NEW YORK CITY, April 29 – After the Great War, the United States Council of National Defense prepared the “re-arming” of numerous limbless American soldiers. This was the topic of the third of a four part lecture series being hosted by The New York Academy of Medicine’s (NYAM) History of Medicine section held on April 24. Beth Linker, PhD, from the University of Pennsylvania, addressed the choices that Limb Lab orthopedists made on artificial limbs that best suited American’s veterans and the wider vision of the project.
“Looking across the Atlantic in the spring of 1917 at the mass destruction taking place and not knowing how long the war would last, the U.S. Council of National Defense created an artificial limb laboratory in order to secure a steady supply of replacement limbs for the country’s main soldiers,” said Dr. Linker.
The Army Surgeon Generals office created a Limb Laboratory or “Limb Lab” where orthopedic surgeons standardized and constructed affordable prosthetic arms and legs for returning veterans.
“The choices that Limb Lab orthopedists made concerning which type of artificial limbs best suited America's maimed veterans stemmed not only from medical theory and practice, but also from deep-seated political, cultural, and economic concerns shared by many other social progressives at the time,” said Dr. Linker.
Some of these concerns lead to debates to whether the artificial limbs should be tools in order to allow the man to continue working and provide for their families, or if the limbs should be made to look like natural limbs, so that they may still fit in with society. Both were created, though the more natural limbs were favored by most.
Beth Linker, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of History and Sociology of Science at the University of Pennsylvania. Her teaching interests include disability, American health policy, bioethics, public health, gender and health, and the history and sociology of medicalization.
The next lecture in this series will be held Thursday, May 8, 2008 "Human Experimentation with Mustard Gas in World War II". For more information please visit: www.nyam.org/events
The New York Academy of Medicine is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit institution whose mission is to enhance the health of the public. Its research, education, community engagement, and evidence-based advocacy seek to improve the health of people living in cities, especially disadvantaged and vulnerable populations. The impact of these initiatives reaches into neighborhoods in New York City, across the country, and around the world. It works with community based organizations, academic institutions, corporations, the media, and government to catalyze and contribute to changes that promote health.
Posted on 04/29/2008
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