Prosthesis or prosthetic limb is an extension of artificial device, which may replace missing body part. In other words, prosthetic is one of the parts of biomechatronics or science of using mechanical instruments with nervous systems, skeleton and muscles of human beings, which helps in assisting or enhancing motor control lost due to defect, disease and trauma. Prosthesis mainly replace the lost parts of human body, which may cause either by some injury or congenital that is missing right from ones birth.
Other than this, prosthetics have included artificial eyes, hearing aids, gastric band, palatal obturator and dentures. Prosthetics are somewhat different from orthotics, despite of the fact that prosthetics give similar functional benefits as that of orthotics. In term of technology, prosthesis is one of the finished items. For instance, you can never perceive C-Leg knee as prosthesis, as it is only a part of the same. This is because; complete prosthesis comprises of socket or any type of stump attachment system, while parts of attachment hardware go all the way down, along with the foot.
Significance of Prosthesis
If you and your friend are fortunate enough to have all your legs and arms, chances are that all of you take such fortunes for granted. Human body is one of the remarkable pieces of biological machinery, while the limbs are not exception. For instance, your hand can perform various types of delicate as well as complex tasks in daily life. In addition, your hands have huge strength as well as durability required for gripping some of the heavy objects and withstand huge impacts. In the similar way, legs of human beings are impressive as legs enable us to cover long distances without getting tired and navigate in every uncertain terrain.
When a person loses his or her limb by either disease or injury, person fails to perform all the functions performed by the lost limb. Upper extremity amputation involves the loss of part or the entire arm, which implies that person, becomes unable to do his daily jobs or regular activities of his life. On the other hand, in case of lower extremity amputation, person losses his or her legs, which means he or she losses the ability to play, run and walk. Hence, prosthetic limbs are highly valuable for both upper extremity as well as lower extremity amputees. This is because; prosthesis may help in restoring some of the lost capabilities of amputated human limbs. Despite prosthetic limbs have not so much advanced, so that they may compete the functionality offered by biological human limbs, their role for amputees is significant. Therefore, in conclusion, we can say that prosthetic limbs are great boon for human beings having amputated limbs.