History of Medicine in Ancient Egypt

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History of Medicine in Ancient Egypt

• Assist.Prof.Dr. Mehmet KARATAS
• Department of History of Medicine and Ethics

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Ancient Egyptian Civilization

• The period between about 3100 BC when dynastic
  period began and 332 BC when Egyptian
  independence was brought to an end with the
  conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great is
  normally referred as the Ancient Egyptian
  Civilization.

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Ancient Egyptian Civilization

• Ancient Egyptians worshipped numerous Gods. Most
  of the Gods had animal or partly animal forms.
  Animal worship is a tradition of Egyptian beliefs
  as well. Magic played an important role in daily
  life.

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Medical Papyruses

• Medical papyruses (or papyri) are one of the most
  important sources of information about medicine
  in ancient Egypt. Some of the important medical
  papyri are as follows
• Edwin Smith Papyrus 1550 BC
• surgical, and mainly trauma
• Edwin Smith papyrus gives information about
  injuries and wounds, their prognosis and
  treatment.

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Medical Papyruses

• Ebers Papyrus (1500 BC)
• General information, mainly medical, includes
  various diseases, drug descriptions. It covers
  diseases of the abdomen, eyes, and skin. Lists
  cough treatments and lists herb, mineral and
  animal remedies.
• Kahun Papyrus (1820 BC)
• Gynecological information. It deals with
  animal medicine and gynecology including
  contraception.
• Hearst Papyrus (1450 BC)
• General medicine

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Mummification

• Egyptians believed that the preservation of
  physical aspects of life on earth was essential
  for life in thereafter. This concept was the
  basis of mummification. Complicating embalming
  techniques were developed to preserve the dead
  body according to the religious belief of life
  after death.

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Mummification

• Although mummification of human being and animals
  existed for thousands of years, the anatomical
  knowledge of the Egyptians were very superficial.
  
• They opened the human body during mummification,
  but they misunderstood and misinterpreted what
  they saw, because the aim of mummification was a
  part of religious ritual more than to have some
  knowledge about a human body.

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Mummification

• There was no connection between the medical
  profession with the embalmers in ancient Egypt.
  Since they believed that the soul was seated in
  heart, they left it in its place.

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Medicine in Ancient Egypt

• Diseases prevalent in Ancient Egypt
• A number of diseases can be well identified from
  descriptions in papyruses, pictures, inscriptions
  and mummies. Diseases resulting from water and
  food contamination and intestinal ailments were
  common.

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Medicine in Ancient Egypt

• Medical problems caused by worms, insects and
  scorpions were well known. Some parasites were
  also discovered in mummies. Eye diseases were
  also common because of the sand storms.
• Trachoma also existed in Ancient Egypt. Some
  ailments described in texts may resemble
  gonorrhea. Arthritis, kidney and bladder stones
  were probably frequent.

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Physicians in Ancient Egyptian Medicine

• The usual term for a doctor was Sunu. Some
  physicians belonged to the priesthood and priests
  of the goddess Sekhmet (patroness of diseases)
  remedies and physicians.
• There was a hierarchy among physicians. Court
  physicians were at the top of this hierarchy.
  Practice of medicine seems under state control.

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Physicians in Ancient Egyptian Medicine

• Specialization in Medicine
• Physicians were specialized for specific
  diseases or organs. Some dealt with the eye, some
  with head and some with teeth or belly etc.
  Lioness Sekhmet was believed to bring epidemics
  and disease. She was also the patronesse deity of
  doctors. But there existed some other Gods and
  Goddesses for the diseases. For example Gods Amun
  and Horus were responsible for the treatment of
  eye diseases etc.

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Physicians in Ancient Egyptian Medicine

• Imhotep
• Imhotep was chief vizier to the pharaoh Zozer,
  high priest, astrologist, pyramid designer but
  above all, a physician. His sayings were later
  recorded and preserved.
• Ancient Egyptians believed that he had great
  healing powers and was the founder of medicine.
  They deified him as a God of medicine. His cult
  survived for centuries in Egypt.

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Physicians in Ancient Egyptian Medicine

• Imhotep became associated with healing rituals
  and temple sleep. Patients slept overnight in
  temples and expected to be visited by God in
  order to be cured. This practice would also exist
  in Ancient Greece later on, on behalf of God
  Asklepios.

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Medicine in Ancient Egypt

• The Concept of Disease
• According to ancient Egyptians, life is in
  breath. The body has lots of canals (like river
  Nile) which carry blood, urine, air, semen, tears
  etc. obstructions in this canals are one of the
  reason for diseases.
• All deities were associated with health or
  illness.

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Medicine in Ancient Egypt

• Treatment
• Therapeutics consisted a mixture of mystical and
  rational therapy. The prescriptions as recorded
  in papyri showed an amazingly complex knowledge
  of medicinal plants. Amulets were also mostly
  recommended and treatments involved with chants.
• They believed vegetables and fruits had healing
  properties.
• Application of cold heat and dressing also
  existed. Bloodletting by attaching leeches was
  also common in practice.

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Medicine in Ancient Egypt

• Surgery
• Surgery was limited to repairing injuries and
  bone fractures. Circumcision was done in Egypt as
  early as the fifth millennium B.C. and
  cauterization is clearly indicated in texts.

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Medicine in Ancient Egypt

• Dentistry
• Tooth ailments should have been frequent. Some
  mummies show evidences of severe infections and
  loose teeth. They believed that the cause of the
  decays were worms like in ancient Mesopotamia.

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Things to remember from Ancient Egyptian Medicine

• The concept of disease in Egypt. (the river
  Nile)
• Numerous gods responsible for different organs
• Written sources the papyri
• Very good knowledge on medicinal herbs
• Mummification is performed, but anatomical
  knowledge is superficial
• Specialization and hierarchy among physicians,
  medicine under state control
• Limited surgery, circumcision, dentistry
• Imhotep and its lasting infuence on Greek culture

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Konuyla Ilgili SORU/CEVAP

• Soru 1
• Antik Misir tibbinda özellikle öne çikan
  uygulamalar nelerdi?
• Cevap 1 Bitkisel ürünlerle tedavi, dis tedavisi,
  sünnet, mumyalama
• Soru 2
• Antik Misir tibbinin ünlü hekimi asagidakilerden
  hangisidir?
• Cevap 2 Imhotep

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References

• A. Selim ATAY, Inönü Üniversitesi Tip Fakültesi,
  translation
• Tolga GÜVEN, Marmara Üniversitesi Tip Tarihi ve
  Etik AD ders notlari
• Ali Haydar BAYAT, Tip Tarihi
• Emine ATABEK, Sefik GÖRKEY, Baslangicindan
  Rönesansa Kadar Tip Tarihi
• Çaglar Boyu Tip, Roche Yayinlari
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page