Ancient Egyptian Life and Health

Health ,Hygeine , and Medical Practice in
Ancient Egypt :
Spotlights
By
Ekbal Mohammed Abo –Hashem (MD)
Prof. of Clinical Pathology
Mansoura University

Research into medicine and diseases of
ancient Egypt involves the study of many
aspects of its civilization. The study of
literary sources and artistic representations
in painting and sculpture, as well as the
examination of skeletal remains and
mummies, has yielded a wealth of material.
Introduction

The art of restoring and preserving health is as
old as life itself but the science of discovering
and analysing the process of disease is little
more than a century old and could not have
been accomplished without parallel advances
in technology. Modern medicine is greatly
assisted by diagnostic techniques such as
radiography, computed tomography, electron
and light microscopy, serology and endoscopy,
all of which have been applied to ancient
Egyptian remains.

During ancient times Egyptians lived in houses made from
mud bricks. The annual floods brought a lot of mud which
made the construction process easier. Brick makers molded
mud into square shapes using wooden molds after which
these were dried and hardened in the sun. The houses of
the poor were made from single walls which were one brick
thick, while those of the rich were made from double thick
walls to ensure increased security. Wood was not used
much in building due to its scarce availability in Egypt and
much of it had to be imported from outside.
Ancient Egypt Houses

Most Egyptian homes had a roofed-in central room and
smaller rooms attached. The central room was the most
used room of the house and the kitchen was usually
nearby. The house of a nobleman had some extra rooms
but the presence of a central room was still almost always
present. For a rich person or nobleman the furniture was
more ornate, the flooring was made out of mud tiles and
was covered with a plaster-like material. Roofs were
usually used as living space as the interiors were not
lighted much and stairs leading to the roof was also seen
in most homes.

Rich people in ancient Egypt owned big houses and most homes
had gardens with swimming pools. Most gardens were very
beautiful and peaceful and had a path that was well constructed.
The walls were higher to keep intruders out and guards
often protected the property. Furniture commonly included a
bed, a side table for books and much more. The kitchen
meanwhile had few small tables and there were drinking vessel
and dishes as well. Roof timber was covered with thatch and
matting. In the houses of the rich there was a guest room .

Ancient Egyptian Life and Health

Workmen's towns were constructed to
accommodate workforces of large projects . As an
example , Kahun town was constructed to house
the officials building the pyramid of Sesostris II at
Lahun in about 1895 BC. The larger houses in
Kahun generally included a reception hall or living
room, women's quarters, a kitchen and a room with
washing or bathing facilities. There were also
cellars and circular granaries. In poorer as well as
rich dwellings, stone tanks used for washing were
set into the mud floors, and running down the
center of every street were the remains of stone
drainage channels. The town housed an estimated
population of 5000 on a 14 hectare area'.

The workmen's village of Deir el-Medina was occupied
by Theban artisans for 450 years from the beginning
of the Eighteenth Dynasty to the end of the Twentieth.
The dwellings were originally built of mudbrick but
later housing included walls with stone bases. The
single-storey, flat-roofed houses had an average of
four rooms, with small windows with stone or wooden
grilles. The inside walls might be decorated with
frescoes or whitewashed, and wooden doors opened
directly on to the street. During the reign of Seti I
(Nineteenth Dynasty) there were about 600 people
living in the village and, unlike in the earlier years of
settlement, the animals were kept in compounds
outside rather than inside the village walls.

On large building projects doctors were
appointed to oversee the health of the
workmen but keeping epidemic disease and
occupational injuries at bay must have been
an enormous task. There were also foremen
on site who kept records on slates of absente
work . One reads: 'Fourth month of the flood
day 27, Nebnefer was ill , was stung by a
scorpion.. and another : first month of winter
day 21 Tementu was absent , had a fight with
his wife .

None of these settlements had wells, so
water had to be brought from the river,
which, at Deir el-Medina, was over 1.5
km away. In this village water was first
stored in large jars within the houses
but later a community reservoir was
built outside the north gate.

In ordinary Egyptian homes the lavatory
consisted of a wooden stool under which a
cup half-filled with sand might be placed or,
as at Deir el-Medina, a coarse terracotta
closet-stool. In the fine houses of Akhetaten
bathroom suites had bath or “shower” rooms
where water was drained out of the house
through a covered gully into a tank, and
lavatories with wood, pottery or stone seats
above arge bowls of sand. All household
refuse was dumped on to sites away from
settlement arcase.

At Tebtunis, a centre of Hellenistic culture in the
Fayum, public bathhouses have been excavated, the
oldest dating to the third century BCE. They had
showers, stone basins and a stove to heat the bath
water.

For the ancient Egyptians , personal hygiene
was an important cultural value :
A morning ritual, after one rose from bed, would be to bathe.
Every household, no matter the class, had some form of a basin
and jug used for washing the hands and showering. There were
also foot baths, made of stone,, ceramic, or wood, for washing
the feet .
From morning to evening, cosmetics and personal hygiene were a
part of every ancient Egyptian's daily rituals. Since a primary goal
of one's life was to make one's personal existence worthy of
eternity, care for one's physical appearance and health was a
priority.
If washing or perfumes did not help to get rid of body odour
one might seek the advice of a physician who had a number of
recipes at his disposal .

To sweeten the smell of the house or
clothes: dry myrrh, pignon,
frankincense, rush-nut, bark of
cinnamon, reed from Phoenicia, liquid
styrax, are ground fine, mixed together
and a little thereof is placed over a fire.
(Eb 852.)

Soap was unknown in Egypt , but a refreshing
body scrub could be made from a mixture of
powdered calcite, red natron, salt and honey
(Eb 715). Rich and poor washed frequently
and before every meal. Much use was made of
ointments to keep the skin soft, and unguents
and aromatic oils were considered extremely
important.
Personal hygiene, cosmetics, and aesthetics :
Herodotus wrote :
They wear linen garments, which they are specially
careful to have always fresh washed.

The Egyptians as well as the Babylonians
were making their own version of a
toothbrush by fraying the ends of twigs.
These “toothsticks” were discovered in
tombs beside the mummified remains of
their owners dating back to 3500 BC.
What’s even more astonishing is that
1,500 years prior to this, Egyptians were
using a paste to clean their teeth.

In the National Library in Vienna, Austria lies a
collection of papyrus documents containing the
world’s oldest-known recipe for toothpaste.
The formula, which consists of dried iris flower,
salt, pepper, and mint, are described as being
ahead of its time given that iris is an effective
agent against gum disease. Surprisingly,
researchers have only recently discovered iris’s
beneficial properties validating the innovative
brilliance of the ancient Egyptians.

In the Ebers papyrus, there are instructions on how
to make “mouth-taste pills” as well as “remedies for
the elimination of body odor” (Ebers papyrus, 708,
854) .
Various oils as well as mixtures from incense, wax,
ben oil, Cyperus, and other plant substances were
used for signs of aging such as wrinkles and spots.
They promised relief when applied daily: “Do it, you
will witness success.” As a “remedy for restoring
the skin”, the body was rubbed with an ointment of
honey, red natron, Lower Egyptian salt, and
alabaster flour (Ebers papyrus, 714)

Cosmetics were not only used to enhance personal
appearance but also for one's health. The ingredients used
in these ointments, oils, and creams helped to soften one's
skin, protect from sunburn, protect the eyes, and improve
one's self-esteem. Cosmetics were manufactured by
professionals who took their work quite seriously
Daily Use of Cosmetics :
Cosmetics were used from the Predynastic Period in Egypt
(c. 6000 - c. 3150 BCE) through Roman Egypt (30 BCE-646
CE), the entire length of ancient Egyptian civilization. Men
and women of all social classes applied cosmetics, although,
clearly, the better products could only be afforded by the
wealthy.

