Archaeologists in Germany have found a skeleton with a metal prosthetic hand still attached to the left hand, presumably in place of amputated fingers. Analysis showed that the prosthesis was once covered with skin and attached to the human hand with bandages. The skeleton, found in the southern city of Freising, belonged to a man aged between 30 and 50 who died between 1450 and 1620, government officials said in a statement translated on 27 June. October.

“The hollow prosthesis on the left hand replaced four fingers,” Walter Irlinger, deputy general conservator of the Bavarian State Office for the Protection of Monuments, said in a statement. said. “The index, middle, ring and little fingers are individually shaped from sheet metal and cannot be moved.”

Traces on the remaining bones of the left hand indicate that the fingers were amputated while the man was alive, but it remains unclear why surgeons had to perform this procedure. The thumb bone, found attached to a worn metal prosthesis, shows that the patient was holding his thumb.

Archaeologists removed the prosthetic arm from the skeleton for restoration and analysis. According to the statement, the scan showed that it was a simple metal contraption with pieces of tissue and skin stuck to the replica fingers; This suggests that the outside of the prosthetic hand is at least partially covered. Remnants of gauze inside the hollow fingers indicate that the prosthesis may have been padded to protect the stump of the hand from metal.

The fingers are slightly curved and parallel to each other to mimic the natural position of the hand at rest, Irlinger said.

Authorities said in their statement that the discovery showed that medicine at that time was concerned about the health of amputees and found solutions to make their lives easier. The skeleton dates to a period of military conflict that may have resulted in numerous injuries and amputations, possibly increasing the demand for prosthetics in Freising and the surrounding area.

The prosthetic hand is not the first of its kind. Archaeologists have identified nearly 50 similar medical devices found in Central Europe, dating from the late medieval period (1300-1500) to the early modern period (1500-1800). Some of these prosthetic limbs have complex moving parts, unlike the rigid device found in Freising, the statement said. Source