Prosthetic Limbs Essay

779 Words4 Pages

A skeleton is a structure made out of bones which protect our internal organs. The skeleton serves five major functions; support, movement, protection, production of blood cells, storage of minerals. Without our skeleton our body would have no shape. We wouldn’t be able to move and we would be floppy like a sheet. We wouldn't be able to hear anything because the vibrations from outside cannot be passed on to the cochlea and eventually to the brain. Without skeleton, all organs would become much more vulnerable to cuts and bruises, as well as diseases. The musculoskeletal system gives the human body the ability to move using the muscular and skeletal systems. The musculoskeletal system provides form, support, stability, and movement to the body. A prosthetic limb is an …show more content…

The device, found attached to the nearly 3,000-year-old remains of an Egyptian noblewoman, is a good representation of how little prosthetic limbs have changed throughout history. With the exception of very recent times, prosthetic devices have been constructed of basic materials, such as wood and metal, and held to the body with leather attachments. The history of prosthetics has always been intertwined with the history of warfare and the soldiers that fight. With the advent of gaseous anesthesia in the 1840s, doctors could perform longer, more meticulous amputation surgeries, allowing them to operate on the limb stump in such a way as to prepare it for interfacing with a prosthesis. Advances in sterile, germ free surgeries also improved the success rate of amputation procedures, increasing the need for prosthetic limbs. Before making the prosthetic limb they have to first measure the circumference and the diameter of the hand or leg the person is missing. They then make a mould with the same circumference and diameter as the