Upper Limb Prosthetics
The subspecialty of prosthetic rehabilitation concerned with the design, prescription, fabrication, and fitting of artificial limb replacements for the arm, forearm, wrist, or hand.
Full Definition
Upper limb prosthetics addresses the replacement of partially or wholly absent upper extremity segments, from finger-level through shoulder-disarticulation and forequarter amputation. Device types range from passive cosmetic prostheses and body-powered hooks or hands to myoelectric prostheses and multi-articulating hands. In editorial practice, the field uses highly specific anatomical and device terminology; editors must be careful to apply correct amputation-level descriptors (e.g., transradial, transhumeral, wrist disarticulation) and to distinguish device type categories. The British spelling is 'prosthetics'; 'prostheses' is the plural of the device noun 'prosthesis.' 'Upper extremity prosthetics' is an acceptable synonym in North American literature.
Usage
Usage note: 'Prosthetics' refers to the field or category; 'prostheses' is the plural noun for the devices themselves. Do not interchange.
In Context
- "The upper limb prosthetics team assessed the patient for a myoelectric transradial prosthesis following a traumatic below-elbow amputation." — Multidisciplinary team meeting note
- "Distinguish 'prosthetics' (the field or product category) from 'prostheses' (plural of the device) in all clinical documents." — Proofreading note