Artificial Limbs

"Artificial Limbs" by Auguste Broca and Charles Ducroquet is a book that looks into the world of prosthetics, especially how they were made and used during World War I for military medicine. The book gives an overview of the new ideas and methods that came about, mainly focusing on helping people who lost limbs because of war injuries rebuild their lives. The beginning of the book sets the stage by explaining how much prosthetics had improved, especially because of the needs of soldiers injured in battle. The authors talk about their work with many veterans at the Fédération des Mutilés, stressing that artificial limbs should work well first and look natural second. They promote using engineering ideas to make these devices and customizing them to fit each person's unique situation and the kind of limb they lost.