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Summary

People can lose all or part of an arm or leg for a number of reasons. Common ones include:

• Circulation problems from atherosclerosis or diabetes. They may cause you to need an amputation.
• Traumatic injuries, including from traffic accidents and military combat
• Cancer
• Birth defects

If you are missing an arm or leg, an artificial limb can sometimes replace it. The device, which is called a prosthesis, can help you to perform daily activities such as walking, eating, or dressing. Some artificial limbs let you function nearly as well as before.

Start Here

• First Step -- A Guide for Adapting to Limb Loss (Amputee Coalition) - PDF
• Overview of Limb Prosthetics (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish
• Prosthetic Frequently Asked Questions for the New Amputee (Amputee Coalition)

Related Issues

• Rehabilitation Engineering: What is Rehabilitation Engineering? (National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Amputation, Traumatic (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Artificial Limbs (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Breaking Barriers-The Promise and Challenges of Limb Osseointegration Surgery.
• Article: Neural modifications of transtibial prosthesis (TTP) users: an event-related potentials study.
• Article: Comparing the mechanical energetics of walking among individuals with unilateral transfemoral...
• Artificial Limbs -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Department of Veterans Affairs
• Locating a Certified Prosthetist (Amputee Coalition)