Prosthesis

In medicine, a prosthesis is an artificial extension that replaces a missing part of the body. Contrast with orthosis that supplements the body. Prostheses are typically used to replace parts lost by injury (traumatic) or missing from birth (congenital) or to supplement defective body parts. An unusual example is specialized prostheses that can allow transsexual men to change their outward physical sex or achieve secondary sex characteristics for transsexual women.

See also

• Orthosis
• Prosthetics in Fiction
• Bio-implants