Creams, oils, and unguents were also used to preserve a
youthful appearance and prevent wrinkling. They were
applied with the hand, brushes, and in the case of kohl,
a stick. These applicators, along with cosmetic spoons,
are frequently found as grave goods. Honey was applied
to the skin to help heal and fade scars, and crushed
lotus flowers and the oil from various plants (such as
the papyrus) were used in making these applications. In
addition to the health benefits of protecting the skin
from the sun, these cosmetics seem to have warded off
sand flies and other insects.

The Egyptians, who are often credited for developing the first
deodorant, tried to find a respite from pungent odors with the
help of a variety of spices such as citrus and cinnamon.
By mixing and grounding numerous fragrances, including the
flowering evergreen shrubs of a carob tree, they were able to
mold natural deodorant pellets that they stored in their armpits.
In addition, they shaved their underarm hair upon realizing that
it decreased their harsh scent. The ancient Greeks are said to
have copied the Egyptians underarm application of perfume, but
it would not be until the late 18th century when sweat glands
were discovered that the link between body odor and
perspiration was understood.

"the Egyptians loved sweet, spicy perfumes that filled
the air with their heady, long-lasting aroma," and
kyphi was the most expensive and sought-after of
these . The ingredients for kyphi came largely from
the land of Punt and so were rare in Egypt .
Less expensive and more common perfumes were
made from flowers, roots, herbs, and other natural
elements, which were ground into a paste and then
either combined with fat or oil for a cream or made
into a cone of incense .Deodorants were made in
the same way as perfumes and often they were the
same recipe applied in the same way .

Manicure
While many if not most Egyptian men frequented a
barber to have themselves shaved, manicurists
probably catered only for the well to do..
For the king and the upper class, manicurists were
employed to take care of one's finger- and
toenails, which was done with a small knife and
file. The manicurist to the king was a prestigious
position, and these men always included their job
title prominently on their tombs.

Alluring eye makeup that has become an epitome of
ancient Egyptian glamour served more of a purpose than
sheer vanity. Upon analyzing 52 samples from makeup
containers preserved in the Louvre museum, scientists
found that much of the lead-based substances used in
Egyptian cosmetics boosted nitric oxide “by up to 240%
in cultured human skin cells.” The importance is that
nitric oxide is a key signaling agent in the body,
enhancing the immune system to help fight disease. This
is of particular importance in tropical marshy areas such
as the Nile where eye infections ran rampant.
Two of the compounds recently discovered do not occur
naturally. The Egyptians deliberately synthesized and
used particular eye cosmetics to help prevent or treat
diseases of the eye.

Preservation of youthful looks
Although most ancient Egyptians were dead by the age
of forty, they were much careful of keeping their youthful
look . Accidents happened and scars often did not heal
very well. Burn marks were thus hidden by an ointment
made of red ochre, kohl and sycamore juice. Honey, an
antibacterial, was often applied to the skin . The oil
extracted from fenugreek (Greek hay) seeds was used to
improve the skin's condition .
Wrinkling of the skin, an effect of excessive exposure to
the sun and not just of old age, was treated by applying a
wax-based remedy containing gum of frankincense,
moringa oil, ground Cyprus grass and fermented
plant juice.

Ancient Egypt Food :
Food eaten by people in ancient Egypt had similarities
between Africa and west Asia as well. Egyptians got
most of their calories from wheat, barley, and olive
oil. The Egyptian food chart comprised lots of
different foods and believed in eating well. Even the
poorest people during this time enjoyed a healthy diet
comprised of fruits and vegetables. The rich enjoyed
eating lamb and beef. Pork wasn't eaten because it
was associated with an evil god. Meat was limited to
the tables of the rich as it was much more expensive to
buy. Salting of fishes and ducks was common in order
to preserve them for a long time.

Drinks in ancient Egypt were an important part of meals.
The rich indulged in wine drinking while others satiated
themselves with beer. During parties the host's home was
called "the House of Beer." Beer was made by partially
baking loaves of barley followed by crumbling it into water
and fermenting it. The beer was strained before drinking to
avoid the lumps. Wine was prepared from grapes which
were squeezed by stepping on them in big troughs. The
mixture was then sealed in clay pots with dates just like the
way it’s still done today.

The main crops grown in Egypt were
cereals: emmer wheat (Triticum
dicoccum shrank) for bread and barley
(Hordeum vulgare L.) for beer. Bread
was also made from the heads of the
white lotus. There were pulses such as
lentils and chickpeas: vegetables such as
lettuces, onions, cucumbers, leeks, rad
ishes and garlic; fruit, particularly dates,
figs, grapes and melons .

Plants were grown for oil, such as sesame;
grapes for wine; pomegranate and palm wine
were also made (the latter being used in
embalming for rinsing out the abdominal
cavity and washing the extracted organs);
papyrus and flax for writing materials,
clothing, sails and ropes. Honey, dates, raisins,
'tiger nuts' (Cyperus esculentus L.) and carob
pods were available as sweeteners.

Meat, fish and fowl were dried and probably
salted. Geese, ducks, quail and other game
birds were fairly plentiful, and hunting these
was a favourite pastime of the rich. Domestic
fowl may have been a rare import during the
New Kingdom but became popular in the
Roman Period.

Basic payment for workers and their families at
Deir el-Medina was in grain, fish, vegetables and
water (there was no monetary system in Egypt until
the Greek Period).
Whilst the wages were regular , the community
lived well but a major strike occurred in the 29th
year of the reign of Ramcsses III when supplies
were twenty days late. The workers' protests
outline the problem: 'We have come because we are
hungry and thirsty. We have no clothes, we have no
ointments, we have no greens.' Several more strikes
occurred in successive reigns and these are the first
documented instances of collective protest by a
workforce.

Preventative medicine was just as important to the
Egyptians as every other measure they took to maintain
their health and avert the spread of disease. They
primarily focused on their diet as a means to improve
their wellbeing.
For example, the Egyptians fed their laborers a diet rich in
onion, garlic, and radish to secure the production of their
magnificent monuments. These vegetables are extremely
rich in allistatin, allicin, and raphanin which are powerful
antibiotics that aided in the prevention of disease in
crowded working conditions. To cure night blindness,
doctors fed their patients powdered liver, which is rich in
Vitamin A, a vital nutrient for vision.
Preventative Medicine

In Egypt, as in most early civilizations, men
felt secure when they were at peace with the
transcendental world and, because religion
and magic dominated all aspects of life, both
magico-religious and empirico-rational
medicine existed side by side.
The medical profession

Ancient Egyptians Civilization had
developed a complex and specialized medical
profession earlier on in its history and
Ancient Egypt (as a cradle of civilization)
was not exclusively characterized by the
construction of giant pyramids but as an
epitome of medical knowledge which had a
profound impact on Greek medicine and
subsequently spread worldwide.

In a 1958 Egyptologists were
able to list 101 known Egyptian
doctors and dentists, and this
number was expanded to 129
by Ghalionghui in 1983.

