ARTIFICIAL LIMBS. The art of replacing lost limbs by artificial ones made of some appro priate material is very old. In the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, in London. there Is an artificial leg of bronze, wood. and iron, ex humed from a tomb at Captia, Italy, in which, together with the skeleton of the wearer, were found three vases assigned to the year B.C. 300. Herodotns relates the tale of all Elean, captured by the Spartans and confined with one foot in the stocks, who secured his release by ampu tating his own foot, and who afterwards wore a wooden foot. Pliny declares that M. Sergius, about n.e. 167, made and wore an artificial hand, with which he fought in battle. The celebrated artificial hand of the German knight, Gotz von lierl ingen (1480 - 1502 ). 'the Iron-handed; weighed three pounds, and was so constructed as to grasp a sword or lance. It was invented by a mechanic of Nuremberg, and is preserved at Jaxthausen, near Heilbronn, a duplicate being in the castle at Erbach, in the Odenwald. Accord ing to Scott's Border A ntiquit ies, the family of Clephane, of Carslogie, "have been in possession from time immemorial of a hand made in the exact representation of that of a man, curiously formed of steel," and that it was given by one of the kings of Scotland to a laird of Carslogie, who had lost a hand in the service of his country. Ambroise Par6 described, in 1564, an iron arm constructed for a Huguenot captain, with which he could hold his shield as well as his bridle-rein. Lorrain, a French locksmith, manufactured artificial limbs, under Pare's sug gestions, with much success. Father Sebastian, a Carmelite monk, is credited with being the next to construct such limbs, with less success. Ver duin, a surgeon of Holland, invented an artificial leg in 1696, which bore his name, and which was amended in later years by Serr&. It is claimed that, early in the Nineteenth Century, Baillif. of Berlin, constructed 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. In 1790 and 1810 patents were taken out by Thomas Mann, and in 1800 by James Potts, both of England, for artifi cial legs of wood. Potts's leg was used by the Marquis of Anglesea (who lost a leg at Water loo), and was hence called the `Anglesea Leg.' In 1818 von Grille invented a mechanical appliance for artificial legs, which is largely used with modi fications, by European makers. William Selpho, who worked with Potts in England, introduced the `Anglesea Leg' in America. It was super
seded by the Palmer Leg,' a lighter and more adaptable invention by B. F. Palmer, an Ameri can cripple. Palmer's leg was patented in 1846, PHU, and 1852. Other American makers have been George W. Verger, W. C. Stone, J. llussell, O. D. Wilcox, J. S. Drake, and A. A. Marks. Marks was the first to suggest rubber feet and hands, and his artificial limbs are now the most commonly used of any in America. His first patents were issued in 1856 and 1860. In 1845 a i Dutch mechanic, van Peeterssen, invented a hand which could be used by an actor, M. Roger, to pick up a pen or hold a leaf of paper, draw a sword from the scabbard, etc. Van Pecterssen's conceptions have been extended and improved by the Messrs. Charrire, the celebrated surgical me chanics of Paris. aided by M. Hug,uier, the well known surgeon. A very marvelous arm has also been constructed by M. B6chard. 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 amputa tion 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 the sheath is furnished 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" (Heather Bigg). 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 inexpen sive substitute for the lost member. More com plicated and therefore more expensive pieces of apparatus are made, in which motion is given to the fingers. a lateral action of the thumb is ob tained, 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. Artificial rubber hands are now made in America that will write with a pen, manipulate the lever of a locomotive, row with an oar, cancel tickets, hold papers, work telegraphic keys, hold reins in driving, as well as use a pickax, carry a heavy weight, etc.