Prosthetic toe earliest artificial body part

Mark Russell · Jul 27, 2007

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6918687.stm

An artificial big toe found on the foot of an ancient Egyptian mummy could be the world's earliest functional fake body part, UK experts believe.
A Manchester University team hope to prove that the leather and wood "Cairo toe" not only looked the part but also helped its owner walk. (more)
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Cameron · Jul 28, 2007

Mark

An artificial big toe in antiquity may have been put to less pedestrian purpose.

Have a good one
toeslayer

Johnpod · Jul 28, 2007

So, there we have it - the true origin of the term 'Cairopodist'

Scorpio622 · Jul 28, 2007

Johnpod said:

So, there we have it - the true origin of the term 'Cairopodist'
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One more quip like that and you will be locked-up in the punitentiary

Johnpod · Jul 29, 2007

I want my mummy!

Psycho · Aug 2, 2007

I recently published an article in the Birmingham Egyptology,2006,vol.1,issue1,giving a podiatric perspective on this prosthesis, to put this into its historical context I will provide some of the details of the find.
In 2002, members of the Egyptian-German mission working in the Qurna area of the Theban West Bank made the discovery. It was made in the accumulated debris in the rock cut shaft of the New Kingdom tomb of Mery, a priest of Amun in the reign of Amenothep II. However, the tomb was reused for the burial of nobles of the late Twentieth and early Twenty-first Dynasties and the opinion at the time-as reported in Al Ahram issue 599,-was that the artificial toe belonged to a high ranking Theban lady of that period.
I consider that the lady did walk with this prosthesis in place, which resulted in the wear marks to the plantar surface of the prosthesis. But, without functionality to aid her walking, I believe the cosmetic qualities of were the prime commodity addressing her psychosocial needs and the religious burial requirements that were expected during her lifetime.

Perhaps there is an opportunity here for a new discipline, PALEOPODIATRY, a new branch of paleopathology,”…examines the evolution and progress of disease through long periods of time and looks how humans adapted to changes in their environment.” [Roberts,C. Manchester,K. (2005)The Archaeology of Disease.3rd edition.Sutton Publishing].

Cameron · Aug 2, 2007

Very interesting Physcho, I thought it may have been a cosmesis and not a prosthesis.

The ancient Egyptians were fascinated with feet and shoes.

toeslayer

Psycho · Aug 6, 2007

If you are interested in ancient archaeological and anthropological resources I do have a blog that you may find of interest

http://paleopodiatry.blogspot.com/

psycho

Cameron · Aug 7, 2007

Excellent resource Robert, and I have made a link from my Foot Talk blog

http://foottalk.blogspot.com/

Good fortune
Cameron

Psycho · Aug 7, 2007

Thanks for the promotion I will recipricate

Roger

NewsBot · Oct 2, 2012

Biomechanical Assessment of Two Artificial Big Toe Restorations From Ancient Egypt and Their Significance to the History of Prosthetics
Finch, Jacqueline Louise PhD; Heath, Glyn Harvey PhD; David, Ann Rosalie OBE, PhD, FRSA; Kulkarni, Jai MA, FRCP
Journal of Prosthetics & Orthotics: October 2012 - Volume 24 - Issue 4 - p 181–191

Exhibited in the Egyptian Galleries in the British Museum (London, UK) is an exquisitely crafted artificial big toe for the right foot. It is made from cartonnage, a type of paper mache (layers of linen soaked with animal glue and coated with tinted plaster), and has been dated to before 600 BC. Distinct signs of wear prompted one researcher to call it “one of the earliest working prostheses to have been identified from the ancient world.” Housed in the Egyptian Museum (Cairo, Egypt) is a second example found strapped onto the right foot of a female mummy and dated to between 950 and 710 BC. Made in three pieces, it has a complex series of laces that joins the three sections together. To date, this artifact may be the oldest known intravital limb prosthesis in existence. The objective of this research was to assess the functionality of their design. Design replicas (P1 and P2, respectively) were made and assessed using two volunteers (V1 and V2) exhibiting complete disarticulation at the first metatarsophalangeal joint of the right foot. Computerized gait analysis evaluated selected gait parameters against their sound left side (control). Foot kinematic and kinetic data were recorded (average of 10 trials), plus a volunteer questionnaire was completed. Kinematic data from both replicas demonstrated a very satisfactory level of relative dorsiflexion, especially for V1, when worn with an Egyptian-style sandal (87.13% of the normal average range). Kinetic data showed no significant increase in plantar pressures between the affected and the sound side when worn with or without a sandal. However, when the volunteers wore sandals without the toe prosthesis, significant differences in peak pressures were recorded, indicating a potential benefit of P1 and P2 when wearing Egyptian sandals. Both volunteers indicated in the questionnaire that P2 was the more comfortable of the two. This research concluded that although both devices could have afforded at least limited ambulation, the performance and perceived comfort of the three-part wooden replacement infers that nascent prosthetic science may have been emerging in the Nile Valley as early as 950 to 710 BC.
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NewsBot · Oct 2, 2012

