The history of prosthetics, which have existed for thousands of years, starts in the Egyptian Empire. Although first they were only crude replacements for missing limbs, prosthetics have advanced from the peg leg to computerized artificial limbs, joints and more.

Milestones in the History of Prosthetics
Beginning 4000 BC: The Egyptians were early pioneers of prosthetic technology, with limbs made of fiber.

3500 BC: The first written document was discovered about prosthetics. It consisted of a poem written by Rig-Veda about a queen who lost her leg in battle and had an iron prosthesis made to replace her limb.

500 B.C.: The ancient Greek historian Herodotus wrote about a prisoner who had escaped his cell by cutting off his foot and replacing it with a wooden one.

200 B.C.: Archeologists discover a bronze peg which served as a prosthetic leg.

History of Prosthetics in the Dark Ages and Beyond
450 - 1000 A.D.: Leather peg legs and crutches made of wood, leather, and/or metal are created.

1508:  German mercenary Gotz von Berlichingen had a pair of technologically advanced iron hands made after he lost his right arm in battle.

1529: Ambroise Pare, a French surgeon, develops an artificial leg with a movable knee joint, a flexible foot operated with a spring, and an artificial hand with fingers that are moved by tiny internal cogs and levers.

1696: Dutch Surgeon Pieter Andriannszoon Verduyn develops the first non-locking prosthesis for below the knee.

1800:  James Potts designs a prosthesis made of a wooden shank and socket, a steel knee joint and an articulated foot that is controlled by tendons from the knee to the ankle.

1858: Dr. Douglas Bly of Rochester, New York, invents a prosthetic leg with an articulated ankle made of an ivory ball in a vulcanized rubber socket.

1858: Archaeologists discover the first copper and wooden leg from 300 B.C. in Capri, Italy.

Civil War Affects History of Prosthetics
1861-1865: For the first time, U.S. federal and state governments pay for prosthetic devices for war veterans to return to independent lives, and companies begin to supply limbs made from wood, metal, and leather.

1863: Dubois Parmlee invents an advanced prosthesis with a suction socket, polycentric knee and multi-articulated foot.

1898: Giuliano Vanghetti invents a new procedure for using a patient’s remaining tendons and muscles to move a prosthetic limb.

1912: Gustav Hermann makes the first aluminum leg prosthesis.

1915: The first externally powered prosthetic limbs are built in Germany.

History of Prosthetics: WWII
1946: University of California at Berkeley researchers invent a suction socket for above-knee prosthesis, a major advancement in the attachment of lower limbs.

1950s:  Electrically and pneumatically powered devices appear for general use.

Early 1960s: Babies whose mothers took thalidomide and were born with underdeveloped arms precipitated the development of artifical arms powered by carbon dioxide.

1975: Ysidro Martinez invents a below-the-knee prosthesis that improves upon conventional artificial limbs.

1980s: John Sabolich invents the Contoured Adducted Trochanteric-Controlled Alignment Method socket, which tightly holds a limb into place and distributes the weight evenly.

Computer-Age Prosthetic Limbs
1990s: The first use of a microprocessor in an external prosthesis takes place.

21st Century: New prosthetic advancements include the C-leg for above-knee amputees controlled by a microprocessor; the Power Knee, which synchronizes itself to the motion of the intact leg; Proprio Foot for below-knee amputees with a motorized ankle controlled by sensor technology; PowerFoot, with a self-sustained robotic system; and iLimb Hand, which uses electric signals from existing muscles, enabling users to open and close life-like fingers.

Modern limbs include electric arms which use a small battery, others controlled by a tiny switch, and the myoelectric prostheses which use electrical impulses detected by small electrodes placed on the skin over the remaining arm muscles.

 Artificial legs can be fitted with spring-loaded feet, artificial feet constructed with toes, synthetic coverings made to match skin tone and hair patterns, and electrodes in the artificial limb leading to the natural skin which allows the brain to register "feeling" in the prosthesis. Artificial limbs take advantage of plastics and fiberglass for enhanced strength and comfort.

Photo shows an advertisement for T. S. Sandberg Artificial Limb Co., 1917, Polk's Seattle Directory.