2. Archeologically…
• Along the banks of river
Nile, which was
somewhere in the midst of
Africa, settled the
Neolithic man around
10,000 years ago.
• About 6,000 yrs later i.e.
around 4,000 BC there
developed the Egyptian
civilization which lasted for
27 centuries!
5. Political system
• KING, called
Pharaoh, the son of
sun- god, Re.
• VIZIER, as prime
minister, treasurer, chief
justice.
• BUREAUCRATS.
6. Social system
• People were slender, but robust, dark
haired and attractive.
• Five classes:
1. The royal family
2. The priests
3. The nobels
4. A middle class; artisans, merchants
5. The farmers
6. Added class was of professional soldiers
and slaves
7. Religion
• Multitude of gods and goddesses
• The sun-god Re, personified the beneficial
deities, life. The official religion of pharaoh and
priest was the worship of Re.
• God osiris, god of Nile, the gods of nature and
vegetation were fused in it, personified death.
The cult grew among common people.
8.
9. • Thoth ,the god of wisdom
• Horus ,the god of health
•Amenhotep IV ( 1375 BC ) attempted to change the
ancient religion & proclaimed only one true God, Aten.
10. •They firmly
believed about the
concept of life after
death. This concept
initiate the excellent
art of preservation.
The secret of which
till undiscovered.
11. Medical practice
• Initially…..,
• In early centuries, medicine was a blend of
magic and religion.
• Disease, believed to be caused by an evil
spirit. So, the purpose of the medicine was to
rid the body of this demons.
• Treatment, to approach the god, through
supplication, incantation, spells and rituals.
12. • Over many centuries, with the passage of
time, empiric medicine came into being.
• There were three types of medical persons
then:
1. Physicians, (swnu), dealing with empiric
medicine.
2. The priest (sekhmet), surgeon and specialist.
3. The exorcist.
13. Physician
There was a hierarchy followed i.e. –
• Greatest physician of the lower and upper Egypt
• Superintendent
• Inspector
• Chief of physician
• General practitioner
14. p state Burial grounds
h
y
s
i army Pharaohs palaces
c
i Public works
a
n
In war time and on journeys anywhere
within the Egypt, the sick are all treated
free of charges, because doctors were
paid for that. (Diodorus, the Greek
historian)
National health scheme
15. Specialization
• God governs different organs.
• Physician specialized in special body part
and their diseases.
• Royal physician – specialist
• e.g. eyes, teeth, nose, belly, „shepherd of the
anus‟ etc.
• Herodotus described about this in his history.
16. Information
hieroglyphics
Medical papyri
• Edwin Smith
It is papyrus
specialized
pictorial • George Ebers
representati papyrus
ons in
Egyptian
writings Greek and roman manuscripts
18. EDWIN SMITH GEORGE EBERS
PAPYRUS PAPYRUS
• 1600 BC • 1550 BC
• 47 Cases • Oldest surviving
• Rx of treatise on medicine
wound, #, dislocati • Over 20 meters long
ons • 700 drugs
• Rt head injure • Various formulae of
paralysis of herbs, animal &
opposite side mineral remedies
• On
gynecology, pregn
ancy &
contraception
19. Imhotep
•2700 BC, emerged a vivid personality of great
physician,….Imhotep
•Grand vizier of the pharaoh Zoser
•Sage, astronomer, wise, kind, learned, great physician.
•Built the first step pyramid at Sakkara, the oldest extant stone
structure in the world.
•Glorified,…and in 6th century BC, displaced Thoth, as god of
healing.
•Greeks –Aesclapius.
•
20. Doctrine of analogy
• Nile – blood
• Branches – channels
• Obstruction or flood – diseases
• Abstraction – the concept of analogy travel form
simple form and appearance to complex
similarity at various deeper level.
• Prehistoric Egyptian modern eg MM
21. • Another belief, each organ has its own
separate God specialization
• fascination for enemas and
purgatives… Gifted n invented by God - Thoth
The role of
parasites in Its guards again putrefaction
causing
disease was
first Close relationship between heart and anal region
stressed
Practice based on the concepts
prevailing in that era…
22. • Frequent baths
• Cleanliness of attire
• Bathing twice & Washed
before meals
• Fear of putrefaction
greatly fond of purges and
enemas
•Abundant water supply
“Healthiest •Canals, dams, reservoirs
Of
Man” •sluice channels
By
Herodotus •Great reverence for Nile
23. But in Contrast, Pliny mentioned “Egypt
was the motherland of disease”
• Plenty of disease…
– Infections
• Acute intestinal infections
• Worm infections … Schistosomiasis
– Eye disorders
• Trachoma – dry dessert air & sand
– Epidemic disease like, Small pox & Plague
– Gonorrhoea, leprosy, Poliomyelitis…
– Modern scholars also identified…
arthritis, gout, ovarian, bladder & kidney
disease
24. Medicine
– Vast pharmacopeias, same 3 kingdoms
– Source for Greek, Roman, Galen…
– forms –
pills, drops, ointments, suppositories, fumigations
and baths. Most popular was ENEMA
– Rotten bread for wounds penicillin
– Copper, antimony….cosmetic use……antiseptic
action…..preventing eye infection.
– Copper preparation.. used in Rx of
trachoma….frequent cause of blindness in ancient
Surgery
Egypt.
• Circumcision and cauterization for removal of cyst and
tumors.
• Trepanation was not common. (concept of diseases)
Overall contribution was poor.
25. EGYPT shown…2700 yrs of unbroken splendor
e
Blessed with peace and plenty
Came under…
domination of
Libya, Ethiopia,
Assyria & finally
Persia
In 332 BC,
Alexander defeated Darius of Persia
Cleopatra
Chosen death Alexandria
Centre of medicine
Ultimately, dominated by
Rome
26.
27. • Hierarchies at all level…
• Work distribution…
• Evolved science for preservation of dead!!!
• Administrative national health scheme
• Effective recording as papyri…
• Highly organized water supply &
drainage…
• Specialization in medicine…
