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Artificial arm, below-elbow prosthesis

Orthopaedics

1895-1904

Right below elbow prosthesis made for a lady pianist, Elizabeth Burton. Blocked leather socket connected by jointed side steels to a long leather upper arm corset with four strap and buckle fastenings. Large wing nut on inner side of elbow, to lock the joint. Shaped wooden oval wrist with detachable wooden hand. Wide spread fingers, the index, middle and ring being shorter than normal, both thumb and little finger tips are padded. This design allowed the wearer to span an octave of a piano and was made by a Mr Rowden of Abington St, Northampton, c.1903-4.

Artificial left arm, Europe, 1850-1910

Orthopaedics

1850-1910

Artificial arm, steel with brass wrist mountings, leather top piece, European, 1840-1940.

Artifcial left arm, United States, 1915

Orthopaedics

1915

Left above elbow prosthesis with a wooden socket connected to a wooden forearm. Metal mechanical hand with passive flexion and extension of the wrist. Elbow flexion is combined with pronation / supination of the wrist. Made by Carnes Arm Company, United States of America 1915.

Artificial left arm, Europe, 1925-1935

Orthopaedics

1925-1935

Left below elbow arm, leather socket, suspended by means of a narrow leather upper-arm band. Oval wrist with screw-on wooden hand, articulated fingers and tenon thumb. Palm-box fitting in which a fork has been positioned. It is presumed the wearer had limited elbow movement hence the unusual position of the fork. Date & origin unknown, probably 1930's but repaired more recently by Steepers.

Artificial right arm

Orthopaedics

1943

Right above elbow heavy duty prosthesis with a blocked leather socket, (not the original). Dural elbow unit with internal/external rotation mechanism and lock (by means of ball-headed pin set on outer side). Detachable metal forearm section, released by rotation of the knurled ring. Similar ring at wrist, rotating externally releases the hand or other terminal device. Rotating the ring in the opposite direction locks the devices. Webbing appendages. The leather flexion cord passes through the back of the elbow and is attached to the stem on the upper part of the forearm. Certalmid hand with index and middle fingers suitably spaced at the base to permit a pen to be held. Fully opposed thumb with a groove at the tip for this purpose. Made by Blatchford, dated 9 December 1943.

McKay artificial left arm

Orthopaedics

1920

A McKay all-metal arm for a left above elbow amputation, designed for heavy work. Duralumin socket and forearm, connected by jointed side steels. The elbow joint operates around a metal arc with holes for six locking positions. The lock may be released and kept free by means of a crude gate-hinged device which fits onto a projecting pin on the side steel. The wrist rotary has a snap fitting mechanism, for easy removal of the hand, or any other terminal device. The eyelet holes, in the front of the socket and forearm, are for elastic laces which act as an elbow 'pick-up' and as a clothing protector. This prosthesis is fitted with an all-rubber hand and heavy-duty harness appendages. Made by McKay on 28 April 1920. N.B. The name on the arm label refers to James Morrison who had a financial interest in the McKay business. (Weight: 2.25 lbs 1.25 kg)

Artificial left arm, United Kingdom, 1914-1916

Orthopaedics

1914-1916

Arm for a long left below elbow stump. Soft leather socket with 'U-shaped' jointed side steels incorporating a sliding elbow lock, sited on the outer side and fitted to an adjustable leather upper arm 'corset' with wide front aperture. The terminal device has a spline fitting allowing it to be locked or to rotate freely. This is a double hook incorporating a circular hole above, probably for agricultural use. Probably made by Anderson & Whitelaw c.1914-1916.

Myoelectric arm/hand prosthesis, England, 1980

Orthopaedics

1980

Myoelectric arm/hand prosthesis, with 6 volt battery, English, 1980

Iron artificial arm, Europe, 1560-1600

Orthopaedics

1560-1600

Articulated artificial left hand and forearm, iron, (previously thought to be owned by Gotz von Berlichingen), possibly German, 1560-1600

Artificial right arm, United Kingdom, 1914-1918

Orthopaedics

1914-1918

Right above elbow prosthesis with leather adjustable socket with four straps and buckles. Connected by jointed side steels to a leather forearm. Shoulder saddle, figure of 8-type harness. A Cauet hand is fixed to the wrist and a wire, passing through the forearm, extends the fingers when pulled upon by means of an attachment to the harness appendage. Made by Prosthesia c.1915.

Prosthetic arm, London, 1903-1913

Orthopaedics

c.1908

Arm made for a 16 year old girl with a congenital right below elbow amputation, (transverse terminal hemimelia). Because of limited elbow flexion a free-swinging leather cup socket was fitted. The forearm is connected to a lace-up arm corset by side steels thus providing the wearer with full flexion. There is an oval wrist and the rotary face has a 'key-fitting' for a wooden hand with articulated fingers and tenon thumb. In the palm there is a box-fitting to hold eating utensils and other devices. A small plain carrying-hook is in situ. Suspension is by means of a leather shoulder saddle and single strap designed to pass under the opposite axilla. Made by C.A. Hoefftoke, London c.1908.

'P & K' artificial left arm, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1920-1925

Orthopaedics

1920-1925

Above elbow prosthesis with a leather socket, fibre forearm, heavy metal wrist unit with long lever to operate the flexion and extension of the fingers, by P and K Artificial Limb Co., Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1920-1925. Pringle & Kirk prostheses were made in the North of England for agricultural workers.

Artificial arms, Roehampton, England, 1957-1967

Orthopaedics

1957-1967

Pair of light-weight arms for a young child with congenital bilateral above elbow stumps. Plastic sockets with friction elbow units, allowing rotation and elbow flexion. These movements may be freed or locked by loosening or tightening the side screw. A pair of dolls hands have been attached. Made by Steeper c.1962.

