Medicine in ancient Egypt | Ancient Egyptian medicine and a list of the most famous ancient Egyptian doctors, the Pharaohs throughout history, how the treatment was, medical schools, historical facts about pharmacy, medicines and drugs used by the ancient Egyptians, and more about Ancient Egypt History.
How did the ancient Egyptians distinguish between diseases? Discover the facts and history of medical treatment methods among the Pharaohs.
The sciences accompanying ancient Egyptian medicine, the secrets of surgery, magical medicine, anatomy, circumcision in the Pharaonic civilization.
Medicine in Ancient Egypt:
Medicine in ancient Egypt – the role of disease in Egyptian medicine:
The Diagnostic Process – Medicine in ancient Egypt :
- Ask the patient in detail
- Comprehensive examination of the eyesight of the whole body and organs related to the disease, especially
- Feel the body sweat and breath
- Detection, routes, sensitivity and routes
- Estimating body temperature
- Stool and urine test
The Egyptians distinguished two types of diseases, internal diseases that they saw due to life attacks on the body, and external diseases that they saw as accidents in the body, including fractures, tumors, etc.
Even The Egyptian Gods were not spared from diseases in their opinion; God Isis was exposed to an abscess after birth, her son God Horus was infected, and God Ra himself was bitten by a snake on the back of his foot and almost died if Isis did not heal him.
Medicine in ancient Egypt. The Egyptians did not see death as a divine punishment, as the Sumerians and Babylonians did, but rather as another continuation of life so that the dead would do everything they could in life, but elsewhere they called the Duat, the other world.
Although they combined religious Magic in ancient Egypt medicine with scientific medicine, they turned more to scientific medicine, at many times, and we find that they attributed diseases to over-nutrition, and that it occurs from clogged arteries or mixed mixtures.
The Egyptians described nearly 250 internal diseases, some of which are still unknown or confirmed, and some venereal, bone and other diseases are described.
Treatment & Medicine of the Pharaohs:
Treatment was carried out by different means depending on the type of diagnosis, and there were often medicines prepared from herbs, minerals or animal sources, and there were other procedures such as surgery that was advanced in Egypt compared to the peoples of the ancient world, and surgeons called the priests of the God Sekhmet and types of surgery Circumcision, opening cysts, trepanation, inking, skull piercing.
Preoperative anesthesia can be used by a flower and poppy plant, after which the wounds are sewn and treated with ligaments or live meat, herbs, and honey.
Treatment of the eyes was carried out with an eagle feather and the drops were also used, and they put the uterus back in its place in case of exit after childbirth.
Medicine in ancient Egypt. There were strange types of treatment received in a Egyptian Medical Papyri, such as treating migraine by tying a clay statue on the patient’s head with medicinal herbs stuck in his mouth.
Aftercare:
The disease is monitored, the drug is taken, and the drug is replaced if it is not used. Remove fracture ligaments and treat wounds by renewing, washing, and cleaning their ointments.
Medicine in Ancient Egypt – sciences accompanying ancient Egyptian pharaonic medicine:
Public Health:
Marriage:
Marriage among the people did not take place between brothers and sisters (as in Egyptian Pharaohs kings), so genetic diseases were rare in this regard, and marriage laws were strict for women, although Egyptians experienced polygamy, but it was common to marry one.
Worldly prostitution existed among singles, soldiers in The army in ancient Egypt, and others, while (sacred) religious prostitution did not exist in the Ancient Egyptian religion as was the case for the Babylonians, Indians, and Phoenicians.
Female Genital Mutilation in Ancient Egypt – What is a pharaonic circumcision?
Maybe it was only the Egyptians who were circumcised throughout their ancient history and from prehistoric times as in Predynastic Period and Naqada III, and it was a kind of health care, perhaps conducted collectively, Herodotus said, that it was the Egyptians, Assyrians, Kushites, and Ethiopians who practiced circumcision, and Egypt was the source of learning circumcision for other peoples.
There are no effects on FGM (female genital mutilation: cutting the clitoris or lips in whole or in part), but Greek historian Strabo, confirms its presence in Egypt.
Medicine in ancient Egypt. This means that the process was conducted according to religious perceptions. Many of al-Jardan’s engraved paintings show circumcisions.
