Communist Web Sunday 13th February 2000 9.30pm gmt Prostheses: a Magical Invention . The establishment of an international network of facial rehabilitation and jaw prostheses gives patients new hope THE idea of facial prosthetics is generally taken to be a modern invention. Nevertheless, history indicates that even in ancient Egypt, artificial nose, ear and eye implants were made, as is evident from some of the mummies found. False eyeballs, also used by the Romans, were made from stone. In the 16th century, certain individuals became experts in the art of replicating parts of the human body; however, as the specialized literature indicates, it was not until the last century that prostheses with morphological and functional quality appeared. Celluloid and vulcanized rubber were among the first materials to be used. Later came glycerine and gelatine, but... http://www.billkath.demon.co.uk/cw/pro/pro.html
