Ancient Egyptian Medicine

The ancient Egyptians were one of the most advanced civilizations in the ancient world when it came to medicine. They carefully preserved knowledge and wrote down everything they knew about medicine. There is evidence that the Egyptians were one of the first people to use surgery to treat injuries. Their knowledge was so advanced that it wouldn’t be changed for thousands of years.

Title: Portrait of a Youth with a Surgical Cut in one EyeHis right eye seems to have had something wrong with it that has been remedied. The greyish fold of skin under the lower lid, the lack of eyelashes, and the slightly sagging right cheek may all be signs of the problem. The straight line on the lower lid suggests that the problem was fixed with surgery.Period: Roman PeriodDate: A.D. 190–210Geography: From EgyptMedium: Encaustic paint on limewoodDimensions: H. 35 x W. 17.2 cm (13 3/4 x 6 3/4 in.)

The Egyptians could conduct non-invasive surgery, set bones and dentistry. some skulls have even shown that the ancient Egyptians could even conduct limited brain surgery.

Egyptian physicians were renown for their skill and knowledge in the ancient world with several foreign rulers requesting their assistances. The Romans and the Greeks also wrote about how skilful and knowledgeable they were.

Egyptian doctors were mainly trained in the temples or by means of an apprenticeship.

Women could also be physicians in Ancient Egypt, one was known by the name Peseshet and her title was “supervisor of female physicians”. One of the most famous physicians from Ancient Egypt is Imhotep. Imhotep was one of Pharaoh Djoser’s officials. He was also responsible for the design of the step pyramid at Saqara.

The ancient Egyptian physicians were some­what aware of nutrition and the importance of a diet that is balanced and in moderation. Doctors often told their patients to avoid raw fish and other animals that were considered unclean.

While medicine in Ancient Egypt was some of the most advanced in the ancient world, many of the cures they subscribed were harmful and ineffective. Some even proscribed animal dung to be rubbed in to peoples’ wounds which would lead to a grave threat of infection.

By means of the practise of mummification the Egyptians had a working knowledge of the body’s anatomy. However, it would appear that it really didn’t have any impact on their medical practice.

One of the most well known and important medical papyrus is the Ebers papyrus. It covers illnesses ranging from cancer to birth control and Diabetes. Medical Papyrus from Ancient Egypt also advised using honey on open wounds killer. Honey naturally kills bacteria. The medical papyrus also suggested giving patients a concoction of willow bark, which contains a natural painkiller that is chemically similar to aspirin. While texts also recommends putting moldy bread on wounds. They had stumbled onto the principle behind penicillin. The Ancient Egyptians didn’t know what bacteria was, but they were already fighting infections.

References:

Suvorov, R. (2011). Egyptian medicine. In A. J. Andrea, World history encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.