Sanitation:
The Egyptians took care of cleanliness and used toilets and sanitary facilities in their homes, Herodotus said: “Egyptians are different from other peoples; they eat their food outside their homes, while they spend their time indoors, believing that ugly necessities must come in secret.
Some Houses in Egypt used pottery pipes for sanitation leading to basement rooms that went there and were filled from time to time with dirt or sand, and sometimes used circular openings with seating to meet their needs.
Pharaoh’s Anatomy – Anatomy Among the Ancient Egyptians
Anatomy in Egypt did not recover, despite mummification that generated centuries of good knowledge of the internal organs and anatomical components of the human body, and although the body openers in the mummification processes were considered followers of Seth and a descending class despised because they violated the sanctity of the body.
But these autopsies gave no reasonable idea of the molecule’s internal organs, although they broke the barrier of fear of being treated anatomically, which then gave Greek doctors in Egypt the opportunity to establish a true science of anatomy.
The Egyptians were therefore not the ones who put the scientific foundations of anatomy because they dealt with anatomy from a religious point of view, so their anatomy could be described as a religious anatomy, which resembles religious Astronomy of the Pharaohs, which is astrology.
Thus, all the science as Chemistry in Ancient Egypt that emerged in the Old East grew up in a religious incubator that did not have the power to develop the worldly scientific aspect of it, and this is the dilemma faced by Eastern civilizations, which Western civilizations then addressed and in which they excelled.
Animal anatomy had a good impact on the development of Egyptian anatomy, so we believe that the names of some human organs in Hieroglyphic “The ancient Egyptian Pharaonic language” writing have to do with animal anatomy, “the dental symbol used in hieroglyphic writing derives from the tusk of the elephant and the writing of the uterus.
It is also the image of the cow’s uterus, and the name of the (protected) uterus is a root found in the name of the human and animal female, and has also been called nwt rmt, the mother of men, and this compares the Latin word Matrix, that is, mother and Arabic word.
Perhaps one of the flaws of the Egyptian autopsy was that he did not give the names of the bones; In order to understand precisely how the Egyptians understood both anatomy and vesicle, we must reflect on this passage translated from the Ebers Medical Papyrus.
Medicine in ancient Egypt. In the center of the head are four branched arteries (mito) at the back of the head, the soul enters through the nose and goes to the heart and lungs that distribute it to the abdominal cavity, while the openings of the nose are arteries that reach the eye, and there are four arteries that carry the soul and water to the liver, where the blood-borne mixer is formed, and there are two arteries connected to the right ear entering life and two connected to the left ear sneaking through death.
We note the great confusion between the channels, arteries, nerves and arbitrary perception of the soul, life, and death and how to get in and out of them?
Therefore, we believe that the physiology (functions of the organs) was also disturbed and that there were impromptu thoughts that may not lead to good results in treatment; for example, they believed that the mito and its name exceeded (the course of the body from arteries to veins, nerves, etc.) that they felt carrying fluids, air, waste, tears, urine, semen and mucus and that those who maintained their balance were the heart and distributed them correctly between their sources and the rest of the body.
If an unusual secretion seeps into the sewers, treat the organ of secretion, that is, if they think that the stool has infiltrated these sewers, treat the anus… Thus, imaginary preconceived ideas of the body were the cause of the processing error.
There is no doubt that they knew the tension but did not measure it and did not use it extensively in medical diagnosis.
Orthopedic surgery in ancient Egypt – Surgery in Ancient Egypt Pharaohs:
There is no doubt that ancient Egyptian medicine excelled in surgery more than others, and there is much evidence of this and is present on the walls of Egyptian Tombs, Egyptian Temples and in Edwin Smith Papyrus, and one of the most important surgeries we have identified is:
- Sew the wounds and clean them before, put the herbs and honey on them, then cover them with compresses.
- Orthopedic surgery and the treatment of dislocation of the joints by connecting them to each other and stabilizing them, and they were qualified in the treatment of dislocation.
- Skull and brain surgery, trepanation, the oldest of which was performed in 2000 BC.C.
- Burn surgery was treated with honey, oils, fats, and ligaments.
- Oncology is treated with a scalpel or kidney.
