application of artificial body parts.

pros′the·tist (prŏs′thĭ-tĭst) n.

pros·thet·ics

(pros-thet'iks) The art and science of making and adjusting artificial parts of the human body.

Prosthetics

Mechanical devices that replace missing body parts.Mentioned in: Osteopathy

pros·thet·ics

(pros-thet'iks) The art and science of making and adjusting artificial parts of the human body.

prosthetics

pros·thet·ics

prosthetics

pros•thet•ics

prosthetics

Prosthetics

Prosthetics

REFERENCES

prosthetics

prosthesis

pros·thet·ics

prosthetics

pros·thet·ics

Prosthetics

pros·thet·ics

prosthetics

Words related to prosthetics

noun the branch of medicine dealing with the production and use of artificial body parts

Related Words