Artificial left leg, Germany, 1914-1918

Made:
1914-1918 in Germany
Left above knee leg made of fibre with detachable metal socket Timeline of artificial above knee prostheses Left above knee leg made of fibre with detachable metal socket Left above knee leg made of fibre with detachable socket

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Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

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License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

Buy

License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

Buy

License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Left above knee leg made of fibre with detachable metal socket
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Timeline of artificial above knee prostheses
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Left above knee leg made of fibre with detachable metal socket
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Left above knee leg made of fibre with detachable socket
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Left above knee leg made of fibre with detachable metal socket. Wooden tenon and mortice knee. Universal ankle joint by means of 4 springs. Wooden foot with toe joint. German, made circa 1915 during the First World War (Weight: 6.25 lbs 2.8 kg).

Made for a wounded German serviceman who had lost his left leg above the knee, this artificial leg is made from wood and fibreboard. The First World War saw huge numbers of amputees created across Europe. Each of the warring nations were producing artificial limbs for men wounded in this way and during the war and the years immediately afterwards many innovations in limb design were tried and tested. This leg is particularly notable for the ankle, which is jointed by four springs – these were intended to give the wearer a greater range of movement when walking.

Details

Category:
Orthopaedics
Object Number:
1999-425
Materials:
wood, leather, rubber, fibreboard and iron
Measurements:
overall: 180 mm x 990 mm x 280 mm, 2.46kg
type:
artificial leg
credit:
Richmond Twickenham and Roehampton Healthcare NHS Trust