Suction Cups in Medicine in ancient Egypt:
It is a way to rid the body of blood congestion in certain places as well as increase circulatory activity, strengthen the immune system, and detoxify the body.
In Tomb of Tutankhamun | KV62 in Valley of the Kings, Luxor, painted plates appeared indicating their use through metal cups, bull horns and bamboos, emptying them of air (by drawing air or burning wool inside the cup), and then sticking them to the place.
Gynecology and obstetrics in ancient Egypt – Ancient Egyptian Midwifery and Childbirth
Know a woman’s ability to conceive:
Medicine in ancient Egypt. The Egyptians knew about fertility and the woman’s ability to conceive, which means she will be pregnant, and if her belly swells, it means she won’t be pregnant.
Know the type of fetus: Medicine in ancient Egypt
The ancient Egyptians were the first to try to diagnose the kind of fetus before birth by examining urine, where the medical papyrus of Berlin (around 1350 BC.C. ) recalled the method of diagnosis by wetting wheat grains and barley with the urine of pregnant women in the first months, if barley grows, the fetus is a boy , and if wheat grows, the fetus is a girl, and if none of them grows, pregnancy is false.
The Egyptians knew the delivery chair on which a woman sits, puts her hands on her thighs and squeezes her abdomen so that the fetus slides out of her uterus faster and easier, as shown in the image below, which is engraved in a temple.
Pharmacy in ancient Egypt – Medicines and drugs among the ancient Egyptians:
Although many drugs with ancient Egyptian names are still unknown to this day, the Egyptians made effective progress in the development of pharmacology and drug preparation, and the Ibers papyrus was a reference on pharmacy and medicines.
Herbal medicines:
These are the most complete medicines that made up five of the best-known medicines of ancient Egypt and were used by various means, either soaked, ground, converted into ointments or aromatic oils and used for various diseases or for public health and hygiene.
Basic animal medicines:
They included various organs and animal products, the most famous of which was honey and milk, and used animal fat and fat as a means of treating the skin and nourishing pure or complex skin.
Mineral drugs:
They were used spiritually for talismans and spells such as precious stones, especially ferus, gold and silver, or what was used for the body such as Natroun salts, ammonia carbonate, lime, copper rust (patina), iron salts, magnesium, mercury strains, lead salts, caustic soda and sodium carbonate.
It is remarkable that all doctors today use the letter R at the beginning of the prescription (Prescription) and is a symbol of The Eye of Horus, which is the symbol of Egyptian medicine, although this letter has a contemporary justification but resembles the eye of Horus in its design.
Medicine in ancient Egypt – Enemas:
Egyptians have experienced the use of enemas for many gastrointestinal diseases, including constipation, and it has become normal to use them among the public at home, says Greek historian Diodorus Siculus “Diodorus of Sicily” in this sense: they protect diseases by maintaining the health of their bodies, using laxatives, fasting and vomiting, sometimes every day.
They say that most of what enters the body for three or four days in a row, and in others they work to maintain their health with vomiting and injections.
Medicine in ancient Egypt. This is because food is more necessary and diseases arise from this excess. Roman historian Pliny the Elder “Gaius Plinius Secundus” believes that the Egyptians generally learned to use the enemas of the bird known as the “Abu Sickle,” a bird that resists constipation resulting from the nature of its food by inserting its long beak into its needle and using it as a syringe.
Herodotus says that the Egyptians show their bodies once a month for three consecutive days and work to preserve their health with vomiting and injections, because they think that all the diseases that affect people come from what they eat and this historian, the first historian of civilization, describes the Egyptians as after the lobbyists the healthiest people in the world.
What was the first artificial limb? Artificial limbs in ancient Egypt
Egyptian medicine has been described as “high-end medicine “, where Egyptians were interested in inventing prosthetic devices for the first time in history, such as wooden fingers and feet, in order to preserve the feelings of patients whose limbs were amputated and also to send the patient to another life, which is full of organs.
Ancient Egyptian medicine in the civilization of Pharaonic Civilization, the facts of the medicine sources of the Pharaohs of the medical papyrus to know the secrets of detection, diagnosis and method of treatment in the Pharaonic civilization.
