Introduction
Some of the medical tools and technologies we have today wouldn't have been possibly without the Ancient Egyptians inventing them when they did. They were the ones who made the foundation upon which all of todays modern medical miracles are built. We know about their understanding from examining mummies and also got to get a clearer idea of the issues that faced. Also from depictions and writings we were able to know their field of expertise and ailments faced. The work the Egyptians did provided opportunities for examination and observation of many specimens through the years in the pursuit of medical knowledge. In fact, they were so impressive in their knowledge of healing and anatomy that they impressed the Greeks, who were quite knowledgeable of the field in their own right. For more information about the Ancient Egyptians' knowledge, keep reading.
The Human BodyBecause Ancient Egypt had the river Nile running through it making the land fertile and cultivable, the Egyptians learnt in order to have land good for crops, the irrigation channels had to be unblocked. This gave the idea that the body must have something similar to channel which should not be blocked as then an ailment would occur. This is what historians called 'The Channel Theory'. If these channels became blocked, doctors would use laxatives to keep them clear. They would also make people vomit, bleed or urinate in hope to cure the sickness. From this theory they thought the heart was the centre and had 46 types of tubes coming out of it. They were right to a certain extent but they were never able to identify that these tubes had different functions. Doctors could feel from the back of the hand and head a pulse and knew it was associated in some way with the heart. This was a imperative breakthrough in the history of medicine as it led doctors to try practical cures designed simply the channel leaving behind purely spiritual cures for illnesses.
The Ancient Egyptians believed in the afterlife therefore wanted the deceased to be able to preserve the body until that time. They created a process that the dead people were mummified. First the dead body was washed and the organs had to be removed. The stomach was cut open and the insides were removed. A long hooked tool was inserted inside the nostril, breaking through a thin bone brain case. This allowed the brain to be removed. All of the organs were put out to dry. Then it was covered in linen cloths and put into separately small pots. The heart was still left in the body. All of the cut off flesh was placed back into the body. The inside and outside of the body was washed with wine then all of the opening like nostrils were stuffed closed. They body was now wrapped and stored away usually in tombs. The practise of mummification gave the Egyptians doctors and even priests an idea of the various organs and increased their knowledge about the body's anatomy. Religion prevented the examination and testing of body parts so the function of the organs were not known. Because of the thought that the heart, rather than the brain, was the thinking part of the body, they left it inside of the body during mummification. Magic and religionMagic and religion were a part of everyday life in Ancient Egypt. They believed that evil gods, spirits and demons were responsible for many ailments they experienced so often the treatments had a supernatural element to them. This could be beginning treatment with an appeal to a deity, incarnations or magic was required to be a part of the cure. In the early stages of Egyptian medicine, it did not appear to be a clear difference between a priest and a doctor. Some treatments they used contained ingredients derived from a substance, plant, herb or animal that looked similar to the symptom they were treating. This is known as simila similibus (similar with similar) and is found throughout the history of medicine, even in modern alternative medicine like used in homeopathy. For example, in Ancient Egyptian times, ostrich eggs were used to treat a fractured skull.
A direct link from medicine to magic and religion was the use of amulets. Amulets were like a pendant on a necklace made of bone hanging from a leather strap. In general it was very popular being used for many magical purposes. Health related amulets were called homeopoetic which portrayed an animal or part of it. The wearer of this amulet would hope to gain positive attributes. Another amulet which protected against harmful demons or gods was called phylactic. The very famous Eye of Horus was often used on a phylactic amulet. The last type of amulets was theophoric which represented Egyptian gods. |
Doctors and PhysiciansHesy-Ra was the earliest recorded physician in the world who practised in Ancient Egypt. Due to the government and obsession with cleanliness, the specialisation of doctors came into place. The Egyptians were the first people to develop the profession of medicine. There were specialists in their particular fields such as dentistry, pharmacology, crude surgical procedures and general healing. All doctors had great medical skills, were very wise and were thought to have all the answers. There were different people who could cure a person. There was the priest who mostly used magic and the power of the gods to heal the patient. Another name for him was the medicine man. Then there was also the physicians who could be either female or male. They performed surgeries and other procedures. Doctors and domestic women at home, who used herbs, were also widely approached to cure sick people. The Ancient Egyptian medical profession had its own hierarchy. The chief medical officer of Egypt was on the top. Under him were the supervisors and inspectors of the physician and then beneath him, the physicians and doctors came in.
Herbal remedies was well known by the doctors. Also part of Egyptian medicine were magic, spells and charms which only had, if any, psychological effects on the patient. Egyptian doctors were halfway between the magic of the witch-doctor from the Stone Age and the science of the modern doctor. When it was first developed it relied mostly on magical practises to treat illnesses but this changed in the third millennium BC. They made a break from superstition and began approaching mental and physical parts scientifically, just like we do today. The Ancient Egyptian word for doctor is wabau and the word swnw translated was physician. Doctors and physicians were most likely have learnt their knowledge the same way everyone else did, by watching their father. Egyptian physicians had an skillful reputation and were often called for by royalty of other foreign lands. SurgeryAncient Egyptian physicians were very well trained and great at first aid. They also could successfully fix broken bones, dislocated joints and basic surgical operations. These basic operations were on or close to the surface to the skin. This was because the doctors didn't have anaesthetics and only had herbal antiseptics so performing a surgery deep inside the body would have been near impossible for them to do. Also religion prevented cutting the bodies open and taking a detailed look inside the human body to see how the organs worked. But they did gain a vast knowledge of the body's morphology and even a small idea of the organs during mummification practises. The Ancient Egyptians had diagnosis system, basically operating the same way as modern day medicine does except in an ancient context and with less technology.
In each case when a patient came to the doctor it would give one of three options of treatment depending on the injury. The first is the treatable injury which gets dealt with immediately. The second is the contestable injury which isn't life threatening and may be given delayed care and set aside. The third treatment is minor care and sent home. This may be because the ailment will heal on it's own and doesn't need the doctor to intervene or it is an untreatable ailment, there is nothing the doctor can do and the patient is going to die soon. Egyptian doctors were very knowledgeable in the fact that they knew when a patient could not be treated and was about to die. This way of giving one of three options on treatment of a patient is exactly what we do today in modern hospitals. In 2001, in a 4000 year old cave, 30 bronze surgical instruments were discovered. These are the oldest ever found surgical tools found in the world proving that the Ancient Egyptians were the first true medical surgeons. The bronze tool's replicas look so similar to the ones we use now. Some of the tools included scissors, a probe, a curette, a saw and an obsidian scalpel. A very advanced procedure the Ancient Egyptians did was used prosthetics on limbs when they were gone. On an examined mummy a prothetic toe was found on it. It was with a nail and everything. It looked exactly the same as a normal toe would look and mostly likely work the same way too. |