The lay physician was known as the “Swnw”
or “Sinw” whiles “wpy” which literally
means the opener of the body probably
referred to the Surgeon.
The issue of specializations was the rule ,
especially surgery. Herodotus noted on his visit
to Egypt during the 5th century BC during the
Persian occupation that:
Medicine is practiced among them on a plan of
separation; each physician treats a single
disorder,and no more…
Paramedical staff included pharmacists, nurses, midwives,
physiotherapists and bandagers.

During the Old Kingdom the medical
profession became highly organised, with
doctors holding a variety of ranks and
specialaties.
The hieroglyphs for sinw (doctor) were
usually written showing the man, the pot of
medicine and the lancet , determinative sign
showing an old man leaning on a stick. This
was the hieroglyphic epithet for 'old age'
and probably indicated that the physician in
question was a venerable doctor of many
years standing.

The word for sinw or 'physician' was written
showing the man, the pot of medicine and the lancet

The House of Life (Per Ankh) was the medical study
centre where doctors were taught and these existed
at major cult temples along with centres of healing.
The remains of the magnificent temple excavated at
Edfu date from the Greek Period although the
western side has an inner and an outer enclosure
which date to the Old Kingdom. There was a herb
garden to the right of the building in which many of
the ingredients for the physicians‘ remedies and
prescriptions would have been grown. The temples
at Dendera, Deir el-Bahri and Philae were also used
for therapeutic purposes during the Greek and
Roman Periods.

Sick people seeking help at the temples were
expected to make an offering to the gods . This
provided a useful source of income for the
temple.
Some patients underwent 'sleep therapy',
whereby a twilight sleep was induced by
administering opium or an extract of the
mandrake, and the sick person's demons were
thus exorcised. Possibly, too, other more
painful treatments may have been carried out
whilst the patient was semi-conscious.

10,000
BC
2000
BC
3500
BC
300
BC
Prehistoric
10,000BC to 2000BC
Egyptian
3500BC to 300BC
800
BC
146
BC
Greeks
800BC to 146BC
750
BC
Romans
750BC to 146AD
476
AD
Hippocrates
(GREEK)
(460BC to 370BC)
Galen
(ROMAN)
(129AD to
200AD)
Jesus
(0 to
33AD)
Ancient Medicine
YEAR
0

Ancient Medicine Checklist
PREHISTORIC: Evidence and its problems
PREHISTORIC: Medical treatments
PREHISTORIC: Why didn’t medicine improve
EGYPTIAN: Benefits of civilisation
EGYPTIAN: Medical treatments
EGYPTIAN: Physiology and hygiene
GREEKS: Asclepios and temple medicine
GREEKS: The theory of the four humours and resulting treatments
GREEKS: Hippocrates and the clinical method of observation
GREEKS: Health and hygiene
GREEKS: Developments in knowledge of anatomy and surgery at Alexandria
ROMANS: Roman medicine and Greek ideas and doctors
ROMANS: Galen’s ideas about physiology, anatomy and treatment
ROMANS: The Romans and public health

Egyptian medicine remained static for over
2,000 years, from the Old Kingdom until the
influence of Greek medicine. In 331 BCE the
new city of Alexandria became the major
cultural and scientific center of the Greek world,
including a medical school. Greek medicine
essentially supplanted that of ancient Egypt
when the Greek physician Herophilus moved to
Alexandria in the third century BCE and began
the modern studies of anatomy and physiology.

Although the Romans ruled Egypt after 31 BCE,
Greek language and medicine remained dominant.
Coptic Christianity was established early in Egypt
and medicine remained predominantly Greek until
the Arab conquest of 641 CE. The language of
ancient Egyptian and its medicine was lost until the
nineteenth century decipherment of hieroglyphics by
Champollion. Our understanding of ancient
Egyptian medicine remains an ongoing process.

The Greeks are said to have borrowed the basic
Ancient Egyptian medical knowledge of wekhedu
(the notion of bodily waste) and the use of enemas
was adopted by Greeks resident in Alexandria. Even
the pre-Alexandrian Hippocratic corpus displays
obvious Egyptian influence, with birth prognoses
long recognized as adaptations from pregnancy tests
in the Kahun, Berlin and the Carlsberg Papyri.

Some Egyptian medical terminology was
adopted quite literally into Greek, as is the
case with the headache term “half-head”
translated as hemikrania (modern
“migraine”). Among the numerous significant
contributions of ancient Egyptian medicine to
classical medicine, the drug therapy is the
most important.

In ancient Egyptian medicine, the unimpeded
flow of bodily fluids and the unimpaired
digestion of foods were fundamental
prerequisites for health. Air and water – as
contents of vessels – represented the
essential elements of life, whereas phlegm,
blood, and pus were regarded as merely
associated with wounds, injuries, and
diseases.

According to the beliefs at the time, a jam or
congestion in the drainage system resulted in
the transformation of bodily fluids and
digestive residues into phlegmatic and pain-
causing substances, which were distributed
within the body, able to cause diseases at any
given site . Indeed, this already showed very
striking parallels to the theory of the four
humors subsequently proposed by
Hippocrates and Galen .

The ‘channel theory’ prevalent at that
time, in which the unimpeded flow of
bodily fluids was considered a
fundamental prerequisite for health, may
likely be regarded as precursor of ancient
Greek humoral pathology. The latter
became the basis for the subsequently
established theory of the four humors, and
was thus essential for the entire field of
medieval medicine.

The symbol for prescription “Rx” is said to have been
derived from the Egyptian eye of the Horus signifying the
same notion . It has also been revealed that even
the administration of drugs had been profoundly
influenced by Egyptian medicine for it was only
in Alexandrian medicine that Greeks first
attempted to quantify specific ingredients in
prescriptions. In addition, a vast number of
drugs and vegetable substances that have been
termed specifically “Egyptian” in the
pharmacology of Greece and Rome substantiate
their crucial contribution to classical medicine.

The body of Ancient Egyptian medicine has
Imhotep at its center. Imhotep (c2667-2600
BCE), is the Royal Chamberlain of the third
dynasty King Djoser and the architect of the
step pyramid at Saqqara . He was deitfied as
the “son of Ptah”, and his medical works argue
for disease as a natural occurrence, not a
punishment from the gods. He was later deified as
a god of healing and medicine .

In the Ptolemaie Period, the Greeks
identified him as Asklepios, their god of
medicine , because of his unique
pioneering medical skills. In the second
century BC, Ptolemy VIII (Euergetes II)
built a shrine to Imhotep at the great
temple of Hatshepsut in Deir el Bahari,
which became a place of pilgrimage by
the sick.

Imhotep
Commemorated in 1928 in an Egyptian postage stamp

The study and practice of medicine in
Ancient Egypt was a vital element to their
society. The Egyptians were notoriously
concerned with cleanliness and disease, and
throughout their history, Egyptian
physicians studied to find better ways to
practice hygiene and treat common
conditions. This study and practice was in
no way limited to men. Egyptian women
were fortunate that their society allowed
them to pursue dreams beyond domesticity,
and work to become among the most
respected physicians of their time, and
beyond.

Egyptian culture is infused with feminine
power and women were accorded almost
equal rights and standing. Women could own
land, initiate divorce, own businesses, and
become priestesses and scribes. Doctors were
all scribes, one of the most respected and
affluent of the social classes .

In a time where women were highly
objectified and limited in terms of freedom of
choice, the Egyptians differed from other
societies in that the educated were entitled to
study any field of their choosing. Female
physicians primarily pursued obstetrics, and
this field, in particular, used a variety of
concoctions that are not only fascinating but
quite puzzling as to how they came about.