Ancient Egyptian medicine is of great influence of exploits on all ancient civilizations, and we have received abundant information about it indicating a remarkable scientific and spiritual genius in this field. We must recognize the correlation between the religious and scientific aspects of ancient Egyptian medicine, not limit them to one or separate them in a coercive way, and in order to study our research to this end, we first saw the need to present the sources of Egyptian medicine in order to identify this syndrome, and then to examine magic and religious medicine, then clinical medicine.
Herodotus said: “The medical schools in Egypt were very famous, the medical reputation, and the doctors who specialized in various branches had a reputation, and that kings, princes, and greats in other countries called them for treatment.
Medicine in ancient Egypt. According to the Odyssey, the medical professions in Egypt are of the highest degree of intelligence that no people has attained. Herodotus then speaks of the specialization of the Egyptians in various branches of medicine.
He said: “Their medicine is divided into the following branches: for each disease, a doctor specializes, and their country is full of doctors, some specialized in the eyes and some in the head, some in the teeth, some in the intestines, some in hidden diseases.
Magical Medicine in ancient Egypt pharaohs:
Magical medicine texts were about the task of banishing souls from the dead, and fish was used in medical magic rituals, including filling the mouth of an Abego fish with incense, and then cooking and eating before bed, thus keeping evil spirits and ghosts away from the dead.
From the book of magic and witches of the pharaohs, we read this magical text for the prevention of death: “The words of Horus banish death and sustain the life of one who feels a twig and suffocation in his throat, the words of Horus renew life and prolong the years of the life of those who are inspired to him.”
Magic initially depended on the forces of nature, but it merged with religion and was used by the power of healing or powerful gods as in previous texts, while black magic used demons, harmful beings, and the spirits of the dead, including the evil eye called “The Evil Eye of God Anubis”, the dangerous snake that stands in front of Ra and tries to stop the sun and its God Ptah.
That is why they wrote against this eye and its spells of danger and sophistication. The Egyptian believed that the gods guarded his organs and that by losing the relationship with one of them, he would be exposed to disease (God Noun: hair, God Ra: Face, God Hathor: eyes, God Anubis: Lips… etc.). There were slaves and spells for all these gods to protect these organs or when they were exposed to patients, they were addressed and through them.
Medicine and religion of the pharaohs:
Medicine was at the heart of the Egyptian religion by priests dedicated to this purpose, and Egyptian gods and rituals of worship have become a material of religious medical treatment as in Mortuary Temples, which corresponds to today’s spiritual and psychological medicine, but sometimes it goes beyond that, and the priest and cleric use herbs and medicines in his own way.
In fact, we do not find pure medicine without elements (magic, religion, and science), but this knowledge is found in different proportions here and there.
Clinical medicine in the Pharaonic civilization:
Clinical medicine was not established in the pure sense as it is today, but medicine was a mixture of magic, religion and science in proportions ranging from time to time and from doctor to doctor, and there is no doubt that the passage of time passed in favor of clinical medicine, except for periods of cultural regression, 2,000 witnessed great religious and magical medicine activity.
However, there are many well-designed clinical manifestations and manufactured drugs, some of which have proven to be medically effective in our modern age, although this has not been without constant confusion between the three elements of medicine (magic, religion and science).
Doctors in Ancient Egypt – A list of the most famous doctors of the Pharaohs and medical schools of the ancient Egyptian civilization, discover the facts and history of the classification of doctors and where the Egyptian doctor practiced his work in the Pharaonic civilization and more.
Doctors in Ancient Egypt – Ancient Egyptian medicine
What was the first medical school in Egypt?
Medicine was practiced in temples and cities, and the medical place in the temple was called “Per Ankh”, that is, the house of life, and included the education of another knowledge. There were beginners and doctors from the medical school.
- In school (Ain Shams, Heliopolis): The oldest and perhaps the oldest since the first dynasty was mainly religious magical medicine.
- The greatest ancient Egyptian physician in Memphis, Imhotep, who was the minister and engineer of King Djoser of the Third Dynasty of Egypt During Old Kingdom, and his name means (coming in peace), who was worshipped in late ancient times in the Greek and Roman periods as a god of medicine and compared or paired him with the god Aesculapius, the god of Greco-Roman medicine. No direct texts were received from him, but the first medical papyrus may have been written by him, and he is known to be the architect of the first pyramids.
