Introduction To History Of Technology - Article Example

Introduction To History Of Technology Introduction Ancient literature contains reliable references to prosthetic limbs. The name prosthetics is a word that originates from the Greek culture; it means addition. Ideally, ‘pro’ means to and ‘thesis’ means placing. This article explores the entire insight to the history of the prosthetics and the technological inference related to it. Ideally, the prosthetic science commenced with the man’s desire to acquire wholeness. Therefore, the artificial limbs got developed for cosmetic forms of appearances and an actual feeling of being complete1. This history dates back to the dark ages. The history is long. In addition, it is rich since it commenced with long peg legs and has led to very complex technological systems in the current era. So much of the prosthetic technology gets affiliated with the medical world. That is; the dark ages and the efforts to achieve medical wellness through technological advancement got well described and analysed in the prosthetics of the lower limb2. This paper explores all events and developments of the prosthetics of the lower limbs with respect to technology. Therefore; it provides the history of technology in this particular field. According to scholarly evidence, the initial examples of prosthetics, as well as amputations were identified in the ancient Egyptian territory. Accordingly, the ancient Egyptians believed that a person who got amputated in life carried on the amputation into afterlife status. Hence, they got buried with the missing prosthetic devices. These prosthetics got uncovered later in the 15th century. The history, however, is more about the Greeks and Romans than it is of Egypt. For instance, it was in the 484 BC, when a Persian soldier escaped the Greek prison through amputating the leg and replaced it with a wooden prosthesis3. Medical technology is vivid in this context. It is stipulated that the dark ages were the periods where prosthetic technology, as well as the scientific technology developed. However, the pace of development was relatively low. In fact, the devices that got developed with respect to the development of this technology were of insuperable sizes. The devices were heavy and large. They got made of wood, leather peg legs and metal4. Therefore, they remain similar to those of the Greek periods5. The amputees were essentially used to using the early clutches which got made of wood together with leather. The blacksmiths of the time designed these knight armour devices to resemble a camouflage handicap. Hence, it did not have to look like an everyday functioning limb. In relation to the history of the limb prosthetics, diseases got cured through amputations and use of cannons. This is one of the memorable medical attempts in that particular historical age. Following this era, one of the earliest historical records of prosthesis dates 485-425 BC. In case of loss of a limb, there was the feeling of loss of locomotion and thoughts of a miserable death6. This is the Herodotus source prosthesis history. Ideally, the historical work of Herodotus depicts the great work and application of prosthetics technology as applied by the Seer Hegesistratos of Elis. This man got imprisoned by the Spartans. One of his feet got held within the stocks. According to history, this legend amputated one of his feet. He carried out this amputation via an apetame ton tarson. It is believed that Chopart joint enabled him to run as he escaped from prison. This is a clear indication of how useful the technology of prosthetics was. During this era, a Greco-Roman physician who originated from Hippocrates to Celsus region According to the history of the dark ages, most of the amputation dealt with cases of the battle injury. However, other cases got affiliated with leprosy. The development of the governments in Europe into central cities facilitate the growth of the universities. Resultantly, the institutions developed the sciences, and the art of development of the prosthetics grows progressively. There are different instances in the European context where the development of limb prosthetic gadgets came about. For instance, the German mercenary knight named Gotz Von Berlichingen made an iron arm7. This was an advanced example of the prosthetic with reference to the time of invention. The main cause of losing his arm was that he participated in the battle. The fitted arm got made of iron prosthetics where its mechanical operations were marvelous. The hand could easily supinate and pronate. Other supporting material to the prosthetic included leather straps that acted as supportive elements of the prosthetic hand. It was joined to the body. During this period, very primitive techniques got used. Some of these techniques included crushing of the limb and dipping it in hot oil. It is after this that it got seared with hot irons. Ideally, this gullite method got used to perform granulation. However, most of the people easily died from excessive bleeding8. However, others who survived death suffered from multiple infections. In addition, there were very few alternatives to prosthetics. This was an unfortunate issue with regards to the amputee’s parts. This was because the basic pegs, legs and hooks were only affordable to the to the rich few. Only the rich, afforded the already made artificial limbs. During the dark era, the devices used to make the armoured and prosthesis were relatively heavy. However, they were invariably used for battle purposes despite this limitation. For instance, arms got used to holding a shield. On the other side, the legs got set in a manner that they would facilitate effective staring up. Some of the people used this gadget in their activities, such as walking. The technology got slightly appreciated, especially because knights used the peg legs and hook hand depending on the amputation site. That is; the use could even go as far as daily use was concerned. However, history crowns Ambroise Pare as one of the facilitators of the success of limb prosthetics. He was the surgeon in the French army during that era. He is renowned for the introduction of the ligatures when he ran out of oil during the battle surgeries. Time was another issue when it came to carrying out limb prosthetic surgeries. Ambroise facilitated the lifesaving mission through incorporating better methods of attaching limb prosthetics in a better and quick manner. Later in the Dark Age’s history, the Pare invented the lower extremity limbs facilitating better functioning of the prosthetics9. A perfect example of a beneficiary of Ambroise Pare’s efforts was Le Petit Lorrain10. The surgeon customised and devised a knee artificial limb. The artificial limb was made in the form of a kneeling peg leg and a foot prosthesis. In addition, the equinox was amply fixed in a manner that it was easy to harness. These features got developed by the famous surgeons of the dark era. Conclusion Most of the factors that facilitated the invention of better strategies and techniques in the account of prosthetics of the lower limb included wars. Military men who suffered injured parts of the body could still fight on because of the advancement of the prosthetics of the limbs. Most of the inventions lay the basis of today’s prosthetics. For instance, the prosthetic procedures of the dark era demanded better surgical technologies get invented. The initial developers of this form of technology played a paramount role in this. Most of the material used to develop these prosthetic materials included metals such as iron and steel. In addition, they used leather reinforcements11. Mosty, these reinforcements facilitated the installation of artificial body parts. Most of the inventions get developed and applied in the future eras. The gadgets may have been heavy, but they did not have an alternative; that was the best invention that the era could facilitate. Bibliography "A History of Prosthetics and Amputation Surgery." Last modified 2014. http://www.out-on-a-limb.org/out-on-a-limb/(S(scdtdn2fh0rwux43nks2nwju))/page.aspx?page=103. Clements, P. "The History of Prosthetic Limbs - HowStuffWorks." Last modified 2014. http://science.howstuffworks.com/prosthetic-limb1.htm. DeForrest,  Douglass. The Douglass patent artificial limbs. Springfield: Bowles printers, 1872. Thurston, Alan J. "Paré and prosthetics: the early history of artificial limbs."ANZ journal of surgery 77, no. 12 (2007): 1114-1119. Sheldon, Joseph Harold. "The Social Medicine of Old Age. Report of an Enquiry in Wolverhampton." The Social Medicine of Old Age. Report of an Enquiry in Wolverhampton. (1948). Sacks, David. A dictionary of the ancient Greek world. Oxford University Press, 1995 Read More