Ancient Egyptian medicine

Question 1

What was the Nile theory?

Answer 1

Egyptian society depended on the river Nile to thrive. Farmers dug irrigation channels away from the river to their fields. Sometimes, these irrigation channels became blocked by mud and silt; when this happened, farmers’ crops began to die. Egyptians knew there were channels in the body to carry blood, air and food, so they thought disease was caused by these channels becoming blocked.

Question 2

What were Egyptian doctors like?

Answer 2

Egyptian doctors were all specialised and used a range of natural and supernatural remedies in order to cure diseases.
They followed a strict treatment procedure:
1. Observation and examination.
2. Diagnosis
2. Treatment using experience and records of other cases.

Question 3

What did Egyptians believe were the causes of disease?

Answer 3

1. The Nile theory.

2. Evil gods and spirits.

Question 4

How did Egyptians treat disease?

Answer 4

Natural:
1. Egyptians used laxatives and bloodletting to cure disease causing ‘blockages’.
2. Doctors used a range of herbal remedies, most of which did not work. However, historians believe that some did:
Rotten bread was used to treat woulds. We know that the mould actually has antibacterial properties.
Lead was used as eye makeup. We know that lead has antibacterial properties and prevented eye infections.
The Egyptian diet consisted heavily of radishes, garlic and onions. These contain chemicals that were effective against dysentery, typhoid and cholera.
3. Egyptians were encourage to keep clean. This reduced the chance of disease and infections.

Supernatural:
1. Special potions, charms and rituals designed to drive away evil spirits.

Question 5

How did Egyptian religion help the development of medicine?

Answer 5

Mummification meant that embalmers (people who prepared the mummy) got to see the inside of the body. They gained a little more understanding on the anatomy of the body.

Question 6

How did Egyptian religion hinder the development of medicine?

Answer 6

1. Embalmers were seen as unclean, this meant that they were unable to share their knowledge of anatomy with doctors.
2. The belief that the body was needed for the afterlife meant that dissections were banned.

Question 7

Factors

Answer 7

Religion:
1. Mummification meant that Egyptians found out more about the human anatomy.
2. Dissections were banned.
Communication:
1. The Egyptians invented hieroglyphics and papyrus which meant that knowledge about medicine could be recorded and shared between doctors.
2. Egypt traded with China and Africa. This meant they shared knowledge and treatments for diseases.
Doctors and Nursing:
1. Doctors were very specialised and they had a good understanding of common illnesses and their treatments.
Surgery:
1. Surgery was seen as part of medicine. All doctors performed simple surgery such as cutting off swellings, removing rotten teeth and bandaging wounds.
Disease and treatments:
1. Egyptians came up with the Nile theory to explain disease.