A good recent summary of some of the developments in prosthetics.

See We have the technology to rebuild ourselves – tech – 07 January 2009 – New Scientist.

Far-fetched as it may seem now, what if cosmetic surgery was to one day extend to replacing perfectly good arms and legs with more beautiful or powerful ones in the hope of producing another Michael Phelps or Victoria’s Secret model? “Then we will have to evolve as a society a new morality, new ethics and codes of conduct, won’t we?” says Gow.

(David Gow is the inventor of the i-Limb hand).