he first known mention of any kind of prosthetic was recorded by Herodotus dating back to around 500 BCE. He wrote of a man who cut off his own foot to escape from slavery and then replacing it with some kind of wooden object. In 300 BCE a copper and wooden limb was found in a tomb in Italy. In the 15th and 16th centuries AD, artificial limbs (mainly lower body at the time) were made from iron for soldiers who lost legs during combat. The folowing few centuries, limbs were made from wood instead so as to lessen the weight of the prostheses. By the 19th century with the Civil War, prosthetics became much more common. In 1945 the Artificial Limb Program was founded to improve the quality of prostheses.
There are two kinds of arm prostheses, transradial and transhumeral:
Transradial
Transradial prosthesis is for amputated arms below the elbow. The most simplified version of the artificial arm for this kind of amputation is a prosthesis with simply a hook on it. (This method was stereotyped and associated with pirates and villains and therefore was not very favored).
The next version of a transradial prosthesis is cable operated and is attached by being slung over the person's shoulder and then a kind of clamp is open and closed by the cable.
The most used version of prosthesis now for this kind of prosthesis is a myoelectric prosthesis which means that it is electrically controlled. When the muscles that are connected to the prosthetic contract, electrodes run through a motor that uses the voltage to open and close the prosthetic.
Transhumeral
Transhumeral prostheses are for those whose arms are amputated above the elbow.
Transhumeral amputees actually use the same kind of artificial arms as discussed above only it is much more difficult to mimic the natural movememnt of the arm since elbow must be taken into account. Generally the artificial arms are made with some kind of function where the elbow would be allowing the prosthetic to move up and down and essentially "bend" like a natural human arm.
Technology and Advancements in the Works
-Robotic Technology Scientists have been researching and developing technology for robotic arms which are stimulated by the brain. Nerves from the original arm are rewired and attached to the robotic arm so the sense of "feeling" and temperature can be felt by the person, something that is not available with other prostheses.
Below is a picture of a prosthetic arm that is used by being connected directly to the central nervous system and is stimulated by the brain via electrodes.
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