Medical marvel Anne Davidson is a woman of many parts - most of them spares.

Anne has had a record FIFTEEN artificial joints fitted.

She laughed: "People tease me about being the bionic woman.

"I guess they are right - there's hardly anything else to replace."

The 47-year-old mum has suffered from rheumatoid arthritis since she was just 13 and underwent the first operation 20 years ago.

Since then, between 1978 and 1994,surgeons have replaced:

BOTH knees, BOTH hips, BOTH ankles, BOTH wrists, BOTH elbows, BOTH shoulder blades and THREE finger joints.

Anne is now challenging the artificial body joints world record.

Last week, it was revealed that 76-year-old Norma Wickimire, of Inverness, Florida - had made the Guinness Book of Records after having eight joints replaced.

And Anne has already beaten Britain's bionic man David Smith, who has notched up nine operations costing pounds 35,000 since 1983. Unlike Anne, David has had to pay for all his ops by himself.

Postman's wife Anne, of Jarrow, Tyne and Wear, can hobble around the house with a stick and drive a car normally.

She said: "There are some things they can't replace, like my neck, ribs and the base of my spine, which give me a lot of pain.

"But I count my blessings for medical science. Without that, I would be stuck in a wheelchair, unable to even feed or dress myself."

Anne, who inherited the complaint from her father, describes husband Tom, 46, and son Aaron, 24, as her "great props".

She said: "Not only are they a big practical help, but they keep my spirits up by teasing me.

"When I've gone into hospital for an operation, Aaron tells me to bring back my own joint for the dog."

All the replacements have been carried out at Newcastle-upon-Tyne's Freeman Hospital. A spokesman there said: "She is a remarkable lady who is determined not to be beaten.

"We are delighted that she is pleased with what we have done for her."

Her condition meant Anne had to have only a local painkiller for most of her ops - and she was conscious to hear the false joints being knocked into place.

But each one brought a release from pain.

Husband Tom said: "Anne is a gutsy lady who is jolly and uncomplaining. She would be an inspiration to anyone faced with replacement surgery. "

BIONIC rival David Smith has had two new wrists, two hips, two shoulders, two ankles and a right elbow since 1993.

He admitted: "It is not something to be proud of, being a robot."

The only joints David can call his own are his left elbow and left knee. And he has been told he may need another op to replace his right knee joint which has already been partially replaced.

David, 51, contracted crippling Still's Disease - a chronic and rare form of arthritis - after he was kicked on the instep during a football match.

Now, 15 years on, the former insurance agent has undergone 11 operations to replace or repair joints.

David, who lives with his wife Eileen in Somerset, fell ill after suffering the foot injury in 1983.

He developed a skin rash, lost his energy and watched his weight drop to a worrying 8st 7lb.

He said: "One day, the pain is not too bad but, on another, I ache all over. Sometimes I get cheesed off, but I reckon if had had to wait for the operations, I would probably be in a wheelchair or worse."

David said the kick on his instep was so sore it took his breath away.

Then he started to get fevers and skin rashes, and the disease attacked his heart and lungs, leaving him weak and sick.

Now David cannot lift anything heavier than 5lbs.

Dr Dishan Singh, senior lecturer at the Institute of Orthopaedics at London's University College, said: "Up to six replacements are becoming increasingly common. But these cases are exceptional."

Have YOU had more joint replacements? Call KEN OXLEY on 0141-242-3361 today.

Wracked by the cruel effects of arthritis, mum Anne Davidson faced life in a wheelchair. Now she is set for a place in the Guinness Book of Records after

surgeons rebuilt almost every joint in her body

1978

Right knee

1989

Right

wrist

1994

3 knuckles

in right

hand

1991

Right

elbow

1990

Left elbow

1992

Shoulder

1992

Shoulder

1981

Right hip

1980

Left hip

1988

Left wrist

1979

Left knee

1987

Left ankle

right ankle

WONDER OF STEVE

GENTLEMEN, we have the technology ... we can rebuild him.

With those words, American surgeons pioneered the very first bionic operation in 1976 and created the world's first cyborg - half-man, half-machine.

US astronaut Steve Austin had become the six million dollar man.

That's what it cost to replace his left eye, his right arm and both legs with cybernetic replicas.

A similar operation today would cost a mind-boggling dollars 66 million.

But it was worth it for the US Government - Steve was a NASA pilot who almost died when he crashed the experimental aircraft he was test piloting.

When surgeon Dr Rudy Wells had completed his rebuilding programme, Steve became an agent for the US, using his now super-strength powers on secret missions.

And when his then-girlfriend, tennis pro Jamie Summers, was almost killed in a parachuting accident, Steve persuaded Dr Wells to make her the bionic woman.

Jamie was given bionic legs, an arm and a super-sensitive bionic ear.

And, like Steve, she was then used as an undercover operative by the US Government.

PS: For any readers under the age of 20, the Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman were actually TV shows, which topped the ratings back in the 70s.

Former stuntman Lee Majors played Steve Austin and blonde Lindsay Wagner starred as Jamie Summers.

Satellite viewers can still catch up on reruns of the hit shows on the Sci-Fi Channel.