- School of Abydos in Sohag.
- School of Tell-Basta (Pharaonic monuments in Al-Sharkia)
- Sao School (Sa El-Hagar “Sais” in Basyoun, Gharbia): specialized in childbirth and gynecology
- The School of Thebes.
Herodotus described the many Egyptian doctors as one of the most qualified people and that they were from the Pyon dynasty, the physician of the gods, and at the age of the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty of Egypt, Late Period, especially with king Amasis II, foreigners were allowed to enter Egypt and learn there, so many Greek geniuses such as Plato and Doctor Hippocrates, studied medicine in particular, brought their sciences home and put them into new sciences and attributed them to themselves.
Egypt remained the land of medicine for the Greeks until the time of Galinos in the second century AD, when it remained a strong and public school.
Medicine in ancient Egypt. There was no clinic for doctors, but they were present in temples, palaces, and cemeteries where they were eventually good at treating bites and poisonings of snakes and scorpions.
Doctors in Ancient Egypt:
The Egyptian doctor, in the ancient Egyptian language, was called Sonou, and the symbol of this word (Sono Swnw)was mentioned in the name of the doctor in Sumerian language, Azo or Aso, which means “knowledge of water” or “Yazu, Yasuo”, known as oil, then evolved into Babylonian and became Asino, and the famous city of doctors (Essen) appeared and we do not exclude the presence of a Sumerian woman at the origin of ancient Egyptian medicine.
Doctors were also called “Priests of Sekhmet” and the beginning of surgeons was since the Third Dynasty. Sino was the general practitioner (whether for humans, veterinarian or pharmaceutical) and the degrees of doctors by job and by degree were (doctor, chief physician, inspector, director).
Classification of doctors in ancient Egypt:
The doctors of ancient Egypt are classified into distinct groups:
Priests – Medicine in ancient Egypt. :
They mainly represent spiritual and psychological medicine, which depends on magic and religion in treatment, so we see them as intermediaries between patients and the gods of healing, and they have an important place among people and in the field of healing, they also use herbs and drugs in their own way, which, according to them, relate to the holy secrets.
Recent archaeological and Egyptian Antiquities discoveries in 2013 revealed a large Pharaonic Tomb of De Mut Shep – Ankh dating from the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt named after its owner. (Sheb Ankh), who worked to a large extent for doctors in Upper and Lower Egypt, and this cemetery has a gate that shows his function as (priest of Khnum) and these indicate that he is a priest of a charming doctor, the cemetery is located in Cemetery of Abu Sir “Abusir Necropolis” in the governorate of Giza and covers an area of 294 square meters and has walls rising to four meters and has funerary wells, and know more about The Secrets of Pyramid Construction near Tombs of the Pyramid Builders.
The base of magical religious medicine was to expel, repel and fight the wandering souls of the dead who caused disease and therefore spells and sophistication prevailed.
The gods used by the priests were (God Thoth, Hathor, Horus, God Isis, Ptah, God Khonsu and God Sekhmet).
Civilian:
These are medical scientists who have used scientific methods mainly and are called Sono or Sino and divided into three categories:
Doctors:
Doctors who work in the court, government as in The Pharaonic political pyramid, and army, and they have won great titles such as the chief physician, who has been nicknamed “The director of the nursing home, the head of his secrets at the house of Thot”.
Medicine in ancient Egypt. They included famous king doctors, doctors accompanying the army, provincial doctors, quarries, factories, cemeteries, and others, and they were classified to the degrees we have mentioned. The researcher (Juncker) collected the names of nearly 100 well-known doctors at the time and organized their notes.
Who was the most famous doctor in ancient Egypt?
The medical profession evolved towards the emergence of specialists of doctors, and the first specialist was the doctor Hesy-Ra “Hesy-Re and Hesire” of the Third Dynasty and his tomb in Saqqara, where he was nicknamed (chief dentist of the palace) at the time of King.
The most important disciplines are (internal medicine, gynecology, dentistry, jars, ophthalmology, herbal medicine, veterinary medicine).
