medicine and history

1. ANCIENT EGYPTian medicine
Ahmed ZAKI
CNOSULTANT ob/gyn, md,mrcog
Bakhsh Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

8. Writing

10. • When one thinks of the contribution Egypt has made to the
world, the majority of thought wonders to those majestically
erected monuments of stone.
• However, Ancient Egypt has offered so much more. Homer in
the Odyssey remarked,

12. The Medicine of the Ancient Egyptians
• From the beginnings of the civilization in
the c. 33rd century BC , Egyptian medical
practice was highly advanced for its
time, including simple non-invasive
surgery, setting of bones and an extensive
set of pharmacopoeia.
• Egyptian medical thought influenced later
traditions, including the Greeks.

13. Specialist Doctors and Physicians
• Their were doctors who specialised in the head, eyes,
ears, the stomach and fertility.
• There were different levels of doctors in the medical
profession.
• The most senior physician in Egypt was the chief medical
officer. There were inspectors of physicians who validated
the working practises of doctors.

14. The Edwin Smith Papyrus documents ancient
Egyptian medicine, including the diagnosis and
treatment of injuries

15. •
The techniques employed in Ancient Egyptian medicine
when dealing with wounds and injuries was documented
in a papyrus first owned by a man named Edwin Smith.
This has become known as the 'Edwin Smith Surgical
Papyrus' and is believed to date back to 1600BC.
• The papyrus details a systematic approach to diagnosis
describing 48 different types of fractures, dislocations and
wounds.

16. Medical Examinations
• -
The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus also details the
medical examination process
• Patients were questioned at some length regarding their
well being including details of their bodily functions.
• A physician would examine a patient with gentleness and
care using his senses of both smell and touch during the
examination.

17. Ebers Papyrus treatment for cancer: recounting a "tumor
against the god Xenus", it recommends "do thou nothing
there against
An ancient Egyptian
medical text dating
back to 1550BC.

18. Diagnosis
•
Egyptian doctors were known to have documented
hundreds of illnesses. These included
ulcers, migraine, dermatological problems, dental
conditions, diseases of the ear, nose, throat and digestive
system and gynae conditions.
• Papyrus revealed detailed knowledge of the
digestion, nervous system and circulation. They were also
skilled in various surgical techniques, medicine and
injuries such as burns, wounds and infections.
• The Egyptian doctors accompanied soldiers on their
various military campaigns.

19. Ancient Egyptian Medicine
•
Medicine was well respected and Egyptian physicians
were often sent to the courts of allies to offer treatments
and cures to important political figures and members of
royalty including the Kings of Persia.
• The knowledge of medicine, anatomy and the working of
the human was well established

20. Magic and Spells
•
Also part of Egyptian medicine were magic, charms, and
spells. An Egyptian physician was also a magician and
practised various rituals
• The magic accompanied the remedies and were believed
to be effective in ridding patients of evil spirits.

22. aromatherapy

23. Reflexiology
• Forms of Reflexology can be found in
numerous cultures, dating back thousands
of years. It can be found in the Papyrus
Ebers

24. AFTERLIFE & Mummification

30. • photograph various medically-related subjects ranging from
surgery and surgical instruments, to paintings showing actual
pathology.
• Perhaps the most ancient existing depictions of surgery are
found in the Old Kingdom tomb of Ankh-Ma-Hor at Saqqara.
Over 4000 years old, these reliefs depict surgical procedures
on the toes and circumcision.

31. At the Temple of Kom Ombo in Lower Egypt

32. Surgical instruments

33. This depicts what is probably a
stethoscope, which didn’t enter into modern
medicine until the 1800′s.

35. Circumcision

36. Prothesis

37. DISEASES OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN:
• Fertility was diagnosed by placing garlic in the vagina for one
night. If the next day the woman can taste or smell it in her
mouth, she is fertile. This is based upon the connection
between the genital parts and interior of the body. Such
connection would be lost in a case of obstructed Fallopian
tubes. In modern medicine HGS
• Diagnosis of pregnancy and sex determination of the future
child was based on the fact that pregnant urine germinates
cereals more rapid then non-pregnant one. If the child was a
male, the urine would germinate wheat, and if a female, it
would geminate barley. The same tests have been used in
Europe up till the Middle Ages.

38. • Delivery was performed in the squatting position, with the
woman supporting her arms on knees and sitting on two
bricks. Difficult labors were aided by burning resin, or
massaging the abdomen by saffron powder and beer.
Abortions were done by introduction of warm oil and fat in the
vagina.

39. “Houses of birth” or “Mammisi” They were visited by pregnant
women seeking help, rather than being a birth place

40. CONTRACEPTION
insertion of crocodile oil, gum acacia or honey into
the vagina. Gum acacia when dissolved produces
lactic acid, a very effective known spermicidal.

41. Infants were breast fed for three years, and this was encouraged:
“Nothing is more lawful than one’s mother milk”.
Milk stimulants were resorted to, as mentioned in Ebers Papyrus:

43. INTERNAL MEDICINE: “Ebers Papyrus”
• Angina
• Cough
• Joint pains
• Brocheal asthma, constipation, diarrhea
• Migraine was considered a special entity and needed special
notice.

44. • Trepanning (making holes in the skull to relief pressure from
within) was practiced in ancient Egypt. Numerous skulls at the
faculty of medicine museum in Cairo show well- delineated
circular holes in the frontal bones. Signs of perfect healing at
the edges denote that the procedures were performed during
life, and the patient survived enough time to allow healing.
Examination of the overlying bone (and the scalp in a mummy)
suggest that surgical procedures have been undertaken.

45. Jaw showing drill holes used in dental repair
Courtesy of the Gordon Museum

46. How advanced the
Egyptians were !!!!!