2 Prosthetics

Introduction

When people think of prosthetics most people have an image in their head of a very complex robotic limb with fully functional joints, elbows, wrists, fingers, knees, etc. However, prosthetics are so much more than that and have come an extraordinarily long way. Thinking about peg legs for example, like the ones seen on so many cartoon pirates. Not everyone would associate them with the word prosthetics, but before their were robotic arms and artificial heart valves, there were peg legs. Prosthetics, simply put, are any artificial body part. Prosthetics are important because they make life easier for anyone that has to struggle because of losing functionality or losing a body part as a whole. Prosthetics have developed a lot in recent years because of technological advancements. This chapter will discuss how technology has made those improvements and how this has impacted society as a whole. 

Connection to STS