A famous story from Greece relates how a young woman
named Agnodice wished to become a doctor in Athens but
found this forbidden. In fact, a woman practicing medicine in
Athens in the 4th century BCE faced the death penalty.
Refusing to give up on her dreams, she traveled to Alexandria
where women were routinely allowed in the medical
profession. Once she had received her training, she returned
to Athens to practice but did so disguised as a man. When she
was found to be a woman 'pretending' to be a doctor she was
brought to trial charged with a capital crime until she was
saved by her female patients who stormed the proceedings
and shamed the prosecuting males into releasing her.

Following Agnodice's trial, the laws were changed in
Athens so women could now practice medicine, but by this
time, female physicians were known in Egypt for centuries.
Evidence of women in the medical profession goes back to
the Early Dynastic Period in Egypt (c. 3150 - c. 2613 BCE)
when Merit-Ptah was the royal court's chief physician c.
2700 BCE. Merit-Ptah is the first female doctor known by
name in world history, but evidence suggests a medical
school at the Temple of Neith in Sais (a city in Lower Egypt)
run by a woman whose name is unknown c. 3000 BCE

Merit-Ptah ('Beloved of Ptah') , lived c. 2700 BCE toward
the end of the Early Dynastic Period. She holds the
distinction of being the first woman known by name in the
history of the field of medicine. She practiced medicine nearly
3000 years ago . Merit-Ptah is not only the first female
doctor known by name but the first woman mentioned in the
study of science. Her inscription, left by her son, was found
on a tomb at Saqqara naming her 'Chief Physician' a position
which would have made her a teacher and supervisor of
males.

Pesehet (c. 2500 BCE) was known as 'Lady Overseer of
Female Physicians' and may have been associated with
the temple-school at Sais. She has also been cited as the
first female doctor known by name, but it is unclear
whether she was best known as a practicing physician or
a teacher. Pesehet is referred to in inscriptions as the
'King's Associate,' which suggests she was the personal
physician of the monarch. She is also associated with the
training of midwives, one of the few references to such
training in Egyptian history. All of the information about
her comes from her stela at Giza, Old Kingdom
(approximately 3100 – 2100 BCE) tomb . Thus she was
not only a physician in her own right, but she was also
the supervisor and administrator of an entire body of
female physicians.

Yet another notable Egyptian woman made
her mark on the field of obstetrics and
gynecology. In the second century CE, a
physician named Cleopatra (not the long-
dead former Queen) wrote extensively about
pregnancy, childbirth, and women’s health.
Her writings were consulted and studied for
over 1000 years.

In the medical field, women are also mentioned as
nurses and depicted as midwives. Males and females
were nurses who assisted the doctors in procedures.
Nurses also played an important role in the life of the
king.
Hatshepsut's nurse, Sitre, was important enough to
be buried near her queen. Nurses also seem to have
been held in high regard by the non-royal elite, as
they are shown in private tomb chapels and on stelae
with the family.
Queen Hatshepsut (1479-1458 BCE) founded
medical schools and encouraged women to pursue
medicine.

Other New Kingdom queens are also
thought to have encouraged the same,
notably Queen Tiye (1398-1338 BCE) and
Nefertiti (c. 1370- c. 1336 BCE), both of
whom are noted for their social programs..
Aside from the position of nurse, women in
medicine are recorded as midwives and
wet nurses.

Women in Egypt continued to exercise
authority in medicine and the sciences until
the triumph of Christianity in the country in
the 4th century CE. The clearest evidence of
this is seen in the life of Hypatia of Alexandria
(c. 370-415 CE), the philosopher who
instructed her largely male students in
philosophy and science until she was
murdered by a Christian mob.

Access to medical care was very well-controlled by the
ancient Egyptian government. Doctors were educated
through a specific curriculum and were members of a
“house of life,” which was usually associated with a
temple. These were medical institutes that trained doctors
and also functioned as medical practices where anyone
could go to receive treatment.
Also, there were medical manuals like the Ebers Papyrus
and the Edwin Smith Papyrus, in which ailments and their
treatments are outlined as well as recipes for medicines.
This shows us that doctors shared cures and treatments as
a part of standardized care.
Government-Controlled Medicine

Treatments of diseases were according to fixed written
percepts, transmitted by a great number of famous doctors.
If when following the percepts of the sacred book, they do
not succeed in saving the patient, they are declared innocent
and exempted from all reproach, but if they act contrary to
the written percepts they may be condemned to death .
The Ancient Egyptian physicians did not go about their
profession haphazardly, but were guided by a laid down
code of work ethics. They knew the health implications of
telling the patient himself about a disease which they could
not treat at the time.

With access to well-trained doctors, Egyptian
citizens had better health care than almost
anyone else at the time.
Even workers’ compensation seemed to exist.
There are descriptions of medical camps set up
near construction projects and quarries so that
injured workers could receive treatment. It
appears that if the injury occurred on the job, the
employer would cover the cost of care. Workers
could even receive supplemental pay if they were
unable to work. Thousands of years ago, this was
a very complex way to approach health care and
is amazingly similar to how we look at it today.

Hesi-Re is credited as being the world’s first dentist,
serving under pharaoh Djoser around 1600 BC during
the Third Dynasty of Egypt. However, the first evidence
of dentistry dates back to 3000 BC with the Edwin
Smith Surgical Papyrus, a manual with detailed
instructions on how to cure wounds in the mouth.
It was during this time that the dawn of minor dental
surgery was performed, slowly paving a way to more
complex procedures such as pulling teeth and drilling
out cavities. For those whose breath smelled as bad as
the armpits of the lower class, honey was combined
with boiled herbs and spices, such as cinnamon and
myrrh, to form pellets which were then used as breath
mints.
Dentistry

Cavities were actually rare in ancient Egypt. Since
sugar wasn’t a part of the Egyptian diet, they did not
have the tartar development and other issues that we
do now. They did, however, wear their teeth down.
Flour and grains were ground with stone, and despite
their best efforts, small pieces of stone were always in
the food. Living in a sandy desert likely added some
grit as well. This wore down the teeth and could lead
to cavities or infection. These infections could actually
lead to death if the bacteria entered the bloodstream.
Nefertiti’s sister, Horembheb, supposedly suffered
from bad teeth and had lost all of them by the time of
her death, likely due to infection.

Different fillings and ointment recipes are found
in the Ebers Papyrus. One describes how to
treat “an itching tooth until the opening of the
flesh: cumin, 1 part; resin of incense, 1 part;
dart fruit, 1 part; crush and apply to the tooth.”
The idea was that this would drain the
infection. Other filling recipes included honey,
which has antibacterial properties, and ocher, a
paint pigment heavy in iron, and ground wheat.
Other times, the filling was simply cloth.

Of the many medical papyri known to date, about
a dozen appear to be most important. They are listed
below in order of their significance ;
1. The Edwin Smith surgical (mainly trauma) papyrus;
approximate date of copy 1550 BC; now in New
York .
2. The Ebers general medical papyrus; copy in 1500
BC; in Leipzig.
3. The Kahum gynecological papyrus; copy in 1820
BC; in University College, London.
The Medical Papyri

4. The Hearst general medical papyrus; copy in
1450 BC; in California (not translated in
English).
5. The Chester Beatty VI papyrus on rectal
diseases; copy in 1200 BC; in the British
Museum.
6. The Berlin general medical papyrus; copy in
1200 BC; in Berlin (not translated in English).

