“I had to get used to wearing a mask and wearing a prosthetic and performing with those things while singing and expressing myself through stylised movement, while keeping it as human as possible so the audience could be closer to the horror of the Phantom.”---Gerard Butler (lawyer who turned to acting). Though the perfection of my anatomical leg is truly wonderful, I do not want every awkward, big-fatted or gamble-shanked person who always strided or shuffled along in a slouching manner with both his natural legs to think that one of these must necessarily transform him or his movements into specimens of symmetry, neatness and beauty as if by magic-- as Cinderella's frogs were turned into sprightly coachmen. The Anglesey leg became known as the American leg, when A.A. Marks in 1856 gave it knee, ankle, and toe movements and an adjustable articulation control. In 1818, Peter Ballif, a Berlin dentist, first gave the upper extremity prosthesis prehension control with a shoulder harness and a chest strap. This same principle was used in 1844 by a Dutchman, Van Peetersen, for elbow flexion. In 1867 Comte de Beafort published and illustrated an elbow flexion lever device mounted on the chest that he had developed in 1855. In 1696, Pieter Verduyn developed the first non-locking below-knee (BK) prosthesis, which would later become the blueprint for current joint and corset devices. The ‘Anglesey Leg' which the Marquess of Anglesey wore, was later brought into the US by William Selpho (in 1839) where it became known as the ‘Selpho Leg'. In 1843, Sir James Syme discovered a new method of ankle amputation that did not involve amputating at the thigh. This was welcome among the amputee community because it meant that there was a possibility of walking again with a foot prosthesis versus a leg prosthesis. In 1846, Benjamin Palmer saw no reason for leg amputees to have unsightly gaps between various components and improved upon the ‘Selpho leg' by adding an anterior spring, smooth appearance, and concealed tendons to simulate natural-looking movement. Douglas Bly of Rochester, New York invented and patented the anatomical leg in 1858, which he referred to as “the most complete and successful invention ever attained in artificial limbs”. It was a prosthetic leg with an articulated ankle made of an ivory ball in a vulcanised rubber socket. In 1858, Archaeologists discovered the first copper and wooden leg from 300BC in Capri, Italy. In 1863, Dubois Parmlee invented an advanced prosthesis with a suction socket, polycentric knee and multi-articulated foot. Later, Gustav Hermann suggested in 1868 the use of aluminum instead of steel to make artificial limbs lighter and more functional. However, the lighter device would have to wait until 1912, when Marcel Desoutter, a famous English aviator, lost his leg in an airplane accident, and made the first aluminum prosthesis with the help of his brother Charles, an engineer. In 1898, Giuliano Vanghetti invented a new procedure for using a patient's remaining tendons and muscles to move a prosthetic limb. Dear Egyptian Mail readers, Your comments and/or contributions are welcome. We promise to publish whatever is deemed publishable at the end of each series of articles. sami.elshahed@yahoo.com