Artificial arm, Roehampton, England, 1964

Orthopaedics

1964

Pair of CO2 powered upper limb prostheses for a 12 year old boy who lost both arms, above the elbow, at 8 years of age. Leather sockets with valves mounted for stump control, to activate powered wrist rotation units. Body-powered split-hooks by means of Bowden cables, routed to outer side of each arm. Compound pulley device for elbow lock control. 31 gramme CO2 gas cylinder in leather holster, carried on trouser belt. Made by Steeper 1964.

Articulated artificial right arm, Europe, 1501-1550

Orthopaedics

1501-1550

Articulated artificial right arm, iron, European, early 16th century

Artificial arm for a young child

Orthopaedics

1970

One-piece forearm and foam hand for a young child, made by Steeper c. 1970.

Artificial arm with four tool attachments, England, 1945-1955

Orthopaedics

1945-1955

Heavy-duty, metal artificial arm worn by right below elbow amputee who worked in Steeper's factory (from 1943-85), making metal sockets. The tools he used include: a: 2.17 kg club-hammer (fitted to arm). b: Ball pein hammer 0.95 kg c: Double headed ball-pein hammer 0.61 kg d: Double headed planishing hammer. They all have the heavy-duty McKay adaptors, (c.1950)

Artificial left arm, England, 1850-1910

Orthopaedics

1850-1910

Artificial left arm, leather and wood, fully articulated, probably English, 1850-1910

Artficial left arm, United States, 1915

Orthopaedics

1915

Left below elbow prosthesis with a wooden socket, connected by jointed side steels to a leather upper arm corset. Metal mechanical hand with pronation / supination action combined with flexion and extension of the elbow. Hole in hand for driving cup fitment (added in more recent years) Passive wrist flexion and extension. Made by Carnes Arm Company, United States of America 1915.

Artificial left arm, London, England, 1927

Orthopaedics

1927

Artificial left arm, metal, with hand and canvas shoulder strap, adjustable joints, McKay Artificial Limb Co. of London, 1927

Artificial left arm, Scotland, 1937

Orthopaedics

1937

Artificial left arm, leather and aluminium, from the Aberdeen Hospital, dated 8th August 1937

Artificial left arm, England, 1850-1910

Orthopaedics

1850-1910

Artificial left arm, leather and wood, fully articulated, probably English, 1850-1910

'Wrist Trainer', artificial lower arm, England, 1998

Surgery

1998

'Wrist Trainer' for the practice of carpal tunnel injections and treatment of trigger finger in main case, by Limbs & Things Ltd, 1998.

Upper limb prostheses, 1959

Orthopaedics

1959

A pair of upper limb prostheses for a patient with congenital absence (amelia) of both upper limbs. He was supplied with prostheses when he was 16 years of age in 1959. These, his second pair, supplied a year later, consist of blocked leather shoulder caps joined back and front by straps and buckles. Hinged metal upper arms (permitting active abduction) also metal forearms with active elbow flexion and fully automatic elbow locks. A passive internal/external rotation device located just above each elbow. Detachable hands/terminal devices with push-rod mechanism for operating mechanical thumb or split-hook. The left (Steeplon) hand has rigid fingers and push-rod thumb. The right has three wooden articulated fingers and a semi-opposed thumb and rigid index finger. Each elbow flexion control consists of a strap attached to an anchor point, one on each side of a shaped leather waistbelt. The upper end of each strap is connected by a perlon cord to a lever-arm which pivots on the back of the respective shoulder cap. Flexion is achieved by an upward lift of the appropriate shoulder. The elbow lock control system consists of a nylon encased perlon cable (on the Bowden principle), attached to the lock lever and routed to the front of the cap on the same side. The two cables cross in front of the chest and are anchored to the waistbelt on either side of the mid-line. The lock operation is achieved by a backward thrust of the appropriate shoulder. The terminal device control also utilises a Bowden cable (wire through metal casing) routed to the outer side of each arm. The casing being anchored to respective forearms and shoulder caps with the lever system on top of each shoulder. The cables cross at the back and are fixed to the waistbelt either side of the midline. They are operated independently by a forward thrust of the appropriate shoulder. Made by Fletcher/Steeper in 1959. (Weight of limbs: 7 lbs 3.1 kg).

Artificial right arm, Cambodia, 1997-2002

Orthopaedics

1997-2002

Artificial arm, of a type provided for landmine victims in Cambodia, developed and manufactured by the Cambodia Trust charity, 1997-2002

Complete arm prosthesis, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1979

Orthopaedics

1979

Complete arm prosthesis, with motor-driven car assembly, powered by compressed air, by the Orthopaedic Bioengineering Unit, Princess Margaret Rose Hospital, Edinburgh, 1979

McKay artifcial left arm, United Kingdom, 1924-1930

Orthopaedics

1924-1930

A McKay heavy worker's arm for a left above elbow amputation. Blocked leather socket supplied with heavy-duty webbing appendage straps. Short forearm stem (for mechanical advantage when lifting). Splined terminal fitment, necessary for heavy duty tools. A long plain hook is attached. The elbow lock (which may be engaged in one of 7 positions) is manually operated by means of a small lever set on the medial side of the forearm, just below the joint. The forearm release lever is set on the lateral side of the stem. Made by McKay c.1924-30.

Artificial left arm, England, 1850-1910

Orthopaedics

1850-1910

Leather strap for artificial left arm, fully articulated, probably English, 1850-1910