Veterinary Medicine in Ancient Egypt
Veterinary medicine was developed for two reasons, the first of which is the sanctity of many animals, which requires medical care and care if they get sick, and the second is to take great care of livestock in terms of breeding, treatment and care for pregnant women and the family of the patient. In 1889, Egyptology Flinders Petrie discovered a papyrus in veterinary medicine dating back to the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt During in Middle Kingdom the lahun, indicating the treatment of thorine with gonorrhea of the eyes with depression and sadness, as he indicates. Treatment of a dog with an internal parasite.
Medical assistants – Medicine in ancient Egypt:
nurses, massage therapists and ligaments, who were called Ut, including embalming and first aid specialists.
The two important things that ancient Egypt lacked were the presence of medical hospitals where these doctors worked. The second is that treatment prescriptions (prescriptions) written by doctors after examination of the patients.
The most famous Doctors in Ancient Egypt:
The first medical document dating from King Den of the First Dynasty of Egypt, a magical medical document, found a collection of spells for the disappearance of pain in a box carrying manuscripts under the feet of the statue of God (Anubis) in the city of Aussim, from the reign of one of the kings, King Mendge, and stated that (these feet tied by the author of the holy discourse were the qualified chief physician who truly satisfied God, the book was worked by the disciple of God Aton).
The historian Manethon stated that King Hor-Aha, the second king of the First Dynasty, practiced medicine and that his writings remained in anatomy until the 3rd century BC.
Imhotep:
The meaning of his name (coming in peace) in the range of 2600-2586 BC. Minister of King Djeser of the Third Dynasty and architect of his pyramid in Sakkara in the range of 2630 – 2611 BC. and the founder of the Memphis Medical School, his titles were (minister of Egypt, doctor comes after the king of Upper Egypt, the director of the palace, chief priest of Heliopolis, the head of the two lands), and perhaps his tomb in Sakkara. Two thousand years after his death, the Greeks recognized him as a god of medicine and healing and paired him with their god Aesculapius.
Hesy-Ra 2670 BC :
The meaning of his name (The praised by Ra) at the time of King Djeser, and the titles he received (the head of the dentists and the head of the king’s book, Abu Hadab, Abu Man, organizer of an erased ceremony, keeper of the clothes of the king, the director of the book of the largest palace among the top ten in Upper Egypt), and his relics include a wooden painting, buried in a large cemetery in Sakkara.
Meryptah:
A doctor who was probably the first doctor in history, which means that his name (loved by Ptah) and surname is (chief physician) in the Third Dynasty around 2700 BC., his grave in Sakkara.
Iryi: Medicine in ancient Egypt
From the Old Kingdom, his name was mentioned in a cemetery near the pyramids of Giza, and as a royal doctor… He was nicknamed “The Doctor of the Royal Palace” and even “Inspector of the Doctors of the Palace”.
Ni-Ankh Ra:
In the Old Kingdom , he is the chief physician of the court, who is informed of the king’s daily secrets.
Peseshet:
At the time of the construction of the pyramids of about 2500 B.C.C., a trace of her was revealed in her son’s Tomb of Akhethetep and Ptahhotep II – mastaba D64 in Saqqara, and her title, which was repeated three times in the text engraved in stone “The supervising lady of the ladies’ doctors”, confirming the presence of many women doctors because she was their supervisor.
During the reign of King Sahure of the Fifth Dynasty, another doctor, Ni Ankh Sekhmet was mentioned, who was rewarded by the king with a painting of him, in which the doctor appeared with a scepter and wearing leopard skin.
The charming chief priest, Chib Ankh, who belongs to the Fifth Dynasty, revealed his tomb in Abu Sir, Giza.
In the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt, we see another court physician named “Khoui” who holds the title of chief physician of Upper and Lower Egypt, while being the head of the priests of Pyramid of Teti “king Teti“.
Penthu:
In the era of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt around 1350 BC. the first priest of the god Aton at the temple of King Akhenaton, the chief physician, and the chief dean, he was a doctor that he came and served King Ayi after being minister of King Tutankhamun, his tomb No. 5 in Tombs of the Nobles Amarna.