9. The Ramesseum III, IV, V gynecological, ophthalmic
and pediatric papyrus; copy in 1700 BC; in Oxford.
7. The London magical papyrus; copy in 1300 BC, in
the British Museum. (not translated in English).
8.The Carlesberg papyrus;1200BC
,ophthalmology,gynaecological preparations .

10. The London and Leiden general medical
and magical papyrus; copy in AD 520, in the
British Museum and Leiden.
11. The Crocodilopolis general medical
papyrus; copy in AD 150, in Vienna.
12. The Brooklyn snake bite papyrus; copy
in 300 BC, in Brooklyn.

Hieroglyphic writing
 Hieroglyphic method
of writing contained a
combination of
logographic and
alphabetic elements.
 Papyri are written
mostly in hieroglyphic
writing.

An introductory general section deals with medication
for fever, prescription book for the uses of the dgm-plant,
drugs to drink after taking any medication and sayings
to accompany above activities. This general section is
followed by sections dealing with:
 Injuries and wounds (Diagnosis of the Wound book,
recipes for broken bones, impact wounds, burns and
bites).
 Growths, swellings and itching (diagnoses,
prescriptions and treatments).
Contents of a General Medical Papyrus

 Women’s ailments (prescriptions for the female
breast, prognoses of birth and related issues).
 Beauty treatments and prescriptions for hair care.
 Household products and prevention of pests.
 Drawings of doctors and of surgical tools.
 Diseases of the internal organs (prescriptions
to stimulate appetite and digestion, diagnoses
and prescriptions for ailments of the stomach.
heart, lungs, liver, anus and bladder).
 Respiratory illnesses (diagnoses and
prescriptions for cough and rheumatism).

Pain (wekhedu) (to suffer) has also been
repeatedly addressed. Wekhedu was said to
afflict many organs,including the belly, skin,
mouth, chest, back, heart,head, eyes, and teeth.
Many remedies were to drive out or to ward off
wkhedu. The wkhedu can “pull through”
(hebheb) or pass from one part of the body to
another. Each month for three successive days
Egyptians purged themselves, for their health
sake, with emetics and enemas, in the belief
that diseases came from the food one eats.

A set of instruments found in a doctor’s emergency
bag would include rush (used as a knife for cutting
treatments), a fire drill (to burn growths), A
knife/chisel (to open the mouth), cupping glass,
curcurbitulae, thorn (to burst a burn blister), hnw
(instrument to pack a growth and its contents),
hmm (instrument to burn a growth), heated broken
glass (for eye treatment), swabs, tampons, linen
material, normal knifes, salve spoons and mortars,
etc.

Medical Kit
1) knives; (2) drill; (3) saw; (4)
forceps or pincers; (5) censer;
(6) hooks; (7) bags tied with
string; (8, 10) beaked vessel;
(11) vase with burning incense;
(12) Horus eyes; (13) scales;
(14) pot with flowers of Upper
and Lower Egypt; (15) pot on
pedestal; (16) graduated cubit or
papyrus scroll without side knot
(or a case holding reed scalpels);
(17) shears; (18) spoons.

Scapels
SURGERY TOOLS
Medical kit

In the University of Leipzig . The best known
translation is by B. Ebbell, 1937. On the reverse
arc calendar notations which date its origin to
about 1555 BC. It contains 876 remedies and
mentions 500 substances used in medical
treatment. 55 of the prescriptions feature urine
and faeces as the main components together with
xcrement of lion, panther, ibex, gazelle and
ostrich which have been extremely difficult to
obtain in Egypt.
Ebers papyrus

•The Ebers Papyrus is written in hieratic Egyptian writing and
preserves for us the most voluminous record of ancient Egyptian
medicine known. The scroll contains some 800 magical formulas
and remedies.
•It contains many incantations meant to turn away disease -causing
demons and there is also evidence of a long tradition of empirical
practice and observation.
•The Egyptians seem to have known little about the kidneys and
made the heart the meeting point of a number of vessels which
carried all the fluids of the body blood, tears, urine and semen.

The Ebers Papyrus describes treatment of and
prescriptions for stomach complaints, coughs,
colds, bites, head ailments and diseases; liver
complaints, burns and other kinds of wounds;
itching, complaints in fingers and toes; salves
for wounds and pains in the veins, muscles
and nerves; diseases of the tongue,
toothache, ear pains, women's diseases;
beauty preparations, household remedies
against vermin, the two books about the heart
and veins, and diagnosis for tumours.

The papyrus recommends the use of
cauterisation to combat excessive bleeding.
One type of lump described as 'a pocket full of
gumwater‘ (perhaps an abscess or cyst)
should be dealt with as follows: 'You should
give it the cutting treatment; beware of the
mt [blood vessel]' (Eb 871)

The instructions are that such a tumour
'comes from a wound of the vessel. Then
you should give it the cutting treatment.
It (the knife) should be heated in the
fire; the bleeding is not great' (Eb 872).
So the actions of cutting and cauterising
were carried out simultaneously.

The instructions in the papyrus were
most specific about when not to apply
the knife. 'Serpentine windings' were
not to be touched (varicose veins
perhaps) because the result would be
'head on the ground (Eb 876)!

Edwin Smith papyrus :
 It has been dated at about 1600 BC but
Old Kingdom words in the text suggest
that it was copied from a work written
around 2500 BC, when the pyramids
were being built .

•The Edwin Smith papyrus is 4.68 m in length, divided
into 17 pages.
•It is written in hieratic, the Egyptian cursive form of
hieroglyphs, in black and red ink. The vast majority of the
papyrus is concerned with trauma and surgery.
•On the recto side, there are 48 cases of injury. Each case
details the type of the injury, examination of the patient,
diagnosis and prognosis, and treatment.The verso side
consists of eight magic spells and five prescriptions.

The Smith Papyrus contains what is probably
the first description of the human brain: When
you examine a man with a '" wound on his
head, which goes to the bone; his skull is
broken; broken open is the brain of his skull '"
these windings which arise in poured metal.
Something is there ... that quivers (and)
flutters under your fingers like the weak spot
in the head of a child which has not yet grown
hard ... Blood flows from his two nostrils.
(S 6.)

But perhaps the most exciting sentences are to be
found right at the beginning of the papyrus
The counting of anything with the fingers (is done) to
recognise the way the heart goes. There are vessels in it
leading to every part of the body ... When a Sekhmet
priest, any sinw doctor ... puts his fingers to the head ... to
the two hands, to the place of the heart ... it speaks '" in
every vessel, every part of the body. (S 1.) It is too
fanciful to suggest that the Egyptians understood the
relationship of the heart to the circulation of the blood -
this was the English physician William Harvey's great
discovery in the early seventeenth century. However, they
believed the heart to be the source of life within the body
and may, indeed, have felt the pulse and measured it by
comparison with their own pulses.

The Kahun Medical Papyrus was found,
with other Middle Kingdom papyri, by
Petrie in the town of Kahun in 1889.
Consisting of only three pages, it has
been variously dated betweeen 2100
and 1900 BC. It is preserved in the
Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology
at University College London .

