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Face Off
01 November 2015

Face Off

Whether it's through accident or disease, losing an eye is a distressing experience. But thanks to artfully made prosthetics like this replacement eye and face-plate, plus a surgeon's skill, at least some of the damage can be repaired and a face restored. This is a mid-face plate, used for people that have lost their eye and other parts of their eye socket. The plate itself is titanium – a light but incredibly strong metal – shaped by hand based on the individual patient's features. Although artificial eyeballs were originally made from glass, this one is acrylic, oil-painted by hand to match the other eye perfectly. Making these replacements is no easy task, needing high levels of artistry and craftsmanship to make a lifelike copy. But this is changing, as ocularists [the people who make artificial eyes] are turning to digital printing and even 3D printing to create more realistic replicas.

Written by Kat Arney

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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BPoD is also available in Catalan at www.bpod.cat with translations by the University of Valencia.