Qar: Medicine in ancient Egypt
He was a physician in ancient Egypt during the Sixth Egyptian Dynasty, which lasted from 2350 to 2180 BC. Near his stone sarcophagus found in Tomb of Qar (G 7101) Mastabas Of The Old Kingdom in Giza, the king’s doctor found pieces of bronze or sensory metal that were used for surgery with another set of surgical tools. Ancient Egyptian gods of different shapes and sizes, including Ptah, Horus the Child, and Isis. Among them was also a statue of an anonymous figure.
Psamtikseneb:
The meaning of his name may Psmṯk-snb be well, since the time of the 26th dynasty (664-525) BC. J.C., and its titles (chief physician, caress of the scorpion, chief dentist (wribh) for the king, prince of the sea of the royal fleet), and its effects include the presence of my little one with the head of Psammitic Seneb, and the painting “Ankh-Ef-Sekhmet” is entertained by the fugitive player.
Ja-Hor-Reznet:
Chief physician of the Persian era of Qambiz, dean of the School of Physicians and the House of Life, prince of the king’s advisers and his confidant, chief priest of the palace, head of the palace book, president of the court of Didt, head of the prison book, prince of the palace, prince of the sea of the fleet of the king of Upper and Lower Egypt”, Khnum Ib Ra (Amasis), and the prince of the sea of the fleet of the king of Upper and Lower Egypt “Ankh Ka In Ra” president of the province of Sais, Paftonit.
Hor Sisi, son of Na’a Husi: Medicine in ancient Egypt
From Amasis to King Darius I, chief physician, chief physician of Upper and Lower Egypt, commander of the Greek army (prince of the sea of the royal fleet) his tomb in Saqqara.
Petoua Neith:
The reign of Sais Amasis, nicknamed the chief physician, restored the temple of Abydos and has a statue now in the Louvre Museum.
Oti:
A doctor of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt around 1200 appointed chief physician, with a statue preserved in the museum of Leyde.
Thoth-Em-Heb:
The meaning of his name was Thoth is in celebration, from the time of King Ramses II, and his titles (the wise scribe and doctor), and has traces in the temple of Khonsu in Karnak Temple.
Sources of Ancient Egyptian Medicine:
Medical Papyri:
Classical research in the field of ancient Egyptian medicine used to display the medical papyri (13 papyri) and its contents in order to look at the medical scene at the time as it is, and its table will provide general information about them, while here we will present the most important contents, which were all written in hieratic writing except that of the Ramesseum which was written in hieroglyphics.
Surgical papyrus Edwin Smith:
Medicine in ancient Egypt. It is believed that the oldest and greatest Egyptian physician (Imhotep) is the original author of this papyrus copied from his time, and this papyrus caused a blow in the history of Egyptian medicine, it is the first surgical book in the world and provided evidence for the existence of experience-based medicine, the observation, anatomy and functions of the vessels.
The papyrus consists of the most important (book of wounds), the treatment of rectal diseases, the elimination of the air of the plague and it is full of spells, and an ointment for the return of elders to youth.
The first part of the papyrus includes 48 realistic views in orthopedics and general surgery, divided by the division of the human body from the head, nose, jaw, vertebrae of the neck, vertebrae of the back, ribs, chest, collarbone, shoulder, board, and hands to the spine.
It was likely that it covered all parts of the body because the last sighting of it, the spine, ends with incomplete words. However, papyrus is characterized by the fact that it treats some cases with an accurate clinical description, starting with the title, then detection, diagnosis, and treatment.
Dr. Paul Ghalioungui, who is interested in the study of the history of ancient Egyptian medicine, identifies all the advantages of this papyrus, which we summarize here with points…
- His knowledge of the anatomy and memory of the brain and its membranes for the first time in history.
- The accuracy of the examination and the validity of the interpretation of clinical signs.
- The importance of the pulse to know the patient’s condition and the state of his heart.
- Connecting the phenomena of syndrome in distant parts of the body.
- Follow the stages of the disease to reach the diagnosis and predict what will happen.
- The accuracy of the description of therapeutic movements as a description of how to put the two parts of broken vertebrae in their place.
- Variation of the surgical equipment used by the author for treatment.
