Attachment construction for prosthesis

A lower limb prosthesis for an amputee adapted to be engageable with a stump receiving socket, said lower limb prosthesis comprising:

• a tubular leg member having a distal end and a proximal end, said tubular leg member having a curved outer periphery and a substantially vertically oriented longitudinal axis extending from said proximal end to said distal end, said proximal end being adapted to engage said socket and said distal end having a lower-most distal surface terminating in an ankle region of said prosthesis;
• a prosthetic foot member having a substantially vertically oriented upper attachment section for mounting onto said distal end of said tubular leg member, said upper attachment section having an attachment surface that is substantially flat and parallel to said longitudinal axis of said tubular leg member, said foot member extending generally downwardly below said lowermost distal surface of said tubular leg member to form an ankle region, said ankle region having a cross-section which is substantially rectangular such that said ankle region is substantially flexible in a fore-and-aft direction, but not substantially flexible in a side-to-side direction, whereby said foot member provides enhanced energy storage and return capabilities to said amputee;
• a coupling member disposed between said upper attachment section and said tubular leg member for connecting said upper attachment section of said foot member to said distal end of said tubular leg member, said coupling member having a curved inner attachment surface substantially conforming to at least a portion of said curved outer periphery of said tubular leg member and a substantially flat outer attachment surface substantially conforming to at least a portion of said attachment surface of said upper attachment section, whereby the weight on said prosthesis is placed substantially over said ankle region of said prosthetic foot member;
• and
• at least one mounting member for selectively attaching and detaching said foot member to said distal end of said tubular leg member.