A Dummies Guide to Medicine in Ancient Egypt
A Dummies guide to medicine in Ancient Egypt
When was Ancient Egypt?
The Ancient Egyptian civilisation was in existence from approximately 3000BC to 400AD. In reality the era is a number of different periods in Egyptian history, when different families (dynasties) ruled Egypt.
How was Society different to prehistoric times?
The Egyptians developed a system of writing things down. They used hieroglyphics to record their findings. They also lived in organised, permanent settlements and built towns and cities. Unlike prehistoric man, the Egyptians had also a system of law and order based on a system of government led by a ruling Pharaoh.
Other than writing, what advances were made in the Egyptian period?
The Egyptian period was very long so lots changed over the course of the era. The Egyptians developed a complicated set of religious beliefs and rituals, many of which related to medicine and the human body. They also became expert builders and engineers, building the great pyramids, temples and roads.
Religious beliefs? How do they affect medicine?
The Egyptians believed that life on earth was part of a cycle. Once a person died their spirit passed into the afterlife. The quality of the afterlife would be improved if the person’s remains were treated in certain ways. This meant that Egyptian doctors couldn’t dissect bodies as they had to remain intact for the afterlife. However the process of preserving the body, mummification, did mean that some knowledge of the human anatomy was acquired.
So, religion just prevented them from cutting up bodies?
No. Religious beliefs also required cleanliness in temples which had a knock on effect of improving health. Religion also meant that prayer was used extensively by doctors as their beliefs led them to require doctors to ask the gods for forgiveness and mercy. This belief in gods causing and sending disease meant that doctors would not look for alternative causes of illnesses.
What about surgery?
The Egyptians observed that water from the River Nile could become blocked in irrigation channels. They used this simple observation to establish that blockages in the veins could be removed in much the same way as a blocked channel was opened up. Based on these observations they began performing operations to remove cists and abscesses.
How would they try and cure illnesses then?
A combination of natural and supernatural cures was used. These were based on their beliefs about the cause of disease and an element of trial and error. Herbal remedies were used to help cure things such as stomach pains. Combinations of natural elements could be used to induce vomiting for example. These were often prescribed alongside a prayer though, as the disease was thought to have been sent by the gods. Sometimes the illness would simply be treated with a prescribed prayer.
Examples:
The following are all taken from the Papyrus Ebers, an Egyptian scroll that Doctors had to use when treating a patient.
Cure for Cataracts:
Mix brain-of-tortoise with honey. Place on the eye and say:
There is a shouting in the southern sky in darkness, There is an uproar in the northern sky, The Hall of Pillars falls into the waters. The crew of the sun god bent their oars so that the heads at his side fall into the water, Who leads hither what he finds? I lead forth what I find. I lead forth your heads. I lift up your necks. I fasten what has been cut from you in its place. I lead you forth to drive away the god of Fevers and all possible deadly arts.
Cure for Burns:
Create a mixture of milk of a woman who has borne a male child, gum, and, ram’s hair. While administering this mixture say: Thy son Horus is burnt in the desert. Is there any water there? There is no water. I have water in my mouth and a Nile between my thighs. I have come to extinguish the fire.
Head Wounds
If thou examines a man having a gaping wound in his head penetrating to the bone, smashing his skull, and rending open the brain of his skull, thou shouldst palpate his wound. Shouldst thou find that smash which in his skull like those corrugations which form in molten copper, and something therein throbbing and fluttering under thy fingers, like the weak place of an infant’s crown before it becomes whole- when it has happened there is no throbbing and fluttering under thy fingers until the brain of his skull is rent open and he discharges blood from both his nostrils, and he suffers with stiffness in his neck.
Feel free to ask questions or add further info by submitting comments. Dummies guides to each period will be added in chronological order.
