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John May is a generalist. A lifelong free-lance author, editor, producer and writer, he has worked on 15 books and written for many major newspapers and magazines. He is a published poet, a semi-professional musician and songwriter, a part-time painter and a dedicated photographer.

Friday, September 21, 2007

THE FIRST PROSTHETIC














Also known as 'Toe-tankhamun', this worn, bendable, leather-and-wood prosthetic big toe is in the Cairo Museum, attached to the foot of a 2,400-year-old female Egyptian mummy whose real toe had been amputated.

Researcher Jacky Finch, is using the ancient prosthetic device to carry out a study at Manchester's KNH Centre for Biomedical Egyptology. He is recruiting volunteers whose right big toe has been lost in order to test an exact replica of the artificial toe.

A model of a second false Egyptian big toe - on display in the British Museum - will also be tested at the Human Performance Laboratory at nearby University of Salford.


"The toes date from between 1000 and 600BC, so if we can prove that one or both were functional then we will have pushed back prosthetic medicine by as much as 700 years," said Finch.

The oldest known functional prosthesis is the Roman Capua Leg, which was made of bronze and dates from about 300BC. The leg was held at the Royal College of Surgeons in London but was destroyed by Luftwaffe bombs during the Second World War.

"The Cairo toe is the most likely of the two to be functional as it is articulated and shows signs of wear. It is still attached to the foot of the mummy of a female between 50 and 60 years of age. The amputation site is also well healed."

The British Museum artefact- named the Greville Chester Great Toe after the collector who acquired it for the museum in 1881- is made from cartonnage, a sort of papier mache made using linen, glue and plaster.

It too shows signs of wear, indicating that it may have been worn by its owner in life and not simply attached to the foot during mummification for religious or ritualistic reasons. However, unlike the Cairo specimen, the Greville Chester toe does not bend and so is likely to have been more cosmetic.

"The Human Performance Laboratory will use state-of-the-art technology to test whether the replicas of the artificial toes benefit the wearer and could therefore be deemed functional," said Jacky.

"If either one is functional it may be interesting to manufacture it with modern materials and trial it for use on people with missing toes."


Source: Press Release. Faculty of Life Sciences/The University of Manchester


2 Comments:

Blogger Áine said...

Hello John,

I'm a radio student studying radio production in Radio Kerry Training as
part of a FAS course.

At the moment I am putting together an audio project around the topic of
the Transatlantic Cable off the coast of Valentia Island. I have carried out
some initial research and at this point I'm looking to speak with and
interview people who have first hand knowledge or are enthusiasts on the
subject. I came across your blog and I understand it that you have spoken
with and interviewed Dick Smith, a man in his 90's who worked in the station
in the 1960s. I am also interested in speaking with Dick about his
experience and knowledge of the cable.

I was wondering if you might have a contact number for Dick himself or a
relative.

By the way, great information about the prosthetic toe! The inclusion of the image was a great idea.


Sincere thanks,

Aine Brennan
icroks@gmail.com

12:39 PM  
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