The Medicine Of The Ancient Egyptians

Egypt; civilization; to 332 B.C.

The skills of the ancient Egyptians in preserving bodies through mummification are well known, but their expertise in the everyday medical practices needed to treat the living is less familiar and often misinterpreted. John F. Nunn draws on his own experience as an eminent doctor of medicine and an Egyptologist to reassess the evidence. He has translated and reviewed the original Egyptian medical papyri and has reconsidered other sources of information, including skeletons, mummies, statues, tomb paintings and coffins. Illustrations highlight symptoms of similar conditions in patients ancient and modern, and the criteria by which the Egyptian doctors made their diagnoses - many still valid today - are evaluated in the light of current medical knowledge. In addition, an appendix listing all known named doctors contains previously unpublished additions from newly translated texts. Spells and incantations and the relationship of magic and religion to medical practice are also explored. Incorporating the most recent insights of modern medicine and Egyptology, the result is the most comprehensive and authoritative general book to be published on this fascinating subject for many years.

Diseases and injuries were major concerns for ancient Egyptians. This book, featuring some sixty-four objects from the Metropolitan Museum, discusses how both practical and magical medicine informed Egyptian art and for the first time reproduces and translates treatments described in the spectacular Edwin Smith Papyrus.

This unique volume provides the reader with an outline of ancient Egyptian civilization, history and culture. It reviews the ancient Egyptian understanding of human health and disease, medical and herbal treatments for various conditions based on primary sources found in ancient papyri. The reader will also gain an insight into the influence of ancient Egyptian medical knowledge on later civilizations including ancient Greek and Islamic scholars in the middle ages. There are two chapters that focus on the ancient Egyptian understanding and treatments of cardiovascular disease as well as a description of herbal medicines used by medical practitioners and pharmacologists. Key Features: Describes influence of ancient Egyptian medical and pharmaceutical knowledge of subsequent civilizations Explores ancient Egyptian pharmacology and herbal medicine Review of the most significant ancient Egyptian papyri documenting medical knowledge and practice Concise overview of ancient Egyptian history, culture, medical knowledge Summary of ancient Egyptian understanding of cardiovascular diseases and treatments

The medicine of the ancient Egyptians is some 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 went largely unchanged but was highly advanced for its time, including simple non-invasive surgery, setting of bones, dentistry, and an extensive set of pharmacopoeia. Egyptian medical thought influenced later traditions, including the Greeks. Until the 19th century, the main sources of information about ancient Egyptian medicine were writings from later in antiquity. The Greek historian Herodotus visited Egypt around 440 BC and wrote extensively of his observations of their medicinal practice. Pliny the Elder also wrote favourably of them in historical review. Hippocrates (the ""father of medicine""), Herophilos, Erasistratus and later Galen studied at the temple of Amenhotep, and acknowledged the contribution of ancient Egyptian medicine to Greek medicine.

This monograph explores the unity of the modern concepts of magic and science in Egyptian medicine.

This volume presents the proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Pharmacy and Medicine in Ancient Egypt (Barcelona, October 2018) showcasing the most recent pharmaceutical and medical studies on human remains and organic and plant material from ancient Egypt, together with discussions on textual and iconographical evidence.