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Accidental Causes for Amputation: Auto-Amputation

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A History of Limb Amputation

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Summary

Life without accidents cannot be imagined, and many of the causes are as familiar today as in the past. Falls when running or from heights, crushing by trees, savaging by crocodiles and sharks, and the effects of earthquakes, tsunamis and violent storms would have been familiar to our ancestors as sources of limb section. They would have been aware that lesser trauma often ends in gangrene and limb failure. Histories of such accidents are rare before the 17th century, and some later examples are described. Attention is drawn to avulsion injuries and to remarkable autoamputations performed by those trapped by a limb, isolated from help, lacking surgical knowledge and restricted to primitive instrumentation: for such individuals, the will to survive is powerful.

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© 2007 Springer-Verlag London Limited

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(2007). Accidental Causes for Amputation: Auto-Amputation. In: A History of Limb Amputation. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84628-509-7_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84628-509-7_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-84628-443-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-84628-509-7

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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