ARTIFICIAL LIMBS. With the exception of the celebrated artificial hand of the German knight, Ghtz von Berlichingen*—who flourished in the early part of the 16th c. (1518), and who was named Tbe Iron-handed—which weighed three pounds, was so constructed as to grasp a sword or lance, and was invented by a mechanic of Nurem berg, our knowledge of artificial limbs dates from the time of Ambrose Pare, whose Uiluvres de Chipurgie were published in 1575. The twelfth chapter of that volume, as translated by Thomas .Tohnson in 1605, shows " by what means arms, legs, and hands may be made by art, and placed instead of the natural arms, legs, and hands that are cut off or lost." No improvements worthy of record were made from the time of Ambrose Pare to the beginning of the present century, when Baillif of Berlin con structed a hand which did not exceed a pound in weight, and in which the fingers, without the aid of the natural hand, not only exercised the movements of flexion and extension, but could be closed upon and retain light objects, such as a hat, and even a pen. "Artificial hands," says Mr. Heather Bigg, "are now constructed, by means of which a pin may be picked up from the ground, a glass raised to the lips, food carried to the mouth, and a sword drawn from its scabbard and held with con siderable firmness; while a combined arm and hand is fabricated, which is equal to the ordinary requirements of histrionic declamation."—Orthopraxy, 1865, p. 157. The utility of an artificial arm depends much on the nature of the stump. A stump above the elbow is best suited for an arm when it gradually tapers to its lowest end, and terminates in a rounded surface. When an arm is removed at the shoulder joint, and there is no stump, an artificial arm can still be fixed in its proper place by means of a corset. In amputation below the elbow-joint, the best stump is one which includes about two thirds of the forearm; while a stump formed by amputation at the wrist is very unsatisfactory. The simplest form of artificial arm intended to be attached to a stump terminating above the elbow, "consists of a leathern sheath accurately fitted to the upper part of the stump. The lower end of time sheath is fur nished with a wooden block and metal screw-plate, to which can be attached a fork for holding meat, a knife for cutting food, or a hook for carrying a weight."—Op. cit. p. 160. The arm should be so carried as to represent the position of the natural arm when at rest. It is retained in its position by shoulder and breast straps, and forms a light, useful, and inexpensive substitude for the lost member. More complicated and
therefore more expensive pieces of apparatus are made, in which motion is given to the fingers, a lateral action of the thumb is obtained, and the wrist-movements are partially imitated; and a degree of natural softness is given to the hand by a covering of gutta percha and India-rubber. Such a hand, says Mr. Bigg, is often more symmetrical in aspect than the natural hand, but it possesses no efficient grasping power. Hence provi sion has to be made for attaching various instruments to its palm, such as special hooks, which can be removed at pleasure, for driving, shooting, etc.; apparatus for using the knife and the fork, for grasping the pen, etc.: indeed, the number and variety of instru ments capable of being applied to an artificial hand are extremely great. Nothing has tended so much to the very highest development of artificial arms and hands, as an acci dent which happened more than a quarter of a century ago to the celebrated French tenor, M. Roger, who lost his right arm above the elbow. It was necessary for his future appearance on the stage, that he should have an artificial limb, which would serve the purposes of histrionic action, and permit him to grasp a sword and draw it from its scabbard. Such a contrivance was invented in 1845 by Van Petersen, a Prus sian mechanician, and the French academy of sciences commissioned MM. Gambey, Bayer, Velpeau, and Magendie to report upon it. For a history of the nature of the limb, the reader is referred to the report which appeared in the Comptes Ilenduts for that date, or to Mr. Bigg's Orthopra.ry, pp. 176-181. The apparatus, which weighs less than 18 oz., was tested upon a soldier who had lost both arms. By its aid he was enabled to pick up a pen, take hold of a leaf of paper, etc.; and the old man's joy during the experiment was so great, that the academy presented him with a pair of these arms. Van Petersen's conceptions have been extended and improved by Messrs. Charricre, the celebrated surgical mechanics of Paris, aided by M. Hugnier, the well-known surgeon. A very marvelous arm has also been almost simultaneously con structed by M. Bechard, which, " by means of a single point of traction, placed in pro nation, executes first the movement of supination, next in succession the extension of the fingers and abduction of the thumb: the hand is then wide open."—Bigg, op. cit. p. 190.