The Ebers Papyrus
It is the largest medical manuscript, containing 108 columns written on an enveloped papyrus more than 20 meters long and containing many conditions, a mixture of diseases and clinical and magical observations. In the papyrus, it is indicated that it is part of a major medical work, parts of which are found in other medical papyri.
However, most of this papyrus is related to stomach diseases, cardiovascular function and surgery for tumors, blisters, and boils.
Medicine in ancient Egypt. The papyrus reached the author and copied it in order of arrival, and can be limited to giving an idea of the knowledge of that time and the extent of the specialization in it, including:
- The supplications of the gods.
- Internal diseases and their treatment, the first author in the history of the world to approach the secret of life with non-religious or magical philosophical reflections, although most internal diseases are referred to spiritual causes
- Recipes for eye diseases
- Recipes for skin diseases, beauty, decoration, and hair development
- Prescriptions for diseases of members
- Different recipes for several diseases of the head and teeth
- Gynecology and treatment
- Authors of cardiovascular; the only authors who have reached us in the anatomy and function of organs
- Surgical diseases and their treatment, this part did not treat wounds, but was limited to tumors and yeasts.
We deduce from this:
Angioma: If you examine a tumor in the vessels at one end of the limb and find it semi-spherical swelling under your hand every time (i.e., pulsating), but if you separate it from the rest of the body does not beat.
Berlin Papyrus:
It is similar in content to two-thirds of the papyrus of Apries on the cardiovascular subject; it contains the names of plant and animal medicines; concerns neglected rheumatism and Urdu and many errors and seems to be a copy of an older and better origin.
Chester Beatty Medical Papyrus
Small and contains 41 prescriptions for diseases, with magic spells and prescriptions for the treatment of rectal diseases.
Papyrus Carlsberg Collection
These are remnants of sordid papyrus, including prescriptions for eye diseases (as in the papyrus of Apries) and their back contains prescriptions for gynecological diseases, with references to pregnancy, childbirth, and knowledge of the sex of the fetus.
The Kahun Papyri “Petrie Papyri or Lahun Papyri”
The Kahun Papyri may have been the oldest of the existing papyrus, and its origin may have been the oldest origin of a papyrus still missing or lost. In fact, this papyrus is one of the papyri called papyrus of Kahoon, which includes the following topics:
- Texts of the Reverence of king Senusret II.
- Hymns to King Senusret III.
- Medical texts for women and obstetrics
- Sports texts
- Veterinary papyrus
- The phenomena of the Middle Kingdom period with its events and festivals
Medicine in ancient Egypt – London Papyrus:
This papyrus was dominated by magic and spells, and included 61 prescriptions, of which only 25 were prescriptions and the rest were spells. It specializes in gynecology, tumors, fire injuries, blindness and spells against diseases and describes Asian diseases.
Medicine in ancient Egypt. This papyrus is located in The British Museum in London (No. 1005), having been transferred from the Royal Museum in London in 1860, dating from the second half of the 18th dynasty, and some previously thought it belonged to the Fourth Dynasty.
But one of the sophistications mentioned King Khufu, owner of the Great Pyramid of Giza, but examination of the method and lineage indicates that it dates back to the time of Ramses II (1290-1224 BC, although this does not prevent that it, like other medical papyri), dates back to ancient times, and is, in any case, written in an unclear handwriting, and is specific to magic spells that benefit the healing of certain diseases.
Leiden Papyrus:
Contains the rules to prevent and respond to diseases and prevent the spread of infection.
Papyrus Hurst:
Contains prescriptions for the treatment of acute infections, dental, intestinal and heart diseases.
Brugsch Papyrus (Greater Berlin):
Contains birth control subjects and fertility tests, named after Brugsch who studied it.
Brooklyn Papyrus:
A collection of papyri about medicine, snakes, scorpions and spiders, i.e. animal toxins and their treatment.
Papyrus Ramesseum:
five papyri containing medicines, gynecology, eyes and children, and there are other papyri containing other subjects, including theater.
Crocodilopolis:
A papyrus with subjects in general medicine.
It is clear to us that these papyri took the names of their discoverers, scholars, or places where they were found, and we found that they were all copied from earlier eras and that some of them shared certain texts.
And it is copied by copiers and not by doctors.
References: The Book of Egyptian Civilization
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