Ancient Egyptian Medicine Flashcards
When was Egypt great?
c3400BC-30BC
What was the Egyptian civilisation like?
Agricultural, spread along the Nile
What was important about the Nile?
It flooded every year, the silt it left behind was a rich fertiliser.It provided water for irrigation of crops. It was the main transport route.
What was the significance of the fertility of the land?
The land was so fertile that not everyone had to work it to produce enough food. This left people free to be doctors and/or priests, or pyramid builders.
What was the main route of communication in Egypt?
The Nile.
Was Egypt prehistoric?
No, ancient Egypt had writing.
What caused illness in the Egyptian view?
The gods.
What was used to cure illness?
Amulets, charms, rituals.
Who was the goddess of war?
Sekhmet
Why was Sekhmet important for medicine?
She sent and cured epidemics.
Who was the god who gave doctors the ability to cure?
Thoth
Who was Imhotep?
Pharoah Zoser’s doctor in about 2630BC
What happened to Imhotep after he died?
He became the god of healing.
What was the status of doctors in ancient Egypt?
They were respected.
What book contained the accepted treatments and spells?
The books of Thoth.
Do we have the books of Thoth?
No, we only have the Papyrus Ebers which contains spells and potions probably taken from the books of Thoth
Did the Egyptians have any drugs that worked?
Yes, they had eg Opium which is still used today (morphine)
How were the drugs believed to be working?
The drugs were probably seen as driving away the evil spirits rather than affecting the way the body worked.
What are the instructions in Papyrus Ebers like?
Very exact, it tells exactly what medicine to give and what words to use in incantation and what to say to the patient.
What is diagnosis?
Observing the patient to work out what is wrong; recognising the signs and symptoms that go with an illness.
Why do we believe that the Egyptians felt diagnosis was important?
Egyptian writings survive that include diagnosis as part of their ritual.
Why is diagnosis important?
It is vital to work out what is actually wrong before you can fix it.
Why did the Egyptians mummify?
They believed that the body was needed in the afterlife.
Why did the Egyptians bury grave goods with their dead?
They believed that the dead would need their possessions in the afterlife.
How were bodies prepared for mummification?
The soft tissues were removed, eg brains and intestines, and the bodies were dried out using salt. (Using osmosis to draw the water out of body cells)
How much information of anatomy was obtained in ancient Egypt?
Some, but destroying a body meant the person had no afterlife, so dissection was not possible.
Did the Egyptians attempt surgery?
Yes, some, a papyrus written around 1600BC has some surgical procedures.
What other evidence do we have for Egyptian surgery?
The temple of Kom Obo (100BC) has carvings of surgical instruments.
What medicines were used that we know worked?
Willow bark (contains Aspirin); Opium (contains morphine)
How did the River Nile affect thinking about the body?
Some people thought the body contained channels like the irrigation channels of the Nile.
How did the channels idea explain disease?
Disease was caused by blocked channels. This led to using vomiting, purging (laxatives) and bleeding to try to cure disease. That may well have helped in some cases.
Was the channel theory universally accepted?
No, and the people who believed them still believed that disease came from gods.
What was the Egyptian view of the link between diet and disease?
They knew diet was important, and medical procedures included recommended foods.
What was the Egyptian view of hygiene?
The bathed, shaved their heas, had toilets, and changed their clothes. These acts seem to have had spiritual significance
Why do we believe that being clean had spiritual significance?
Priests washed more than other people, and shaved their whole bodies before important ceremonies.
How did the Egyptians deal with human wastes?
They had toilets, but no water-fed sewers, so toilets had to be emptied by hand.
What did the Egyptians do about malaria?
They used mosquito nets, which are still vital today.
