2. CONTENTS:
History
Nutrition and Sanitation
Medical Practices
Diagnosis Of Disease
Common Disease
Cures and Remedies
The Metu and Mummy
Papyrus
Role of Egyptian Medicine In Modern Times
Conclusion
4. EGYPT
Population: 82,079,636
Population growth rate:
1.96%
Birth rate: 25.43
births/1,000 population
Death rate:
4.82deaths/1,000 population
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 72.4 years
male: 69.5 years female: 74.8
years
6. The ancient Egyptians built pyramids to bury their
Pharaohs and worshipped gods who ruled every
aspect of their lives.
The goddess Sekhmet was believed to cause or
cure diseases and priests played a large part in
Egyptian medicine.
The Egyptians had doctors who specialized in
treating particular parts of the body as well as
researching the properties of herbal medicines.
Their detailed records of the symptoms and
treatments of illnesses formed some of the first
medical text books
7. Egyptologists have found documents, written on a type of
paper called papyrus, that describe medical techniques
similar to those used today.
Imphotep was the physician to King Zozer and lived in
about 2600 BC
Imphotep was considered so important that he was, after
his death, was worshipped as a god of healing.
Almost all of our knowledge about Ancient Egyptian
medical knowledge comes from the discoveries of papyrus
documents, that describe medical techniques similar to
those used today.
papyrus
8. As today, the Egyptians suffered from the common cold.
Here is a remedy taken from an ancient papyrus:
To make them feel better, the patient should be given the
milk of a mother who has given birth to a boy. The
following spell was to be made to get rid of the cold:
May you flow out, catarrh, son of catarrh, who breaks the bones, who
destroys the skull, who hacks in the marrow, who causes the seven
openings in the head to ache.
Ebers Papyrus
9. Health and God
Religious beliefs dominated the ancient Egyptians' view of
healing.
Doctors were often priests who were able to communicate
with the gods responsible for the health of different parts of
the body.
Illness was due to the presence of evil spirits or poisons
and removing these from the body with prayers to the gods
would cure the disease.
Medicines were used to help relieve pain but were not
thought to play any other role in the healing process.
10. First pharmacists
Ancient Egyptians would be familiar with the idea of
a modern chemist.
Their pharmacists prepared prescriptions of
ointments, potions, inhalers and pills by processing
plant materials that were used to treat specific
illnesses.
Records show that they used many preparations
including opium, cannabis, linseed oil and senna.
Many modern drugs have originated from the study
and isolation of active ingredients from plants with
healing properties used in ancient time
13. What is Mummy?
A mummy, in terms of Ancient Egypt, is body that
has been well preserved for thousands of years.
14. Mummification A Mystery
Mummification process of making mummy
First mummification Imhotep
The body linked to a spiritual existence in the
afterlife.
Mummification So that the spirit could get the
sufficient food and water
15. Natural Mummification Hot & Dry
climate
Three basic ways to mummify a body:
All internal organs removed
Inject Cedar oil from rectum and dry
Inject Unknown liquid Dry Wrap
16. SIGNIFICANCE OF MUMMY
Idea about conserving a dead body.
Idea about Surgery and Dressing.
17. THE METU
Heart as key to concepts
of anatomy and
physiology
• The metu essential to
life and health
• Imbalances within metu as
cause of pain and illness
18. PAPYRUS
The first medical texts, date from late 12th Dynasty to
20th Dynasty (2000-1090B.C)
Has detailed records of the symptoms and treatments
of illnesses.
Describes medical techniques similar to those used
today.
Seven medical papyri:
The Kahun Gynecological Papyrus
The Ebers Papyrus
The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus
The Hearst
The Chester
The Berlin
The London
19. KEY MEDICAL PAPYRI
The Kahun (1825 B.C)
gynecology
The Ebers (1534 B.C)
internal medicine
Ebers papyrus
The Edwin Smith Papyrus (1600 B.C)
surgical wounds and fractures
Edwin Smith Papyrus
20. NUTRITION
Aware of importance of diet
Main crops emmer wheat & barley
Cereal food main backbone
Barley beer
Linseed plant oil
Fish widely used
Evidence of prohibition during certain periods against
certain types of animal products
21. SANITATION
Bathrooms right in their home.
Dispose of their garbage the communal dump.
Drainage and disposal of waste.
Gathering water workable, viable sanitation
system
22. 3 categories of diseases
•Treatable
•Contestable
•Untreatable
Surgical tools:- knives, hooks, drills,
forceps, pinehers, scales, spoons, saw
and vase with burning incense
Circumcision:-
Circum=around; cision=to cut
Removal of some or all the fore
skin(prepuce) from penis
Clinical benefit+ decrease in HIV infection
24. DENTISTRY
Independent profession dated from early 3rd
millennium B.C.
