On artificial limbs : their construction and application / by Henry Heather Bigg.

  • Bigg, Henry Robert Heather, 1853-1911.
Date:
[1855]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On artificial limbs : their construction and application / by Henry Heather Bigg. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by UCL Library Services. The original may be consulted at UCL (University College London)

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    of his scientific contrivances. Without a correct understanding of this latter important point all mere imitative effort is certain to prove unavail- ing and entail discredit. It must not, however, be supposed that the length of the remaining portion of leg, or stump, is always a matter of choice, even to the surgeon, as the existence of an extensively dis- eased surface frequently renders an operation necessary that involves a loss of nearly the entire limb. In adjusting an artificial leg, speed in acquiring its use greatly depends upon the amount of stump remaining ; though, if the dis- tance from its upper part to its end be but a few inches, mechanical means are fortunately available by which a leg can be attached. It is needless, however, to remark that the difficulty of obtaining a fixed point is greatly increased by want of a good and lengthy surface. In amputation above knee, the best length the stump can possess (for the mechanician) is when two-thirds of the thigh remain, more than this only involving a possibility of the anterior end being pressed against the front of the bucket or thigh-sheath when the patient commences walking, which, besides creating a feeling of
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