From the surgical to the mechanical art / J. & E. Ferris.

  • J. & E. Ferris.
Date:
1891
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: From the surgical to the mechanical art / J. & E. Ferris. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Preface. T is of the utmost importance that Ladies and Gentlemen who have had the misfortune to lose a leg or an arm, and who desire to be supplied with an artificial substitute, should adopt such as are constructed on principles the most closely allied to nature, those, in fact, which are second only to nature itself; not merel}^ for the sake of appearance but for the health and comfort of the wearer. Probably nothing can be more irrita¬ ting or worse for the nervous system than the wearing of an ill-fitting and badly constructed artificial leg, which makes its very real presence obtrusively prominent, and precludes walking with anything approaching the natural gait, or even sitting with any degree of comfort. Fortunatel3Mt has fallen to our lot to perfect and introduce artificial limbs which are in appearance and anatomical mechanism, an exact counterpart of nature, with the result that patients who have adopted them are loud in their praises, and express surprise that such simple miechanical arrangements have never been previously introduced. One of the most important features in our artificial legs is our A nkle-joint with lateral movement^ and here the natural ankle has been carefully studied and imitated, with the result that by means of certain mechanical combinations, we have succeeded in producing motions exactly the same as the Tibia and Fibula with the Astragalus in the natural leg. The utility of the lateral motion is apparent to observers of the wearers of artificial legs, and infinitely more so to the wearers them¬ selves, as in its absence it is next to impossible to walk on an uneven or inclined surface, whereas with our lateral action, a person can walk on the roughest roads, without the least jar, discomfort, or danger.