An account of a new method of treating diseases of the joints of the knee and elbow, in a letter to Mr. Percival Pott / by H. Park.

  • Park, H. (Henry), 1745-1831.
Date:
MDCCXXXIII [i.e. 1783]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An account of a new method of treating diseases of the joints of the knee and elbow, in a letter to Mr. Percival Pott / by H. Park. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    had ftiflf knees from different caufes, with the limbs of their natural length, I found that they laboured under fome inconvenience for want of fome degree of fliortening; as they found themfelves obliged either to de- fcribe a circle at every ftep, to avoid ftriking their foot again ft every pebble that came in their way, or to feek an advantage by always keeping the ftiff limb on the fide of the lower ground; hence it appeared that fome degree of fliortening of the limb would be of advan- tage to the patient, (a circumftance, in ge- neral, too little attended to in the conftruc- tion of artificial limbs) but what this degree would be, proportioned to what would take place in confequence of this operation, expe- rience only could decide3 could it, however, be kept within moderate bounds, I could then have no idea that a foot and toes per- formed fo infignificant a fliare of the adtion of walking, independent of the flexion of the knee, as to leave a limb of this fort of no more value than a wooden one 3 and, indeed, the o