EGYPTIANS, NOT GREEKS WERE TRUE FATHERS OF MEDICINE

The Edwin Smith Papyrus is only one of a number of remarkable Egyptian medical texts discovered.
Almost as famous is the the Ebers Papyrus, also first purchased by Edwin Smith and subsequently
sold to Egyptologist George Ebers, after whom it is named. It is one hundred and ten pages in length,
the longest discovered. It is to family doctors what the Smith Papyrus is to surgeons. In addition to
a surgical section, it contains descriptions of the heart and its vessels, and discussions of various dis-
eases such as those of the stomach, anus, teeth, ear nose and throat, and skin.

Skin diseases are divided into ulcerative, irritative and exfoliative.

A section on pharmacy includes various treatments including the use of castor oil as a laxative.
There’s even a section on medical philosophy.

Another text, the Kahun Gynecological Papyrus, deals with diseases of women and dates from the
nineteenth century BC. It contains sections on topics such as contraception and the diagnosis of
pregnancy.

It’s easy to see why the Egyptians were revered in the ancient world for their medical knowledge.
It boggles the mind to think that these texts pre-date the Roman Empire by as many millennia as
Rome pre-dates us. To Egyptians, even Hippocrates was a mere upstart.

The ancient Egyptian physicians at their best show a logical and suprisingly up-to-date approach
to the diagnosis, classification and treatment of disease. Perhaps "modern" medical thought is not
as modern as we once thought.

George Burden

Dr Burden is a family physician who has practised in the Atlantic Canadian town of Elmsdale
for over twenty-five years.

He is also Chairman of the Quebec/Atlantic Canada branch of the Explorers’ Club,
an avid freelance travel and adventure journalist and co-author of the book

'Amazing Medical Stories.'

Ancient Egypt Magazine - Volume Six Issue Three