•The Kahun Gynaecological Papyrus (also Kahun
Papyrus, Kahun Medical Papyrus, or UC 32057) is the
oldest known medical text of any kind. Dated to about
2000 BC, it deals with women's health and
gynaecological diseases, fertility, pregnancy,
contraception, etc.
•It was found at ElLahun by Flinders Petrie in 1889
and first translated by F. Ll. Griffith in 1893 and
published in The Petrie Papyri: Hieratic Papyri from
Kahun and Gurob.

Here are a few examples of the diagnoses and
treatments of the world's earliest gynaecologists:
Instructions for a woman whose womb has become diseased
through journeying. You should proceed to ask her: 'What do
you smell?'. If she answer, 'I smell fries', you should declare
about her 'This is a disorder of the womb'. You should
prescribe for it; her fumigation over everything she smells as
fries. (K 2.)
And possibly the first recorded case of rape:
Instructions for a woman suffering in her vagina and
likewise in every limb: one who has been maltreated. You
should declare about her: 'This has bound up her womb.' You
should prescribe for it; oil to be eaten until she is well. (K 9.)

In order to prevent conception the papyrus
recommends 'excrement of crocodile dispersed
finely in sour milk' (K 21) or '454 ml [SIC] of honey
injected into her vagina, with a pinch of natron' (K
22).
In order to determine fertility, the following could
be tried:
You should have her sit upon a floor overlain with the
lees of sweet ale, placing a mash of dates ... vomiting, she
will give birth. Now concerning the number of each
vomiting that comes out of her mouth, this is the number
of child bearings ... However, should she not vomit, she
will not give birth ever.

Berlin Papyrus
 Translated and published by Walter Wreszinksi
in 1909, it is housed in the Berlin Museum with
a fifteen-column papyrus dealing with
childbirth and infants and dated about 1550 BC.
The Berlin Papyrus contains a test for
pregnancy: Barley and emmer. The woman
must moisten it with urine every day ... if both
grow, she will give birth. If the barley grows, it
means a male child. If the emmer grows, it
means a female child. If neither grows, she will
not give birth.

In 1963 Ghalioungui found that, whilst urine from non-
pregnant women prevented the growth of (modern)
barley and wheat, it proved impossible to detect the sex
of an unborn child from the rate of growth of either
grain. Nevertheless, the fact that the Egyptians
recognised that urine carried the pregnancy factor was
remarkable. The standardisation of reliable urine tests
for pregnancy did not occur until 1929.
The Chester Beatty Papyrus VI, housed in the
British Museum, is dated around 1200 BC and consists
of eight columns dealing solely with diseases of the
anus.

Contain a mixture of magical and
rational medicine, particularly with
relation to birth and post-partum care.
Also included in these papyri is a book of
snake bites, describing all the possible
snakes to be found in Egypt with a
compendium of treatments.
Museum Papyri

The Hearst Papyrus contains over 250
prescriptions and spells and has a section on
bones and bites (notably the hippopotamus
bite) and affections of the fingers. It also
deals with tumours, burns, diseases of
women, ears, eyes and teeth.
The London Papyrus contains 61 recipes, only
25 of which are medical, the remainder being
magical.
The Hearst Papyrus

Doctors, priests and magicians were all
involved in healing. The Ebers papyrus contains
a misplaced gloss which makes this very clear:
There are vessels in him to all his limbs. As to
these: If any doctor, any wab priest of Sakhmet
or any magician places his two hands or his
fingers on the head, on the back of the head, on
the hands, on the place of the heart, on the two
arms or on each of the two legs, he measures [or
examines] the heart because of its vessels to all
his limbs. It [the heart] speaks from the vessels of
all the limbs.
This passage makes clear the parallel roles of
doctors, priests and magicians in health care

The wet nurse had an especially important role
considering the high mortality rate of women in
childbirth. Legal documents establish agreements
between women and expectant parents to care for the
newborn should the mother die. These agreements
"stipulate that a wet nurse was to have a trial run
before being hired; she was obliged to provide milk of a
suitable quality, not to nurse any other children, and
not to fall pregnant or enter into sexual activity" . In
return, the employer would pay the nurse and also
provide oil for use in massaging the newborn child.

There are wall reliefs in two Old Kingdom tombs
at Saqqara in which various body swellings,
indicative of schistosomiasis, are depicted. . In
1910 , the calcified eggs of the Bilharzia worm
(Schistosoma haematobium or Schistosoma
mansoni) were found in the preserved kidneys
of two mummies of the Twentieth Dynasty.
Strongyloides, Guinea worm, Taenia, Ascaris and
Trichinella were all very common .
Diseases and deformities

The lungs of the mummy known as PUM II
(Philadelphia University Museum), unwrapped in
Detroit in 1973, contained a silica content of 0.22 per
cent (the normal is 0.05 per cent or less).
Another common finding in Egyptian remains is
anthracosis, attributable to environmental pollution
from cooking and burning fires and oil lamps in small
rooms.
A lung biopsy was obtained endoscopically from a
female mummy called Asru in the Manchester
Museum. Histology revealed part of the wall of a
hydatid cyst which in life might have measured 20
cm in diameter and made Asru breathless with a
chronic cough.

and the earliest evidence of human
tuberculosis is from Egypt, where, unlike
leprosy, it was a relatively common
disease. It is likely that man obtained his
first tuberculosis bacillus from the close
contact with livestock (bovine
tuberculosis) which occurred after the
neolithic revolution.
demonstrating the angular kyphosis
characteristic of Pott's tuberculous
osteomyelitis of the spine may date from
before 3000 BC .

Evidence for pulmonary tuberculosis
is less tenable because the bacilli
disappear soon after the death of
their victim.
In 1910 Margaret Murray found
evidence of sand pneumoconiosis in
a male mummy and this is now
known to have been a fairly common
condition in ancient Egypt.

Although literary evidence suggests that
leprosy was established in China during the
first millennium BC, its introduction into
Egypt may have come via the armies of
Alexander the Great returning from India in
327-326 BC.

The pathogenesis of vascular disease has only in
recent years become clarified but arterial
degenerative disease (arteriosclerosis) was not
uncommon in Egypt and has been found to a
considerable degree in mummies of Egyptians who
died very young .
Arteriosclerosis is sometimes associated with obesity
and studies of the skin folds of mummies such as
those of the Pharaohs Amenophis III and Ramesses
III showed that they were immensely fat, although
obesity was generally not depicted in their Portraits
for reasons of etiquette . Obesity may also be
associated with inflammation of the gall bladder.

Other more common but equally painful
inflammatory and degenerative bone diseases,
would have had serious consequences for many
Egyptians. Arthritis, periostitis and osteomyelitis
have been found in an extraordinarily large
number of mummies .
Subjected to radiological examination, 30 per
cent of 133 mummies screened by Gray during
the 1960s show lines of arrested growth (Harris's
lines). These indicate episodes of intermittent
disease or malnutrition and suggest a generally
poor state of health during childhood and
adolescence.

Skin which has undergone adequate
dehydration before mummification and
which has not been badly damaged by
the embalming process retains much of
its lifelike appearance. Skin diseases
such as solar keratosis, keratosis senilis,
ulcers and malignant squamous
papilloma have been recognized in
several mummies .

No skeletal evidence of the childhood disease
of rickets (caused by a deficiency of vitamin
D) has been discovered although this could be
seen in Egypt in relatively recent times. The
intense Egyptian sunlight (which converts
natural subcutaneous fats into vitamin D) may
have provided some immunity.
The evidence of malignant tumours in
Egyptian remains is largely confined to bone
and even these are rare. Malignancies become
more common with age, and life expectancy
in Egypt was short.