Poor teeth due to diet with sand leftovers due to
grinding rain
Improvement of grinding madrine
Evidence of forced teeth removal
Presumption of extreme dental pain might be
medicated with opium.
25. Egyptian doctors called “Waboni”
“Hesy-Ra” = earliest recorded
physician who was chief of dentists
and physician to a king named
Djoser
Pesehet called first female doctor
ranks :
specializations like inspector of
doctors, overseers and chief doctors
ophthalmologist,
gastroenterologist , proctologist,
dentists and different “doctors who
supervise butcher” and “inspection
of liquid”
26. PROSTHETICS
Artificial device used as extension of missing part of
body
Artificial toes and eyeball used
Extensive use of surgery, mummification practices and
autopsy
Autopsy:- also known as postmortem, necropsy,
obduction= is a specialized surgical procedure of a
corpse
To determine cause and manner of death
To evaluate any disease or injury
27. DIAGNOSIS OF THE DISEASES
Examination of the pulse
Palpation
Inguinal hernia
Simple bed-tests diagnosis
28. Examination of the pulse
It includes probably the
examination of the pulse was one
of the secret teachings they
references from passing to the
Greek visitors later .
It has not developed in our modern
medicine.
The process of examination follows
the same steps as we follow in our
modern medical practice.
29. Palpation
It includes the examination of
abdomen, fracture and tumors.
“you should put your finger on it ,
you should then palpate his belly”
Tumor were well differentiated. An
aneurys described as a
hemispherical tumor of the vessel
which increase in volume beneath
the finger at each pulsation.
It is skilled practiced nowadays by
physicians.
30. Inguinal Hernia
It is described as a tumor above the
genitalia, which appears on
coughing and could be restored by
heat application.
Impulse on cough is the first
manifestation of hernia in modern
surgical teaching
Heat application is the method to
reduce a strangulated hernia
31. Simple bed-test diagnosis
“say to the patient : look at the shoulder, then
breast, then look upward and downwards, if he is
not able to do this: he is suffering from the
dislocation of the vertebra of the neck.”
32. DISEASES IN ANCIENT EGYPT
Mummies are the main source of diagnose the disease
prevalent in ancient Egypt. Study of mummies
revealed many disease prevalent in ancient Egypt.
37. Arthritis: most common disease prevalent in ancient
and modern Egypt. Mostly prevalent in agricultural
worker and by age 90 almost everyone.
Tumors: little evidence of tumors, possibly because
the life span in that time was so short
Vascular disease : blood vessels well preserved in
mummies and they provide accurate evidence of
vascular diseases
38. Arteriosclerosis: blood vessels are well preserved in
mummies. Provide accurate evidence of vascular
disease
Other related disease are disease of aorta and coronary
arteries ,arterioscleroses of kidney and heart blood
vessels.
This give the evidence that the degenerative vascular
disease present in modern day highly civilized life was
known from ancient egypt.
40. HERBAL MEDICINES
GARLIC asthma & bronchial
pulmonary complains
ACACIA skin diseases
ONION digestion problem
CORIANDER urinary complains
The medications were mixed with one
or more of the six vehicles : water(dew),
honey, milk, oil, wine, beer.
41. APPLICATION OF HERBAL MEDICINE
FOR CONSTIPATION
“Berries of castor oil tree, chew and swallow down with
beer in order to clear out all that is in the body.”
IF NOT EFFECTIVE, THAN ADD
“1/4 leaves of castor oil, 5/6 dates of male palm,
1/16 Cyperus grass, 1/16 stalk of Poppy plant, 1/16
Coriander,1/2 cold beer”
keep moist, strain, and take for four days
42. FOR DIARRHOEA
“1/ 8 green onions, 1/8 freshly cooked Gruel, 1/4 oil and
honey, 1/16 wax, 1/3 water, cook and take for four days.”
FOR COUGH
“Inhalation of honey, cream, milk, carob, colocynth and
date kernels.”
FOR MIGRAINES
Fish Siluris (an electric cat fish) in fat and oil
FOR JOINT PAIN
Treated with ointments containing fat, oil bone marrow,
gum or honey as a base. Added flour, natron, onion,
cumin, flax, frankincense or pine.
44. MAGIC, SPELLS & INCHANTATIONS
INTEGRATION OF GODS OF MEDICINE
MAGIC IN AND HEALING
MEDICINE
45. CONCLUSION
The medicinal skills of ancient Egyptians were far beyond
their time. With the writing of the first medical texts,
performance of the first surgical techniques, use of the
first splints and bandages, the first drug therapies, and the
first medical dictionary, the ancient Egyptians
revolutionized the world of medicine and laid a path and
framework for the advances in medicine that exist in our
world today.
