Ancient egypt

Ancient Egypt Medicine

Anciënt Egypt Medicine (pronunciation: /ˈeɪnʃənt ˈiːdʒɪpt mɛdɪsɪn/) refers to the practices of healing common illnesses in the civilization of Ancient Egypt. The etymology of the term originates from the English words "ancient" meaning old or from a long time ago, "Egypt" referring to the country in North Africa, and "medicine" referring to the science and practice of the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease.

History

The practice of medicine in Ancient Egypt, arguably, is one of the oldest documented. From the beginnings of the civilization in the late fourth millennium BC until the Persian invasion of 525 BC, Egyptian medical practice remained consistent in its highly advanced methods for the time.

Practices

Ancient Egyptian physicians were renowned in the ancient Near East for their healing skills, and some, such as Imhotep, even became gods of medicine. They knew how to suture wound sites, set broken bones, and amputate diseased limbs, but they also understood the principles of contagion and how to work to prevent the spread of disease.

Medicinal Plants

The Ancient Egyptians were known to use honey and milk to treat eye diseases, garlic and onions to treat heart ailments, and cannabis to treat a host of problems.

Medical Papyri

The Edwin Smith Papyrus and the Ebers Papyrus are two of the most notable early medical records from ancient Egypt that have survived to the present day. These papyri provide our main source of information about the Egyptians' knowledge of medicinal herbs and their uses.

Related Terms

• Imhotep: An Egyptian polymath who served under the Third Dynasty king Djoser as chancellor to the pharaoh and high priest of the sun god Ra at Heliopolis.
• Edwin Smith Papyrus: An ancient Egyptian medical text and the oldest known surgical treatise on trauma.
• Ebers Papyrus: An Egyptian medical papyrus of herbal knowledge dating to circa 1550 BC. Among the oldest and most important medical papyri of ancient Egypt.

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