One of the many eye diseases prevalent along the
banks of the Nile - leucoma, cataract (referred to
as 'barleycorn'),was recognized in ancient Egypt
,in addition to conjunctivitis and trachoma
(caused by Chlamydia trachomatis infection and
still known as 'Egyptian eye disease').
As well as acquired diseases, undoubtedly a
number of Egyptians suffered from inherited and
congenital deformities. The dwarfism known as
achondroplasia is probably the most frequently
depicted of these and is a short-limbed disorder
due to a dominant genetic mutation .

Other congenital conditions observed in
mummies include hydrocephalus, cleft palate,
hip-joint dysplasia and talipes equinovarus
(club foot). This last condition has been the
cause of differential diagnosis in several
individuals, namely Khnum-Nakht (Twelfth
Dynasty) and the Pharaoh Siptah (Nineteenth
Dynasty). Early authorities held that both
deformities were likely to have been caused
by poliomyelitis.

Dental attrition is common to all early populations
but that seen on the teeth of almost every ancient
Egyptian, throughout all periods of history, is
much more extensive. Vegetables containing a
high silica content, easily abraded querns for
grinding corn and ill-cleansed foods are
explanations common to all cultures but the
Egyptians had the additional hazard of the
contamination of their cereals, flour and
consequently their bread by fragments of sand
and by grit which may have been introduced
during the milling process to act as a cutting
agent.

Many jaw bones show evidence of small holes,
which have been interpreted as 'bore holes' made
by dental surgeons to drain pus from abscesses.
So numerous foci of dental infection must have
undermined the health of many people and resulted
in widespread halitosis. A recipe for a breath
sweetener (frankincense, myrrh, cinnamon bark
and other fragrant plants boiled with honey and
shaped into pellets) was also used as a house
fumigator.

Breast cancer was said to be diagnosed by
examining the breast with the flat of the hand.
When it feels like an unripe pear that indicates
the presence of cancerous cells. However, for
humanitarian reasons, the examiner was
expected to tell the relative of the patient (not the
patient herself) that her disease is a disease for
which he cannot do anything about. it was
obvious that the Ancient Egyptian
physicians could diagnose breast cancer
but were not in the capacity to treat it.

Due to missing drawings and lack of identification, only
few of the plants and drugs mentioned in the papyri can
be matched today; however, it is safe to assume that
many of those used had a proven effect.
Among the frequently mentioned plants and drugs,
honey played a crucial role in wound treatment even
then. Today, there is clinical and pharmacological
evidence of its osmotic and thus decongestant effect, as
well as its antiseptic and antibiotic properties .
Medicine ,Drugs ,and the Prescription

Due to its dehydrating and astringent effect, natron
– the Lower Egyptian salt – was not only used for
mummification but also for exudative wounds and
skin rashes .
Fresh meat was placed onto acute wounds. As was
proven later, meat – given its high iron content – had
a beneficial effect on coagulation; moreover,
enzymatic properties and phagocytosis led to germ
reduction . Moldy bread was used for purulent
wounds and can, in a way, be regarded as the first
kind of penicillin due to the antibiotic substances
later found therein.

Honey is an important constituent in more
than five hundred prescriptions and
remedies . Honey is highly resistant to
bacterial growth. It is extremely hypertonic
and draws water from bacterial cells,
causing them to shrivel and die. It also has
an antibiotic action due to the presence of
inhibine, a bactericidal enzyme secreted by
the pharyngeal glands of the bee.

In modern studies honey has proven to be
effective against staphylococcus, salmonella
and Candida and has been used to treat
surgical wounds, burns and ulcers, having
more rapid healing qualities than conventional
treatment. Another bee product called propolis
(bee glue) is a hard, resinous material derived
by bees from plant juices.

Like honey, propolis also has antibiotic as
well as preservative properties and is used
by bees to seal cracks in their hives and to
deal with foreign 'invaders'. The perfectly
preserved body of a small mouse, which
crept into an ancient Egyptian hive three
thousand years ago, was found, covered
with propolis, dried out and with no sign of
decomposition.

The various prescriptions often mention beer
as an agent by which many drugs were to be
administered and the Egyptians drank a
large amount of beer. But they knew and
used the benefits of yeast, applying it raw to
boils and ulcers and swallowing it to soothe
digestive disorders. Yeast contains vitamin B
as well as antibiotic agents which are
particularly effective against the agents of
furunculosis.

fir (Abies cilicia Carr.), its pungent resin
invaluable as an antiseptic and an
embalming material. Oil of fir was used as an
anthelmintic (Eb 77) and to clean infected
wounds. Aloe (Aloe vera L.), used to 'expel
catarrh from the nose' (Eb 63), and cinnamon
(Cinnamonium reylanicum Nees), an
essential ingredient in an unguent for
ulcerated gums (Eb 553).

Henna (Lawsonia inermis L.; Lawsonia alba L.)
in a prescription to treat hair loss (Eb 774). The
pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) root (which
contains tannin) was used to dislodge
roundworm
A prescription in the Ebers Papyrus reads:
'powder of green pigment ... grind to fine
powder; bind upon it' (Eb 766). Green was an
important colour to the Egyptians, probably
because it was synonymous with the
fruitfulness of the land and its rebirth after the
annual inundation. In most cases, 'green'
referred to one particular green stone -
malachite.

The beautiful ibis bird was sacred to the Egyptians,
being the incarnation of Thoth, god of the scribes .
They believed that the ibis, standing in the
shallows of the Nile, filled its long beak with water
and introduced it into its anus, squirting in the
water and flushing out its insides. Marshmallow
(Althea species), hemp (Cannabis sativa L.), melon
leaves (Cucumis melo L.), cumin (Cumin cyminum
L.), moringa oil (Moringa pterygosperma; Moringa
aptera), bean meal (Vigna sinensis L.) and zizyphus
(Zizyphus spina-Christi Willd) were all used in
prescriptions for enemas or to 'cool the anus'.

These concepts also explain the
recommendation for laxatives – considered
health-promoting in ancient Egypt – frequently
found in formulations . The use of bloodletting,
cupping glasses, and laxatives was regarded
as an effective treatment method up to the
Early Modern Age, and terms such as
“purgation” and the modern term “detox” are
indications for similar, still-existing
pathophysiological beliefs.

The Egyptians considered the faeces to
contain a horrific substance they called whdw,
roughly translated as 'the rots'. Despite this,
mud and excrement were included in many
medicaments, but treating 'like with like' was
a practice not unknown in ancient and
medieval medicine and is the basis of
homeopathic medicine today.

In the mid nineteenth century Louis Pasteur
discovered that certain substances produced by
micro-organisms have an antimicrobial action of their
own. Bacteria living in the bodies of humans or
animals release their excretory products into the
faeces and urine, which become a source of antibiotic
substances. Certain soils do indeed produce fungi
which have a destructive effect upon specific
bacteria. Aureomycin, discovered in 1948, was
extracted from soil and proved to be particularly
effective in the treatment of trachoma. Modern
cephalosporin antibiotics are descended from an
original species of Cephalosporium isolated from a
sewage outfall in Sardinia in 1945.

