Amputation

<p>Amputation is the removal of a <a href="/facts/Limb_(anatomy)/AqasUdSC">limb</a> or other body part by <a href="/facts/Physical_trauma/PJ7CbnMQ">trauma</a>, <a href="/facts/Medical_illness/55eeQlGL">medical illness</a>, or <a href="/facts/Surgery/fG8tWf5Y">surgery</a>. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as <a href="/facts/Cancer/PVW6n1D0">malignancy</a> or <a href="/facts/Gangrene/5AqvjjSj">gangrene</a>. In some cases, it is carried out on individuals as a <a href="/facts/Preventive_healthcare/pWGlacXu">preventive surgery</a> for such problems. A special case is that of <a href="/facts/Congenital_amputation/Yy5bJzMp">congenital amputation</a>, a <a href="/facts/Congenital_disorder/ESfzQhTx">congenital disorder</a>, where <a href="/facts/Fetus/evocHd0Y">fetal</a> limbs have been cut off by constrictive bands. In some countries, judicial amputation is currently used <a href="/facts/Punishment/1eNwt547">to punish</a> people who commit crimes. Amputation has also been used as a tactic in war and acts of terrorism; it may also occur as a war injury. In some cultures and religions, minor amputations or <a href="/facts/Mutilation/zLqJmGeC">mutilations</a> are considered a ritual accomplishment. When done by a person, the person executing the amputation is an amputator. The oldest evidence of this practice comes from a skeleton found buried in Liang Tebo cave, <a href="/facts/East_Kalimantan/a526mEYN">East Kalimantan</a>, Indonesian <a href="/facts/Borneo/1aIGfyvV">Borneo</a> dating back to at least 31,000 years ago, where it was done when the amputee was a young child. A <a href="/facts/Prosthesis/odTuXtC0">prosthesis</a> or a <a href="/facts/Bioelectronics/zk7bHJx6">bioelectric replantation</a> restores sensation of the amputated limb.
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Amputation open-in-new

Amputation