TS ISO 8549-2

TS ISO 8549-2 is a vocabulary standard that standardises the terms used to describe external limb prostheses. It supports a common technical language across prosthetics and orthotics, helping designers, clinicians, educators and technical documentation users refer to the same concepts consistently. This part focuses specifically on external limb prostheses rather than the broader prosthetics field.

Why terminology matters for external limb prostheses

The document’s core purpose is to define the terms used for external limb prostheses. In general technical context, a prosthesis is a device intended to replace or compensate for the function of a missing body part; external limb prostheses are the externally fitted devices used for upper- or lower-limb replacement. Vocabulary standards such as this one reduce ambiguity when discussing components, interfaces and clinical or engineering descriptions.

What is included, and what is referenced elsewhere

The scope of this document is limited to defining the terms used within it. The terms relating to amputation level are described in ISO 8549-4, while the classification and description of component types used in prosthesis construction are covered in ISO 13405-1, ISO 13405-2 and ISO 13405-3. For the purposes of this document, the abbreviated term “prosthetics” and its derivatives apply only to external limb prosthetics.

• Provides a common technical vocabulary for the field.
• Restricts usage to external limb prosthetics.
• Directs amputation-level terminology to a separate standard.
• Links prosthesis component classification to the relevant ISO 13405 parts.