Onions were used for purulent wounds, boils,
and inflammatory lesions; even today, an old –
or rediscovered – household remedy. As
recently as 50 years ago, it was shown that the
active ingredients contained therein, alliin and
allicin, have bactericidal and fungicidal effects .
Today (as then), various oils and lipids are used
in combination with various wound dressings in
order to promote epithelialization and prevent
scarring in the final phases of wound treatment.
The caster oil plant has an entire chapter
dedicated to it in the Ebers papyrus. The roots
were used for headaches; its seed oil, as a
laxative in case of skin rashes and –
rediscovered today – also as hair growth
medication .

Incense – the gum resin from the olibanum tree
– was used not only for ritual purposes but also
as a remedy in wound treatment and for
disorders of the respiratory and digestive
tracts. Its essential oils contain Boswellic acids,
have antiinflammatory effects by inhibiting
prostaglandin and leukotriene synthesis, as
well as astringent and disinfectant effects . In
modern medicine, incense has shown some
therapeutic success in chronic inflammatory
and autoimmune diseases, and also has
displayed antiproliferative effects on melanoma
cells

The carob tree was also widely used. Primarily
contained in the seeds, its ingredients such as
gallic acid and polyphenols showed markedly
antiarteriosclerotic, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and
antidepressant effects in recent studies .
Frequently described in the papyri, the Egyptian
willow was used in the treatment of inflammatory
processes, wounds, and bone fractures . The
substance salicin subsequently isolated from it
is a derivative of salicylic acid. Based on its
proven antiinflammatory, antirheumatic, and
analgesic properties, it ultimately led to the
synthesis of present-day Aspirin®.

A plaster for setting a fracture might be made from
cows milk mixed with barley (Hearst Papyrus 219)
or acacia leaves (Acacia nilotica leaf.) mixed with
gum and water . Fractures had been set with bark
splints and bandages. Bandages and poultices were
used to apply therapeutic substances to lesions and
to 'draw out' poisons from internal ailments. A
poultice of porridge and myrtle (Myrtus communis
L.) was used to 'remove mucus' from the right or
left side of the chest (Berlin Papyrus ) - perhaps this
was lobar pneumonia or pleurisy. The binding bases
of other poultices were clay, sawdust, wax and
pondweed.

Medicines were dispatched with Egyptian doctors to
heal the Hittite King’s eyes, to dislodge a possessing
demon, and to provide the king’s vassals “with all sorts
of prescriptions”. As Ramses wrote:
They will bring to you all the very good remedies which
are here in Egypt, and which I allowed in friendly
fashion to go to you in order to help you.

Mummies in Egypt have been found with the world’s oldest
known prosthetic limbs, toes, fingers, and so on. Prostheses to
replace missing parts was essential to Egyptians for a couple of
reasons. One was the Egyptian belief that after death, the body
needs to be whole and preserved for them to be able to return to
it in the afterlife.
The other reason is that, having a prosthesis would help a
person maintain some functionality in life, Egyptians used
amputation to treat infections and injuries, and it appears that
people sometimes survived the surgeries. The most famous of
these patients was a lady found with a wooden big toe. The area
under the prosthesis had healed, showing that she actually used
the prosthetic toe in life. It likely helped her walk and balance
once the old toe was lost. It is considered the oldest known
prosthesis ever discovered.

In the course of discovering which drugs were
efficacious and which were lethal, and to what
proportions components performed best in a
medicament, the Egyptians developed the
prescription.
They weighed and measured this prescription
carefully in a most novel way. Fractions were
expressed by dissecting the eye of the god Horus,
the son of Isis and Osiris, which was torn out and
ripped to pieces by his evil brother, Seth . Today
we use the character R to designate the word
'prescription' – a direct descendant of the symbol
for the 'Eye of Horus'.

The eye of Horus with, below it, the hieroglyphs
for the fractions of the prescription (eye of
Horus).

The remedies were usually introduced by the
phrase, “You shall prepare (ir) for him…”
followed by instructions for grinding, mashing,
straining, or cooking. Active principles were
extracted by solution in water, alcohol, or oil and
administered in water, honey, milk, oil, wine, or
beer, measured by volume rather than weight. The
smallest volume was a ro, about 14 ml, or a
mouthful.

The age of the patients was strongly considered when
deciding a medicine. For example, when treating patients
suffering from retention of urine, an adult was given a
mixture of water, ale sediments, green dates and some other
vegetables, but on the other hand a child with the same
ailment was given an old piece of papyrus soaked in oil
applied as a hot band around his stomach. Chemists had to
very carefully consider the age of the patients while
preparing the drugs. If the young patient was mature enough
he could take tablets, but if he was still an infant, tablets
would be dissolved into a wet nurse's milk.

By operating on the dead through
mummification, they were able to see issues
in bodies and make associations with
illnesses in life. These skills allowed them to
practice surgery. Later cultures in the Middle
Ages did not have this knowledge
completely, as autopsies were illegal for
religious reasons. Their willingness to cut
into a body put the Egyptians centuries
ahead medically.
Surgery

Many mummies show surgeries that actually
healed, from trephination to the removal of
tumors. Scalpels used for surgery were either
copper, ivory, or obsidian. Obsidian was
particularly special, as it is a volcanic glass that
keeps an edge better than most modern metal
and is still used today. Patients were given
alcohol and sedatives before a procedure, and
since anesthesia didn’t exist, one could only hope
to pass out. Mandrake root could be used as a
sedative, and poppy juice, an opioid, was used
for pain management.

The mandrake (Mandragora officinarum L.),
containing the narcotics atropine and
scopolamine, grew prolifically in Palestine and
was grown in Egypt from the New Kingdom
onwards. It is a poisonous plant and when
mixed with beer or wine it induces
unconsciousness. The Egyptians believed that
it possessed aphrodisiac properties and
promoted conception.

Poppy juice,, could be used for surgery, often
mixed with beer or wine. It would provide relief
to patients with nervous issues and sedate them,
reliving depression and anxiety. It appears it was
also used across the board as a fever reducer and
painkiller. The juice, a milky substance drawn
from the poppy seed pod, is not as strong as
modern opioids but was still effective. Poppy juice
was rarely used outside medicine, but it was an
effective painkiller and a very useful tool to treat
and maintain the health of the ancient Egyptian
people
Poppies, still grown today to produce powerful
drugs, have long been known for their pain-
relieving abilities. Opioids today are still the
leading pain management medication, especially in
cases of severe pain management .

Patients would often bleed out if the surgery was
too complicated or too long. Cauterizing vessels
with hot blades helped slow the bleeding. After
surgery, antibiotic ointments such as honey and
copper helped stave off infections. The patients
who survived their ordeals may have been the first
in history to have undergone medical surgery.
While anthropologists disagree on the origins of
circumcision, it is certain that the ritual was
practiced in Egypt as far back as 4000 BC. Mass
circumcision ceremonies would take place primarily
in the upper classes, being recognized as both a
puberty rite as well as for the sake of cleanliness.

Epilogue: From the Book of the Dead
I would like to conclude by quoting a passage from
The Egyptian Book of the Dead (the correct name is
actually The Book of Coming Unto the Day). “ Thou
art the lord of heaven, the lord of earth, the creator
of those who dwell in the heights (6) and those who
dwell in the depths. Thou art the One god who
came into (7) being in the beginning of time. Thou
(12) art crowned with a heavenly form, the Only
one… O thou mighty youth, thou everlasting
son, self-begotton, who didst give thyself birth,
(13) O thou mighty One, of myriad forms and
aspects, king of the world, Prince of Annu, lord
of eternity and ruler of the everlasting… Thou
art unknown and canst be searched out….; thou
art (16) the Only one….”

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