NewsBot said: ↑

Biomechanical Assessment of Two Artificial Big Toe Restorations From Ancient Egypt and Their Significance to the History of Prosthetics
Finch, Jacqueline Louise PhD; Heath, Glyn Harvey PhD; David, Ann Rosalie OBE, PhD, FRSA; Kulkarni, Jai MA, FRCP
Journal of Prosthetics & Orthotics: October 2012 - Volume 24 - Issue 4 - p 181–191
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Press Release:
Egyptian toe tests show they're likely to be the world's oldest prosthetics

The results of scientific tests using replicas of two ancient Egyptian artificial toes, including one that was found on the foot of a mummy, suggest that they're likely to be the world's first prosthetic body parts.

The University of Manchester researcher Dr Jacky Finch wanted to find out if a three part wood and leather toe dating from between 950 to 710 BC found on a female mummy buried near Luxor in Egypt, and the Greville Chester artificial toe from before 600 BC and made of cartonnage (a sort of papier maché mixture made using linen, glue and plaster), could be used as practical tools to help their owners to walk. Both display significant signs of wear and their design features also suggest they may have been more than cosmetic additions.

Dr Finch says: "Several experts have examined these objects and had suggested that they were the earliest prosthetic devices in existence. There are many instances of the ancient Egyptians creating false body parts for burial but the wear plus their design both suggest they were used by people to help them to walk. To try to prove this has been a complex and challenging process involving experts in not only Egyptian burial practices but also in prosthetic design and in computerized gait assessment."

Dr Finch, who is based in the Faculty of Life Sciences' KNH Centre for Biomedical Egyptology, recruited two volunteers who were both missing their right big toe. Design replicas of the ancient toes were made to fit each volunteer along with replica leather ancient Egyptian style sandals.

The tests were carried out at the Gait Laboratory at Salford University's Centre for Rehabilitation and Human Performance Research. Each volunteer was asked to walk on a 10 metre walkway bare foot, in their own shoes and wearing the replicas with and without the sandals. Their movement was tracked using 10 special cameras and the pressure of their footsteps was measured using a special mat. The 10 best walking trials were recorded for each foot, using their normal left foot as the control.

It was surprising how well both volunteers were able to walk using these devices although one volunteer performed much better than the other. The camera footage revealed that when wearing the sandals with the cartonnage replica, one of the volunteers achieved 87% of the flexion achieved by their normal left toe. The three part wood and leather design producing nearly 78%. Interestingly the ability to push off using the prosthetic toe was not as good when this volunteer wasn't wearing the sandals. The second volunteer was still able to produce between 60-63% flexion wearing the replicas with or without the sandals.

When wearing the replicas the pressure measurements showed that for both volunteers there were no overly high pressure points. This indicated that the false toes were not causing any undue discomfort or possible tissue damage. However, when the volunteers wore just the replica sandals without the false toes the pressure being applied under the foot rose sharply.

Dr Finch says: "The pressure data tells us that it would have been very difficult for an ancient Egyptian missing a big toe to walk normally wearing traditional sandals. They could of course remained bare foot or perhaps have worn some sort of sock or boot over the false toe, but our research suggests that wearing these false toes made walking in a sandal more comfortable."

Alongside the test data Dr Finch also asked her volunteers to fill in a questionnaire about how they felt when doing the trials in the gait laboratory. Despite it having performed well the comfort scores for the cartonnage replica were disappointing although it was felt to be an excellent cosmetic replacement. Describing the performance of the three part wooden and leather toe both volunteers found this one to be extremely comfortable, scoring it highly, one volunteer commenting that with time he could get used to walking in it.

Assessing the volunteers' experience Dr Finch said: "It was very encouraging that both volunteers were able to walk wearing the replicas. Now that we have the gait analysis data and volunteer feedback alongside the obvious signs of wear we can provide a more convincing argument that the original artefacts had some intended prosthetic function.

The findings from this study, which have been published in full in the Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics, means the earliest known prosthetic is now more likely to come from ancient Egypt. The three part example pre-dates by some 400 years what is currently thought to be the oldest, although untested, prosthetic device. This is a bronze and wooden leg that was found in a Roman burial in Capua, Southern Italy. That has been dated to 300 BC although only a replica now remains as the original was destroyed in a bombing raid over London during the war.
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Cameron · Oct 4, 2012

Early toe protheses

netizens

Interesting article about early toe prostheses.

http://journals.lww.com/jpojournal/...l_Assessment_of_Two_Artificial_Big_Toe.4.aspx

Passed on in good faith

toeslayer

Prosthetic toe earliest artificial body part

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prosthetic nail

Students design prosthetic foot for high heels

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Greetings from a Portuguese Prosthetics and Orthotics technician

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Share This Page

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