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Egyptian Medical Papyri Bull. Ind. Inst. Hist. Med. Vol. XX pp. 35 to 49 EGYPTIAN MEDICAL PAPYRI SAMIR VAHIA EL-GAMMAL* ABSTRACT Many valuable medical papyri on the remote civilisation of the ancient Egyptians have discovered during a period of more than 100 years ago. This immortal Egyptian medical civilisation shows a wonderful type of specialisation in pharmaceutical and medical professions and also in medical scientific writing together with an advanced surgical art. A study of these papyri shows that. the art of preparing the drugs and medicaments together with the knowledge of the properties of the medicinal plants was much earlier than the art of anatomy and surgery. These papyri are considered as the pharmaco- poeias of those ancient periods. Many valuable rolls of medical physicians). This denotes that the papyri have been discovered during ancient Egyptian pharmacy was the a period of more than 100 years ago, oldest therapeutical profession, which gave light on the remote civili- practised by herbalists since very sation of the ancient Egyptians, thus remote ages, before medicine and proved the wrongly belief that the surgery was practiced. ancient Greek civilisation was the first one to appear in all the world, and These papyri are considered as that Egypt was the real cradle and the Pharmacoepias of those ancient origin of civilisation. periods. They constitute very valuable eternal heritage. showing how the Going through these papyri, they ancient Egyptians reached a high show that the art of preparing the stage of glory in their therapeutical drugs and medicaments together with civilisation. in prehistoric ages. while the knowledge of the properties of the European ancestors were dwelling the medicinal plants was much earlier in the darkness of knowledge. than the art of anatomy and surgery. Copying of these papyri was made This immortal Egyptian medical by professional scribes who had a civilisation shows a wonderful type limited knowledge of medicine (non- of specialisation in pharmaceutical *Historian. P. O. Box 136. Maddi, Cairo. EGYPT. 36 Bull. Ind. Inst. Hist. Med. Vol. XX and medical professions and also in It is believed to have been written medical scientific writing together in 1550 B.C. at the beginning of the with an advanced surgical art. Thanks 18th dynasty, evidenced by the appea- to these medical papyri which were rance of the name of the king of that preserved for the present generation time. It clearly shows that it was and the generations to come, which copied from an older manuscript. It in the past were copied and adopted is written in Hieratic writing of the by the near-by countries of the Middle Egyptian language, with heads of the East and crossed the Mediterranean subjects in red ink. It also consti- sea where it went deep in ancient tutes the oldest proof on the high Greek and Mid of Europe and became level of civilisation in the art of phar- a part of their folk-traditional curative macy in ancient Egypt. (Translated formulae and thus shows the influence by Wreszinski in 1913 and again by of the ancient Egyptian medical civi- B. Ebbell in 1937). Iisation on the whole of the civilised world. One can observe the following: a) The medical prescriptions were Both Edwin Smith and Ebers arranged according to the different papyri were discovered together in organs of the human body. This one jar. The former was considered tabulation is the primary step in the by the ancient Egyptians as the Text- pathway of development for the sake Book of Surgery ~while the latter as of science. theText Book of Medicine. b) The papyrus begins with three These medical papyri are: incantations. Here we find the first 1. Ebers medical papyrus: separation between magic and medi- It was discovered in 1862 in cine, since it contains about 877 somewhat good condition, bought by medical prescriptions and only twelve the German, George Ebers in 1872 incantations. This is a clear evidence and was named after him. It is the for the dependance on drugs rather longest, most important and famous than magic and proves that the phar- historical and medical document. It macist was the only one in charge of is kept in Liepzig University. It is the preparation of the prescription's neatly written denoting good care in ingredients. its writing, in red and black ink, and comments on some of the prescrip- c) It also contains the ways of tions, describing them as good, which treatment of the diseases, caused by might be the work of a pharmacist worms, haematuria, vitiligo, leprosy, who found it beneficial while prepa- ophthalmias (endemic diseases in ring some of its recipes. ancient Egypt from remote periods), Egvptian Medical Pepvri=Semir Yahia £I-Gamma! 37 also against wounds, turnouts, boils, registration and monopoly, same as nasal and ear affections, gynaecology to-day . .. etc., drugs against termites, scorpi- ons, lizards, rats ... etc. f) The pharmacists at that time were very skilled in the preparation of d) It is nearly the only papyrus that medicaments and in their selection. mentions diagnosis together with the They used fresh medicinal plants or prescriptions; a matter which was som=times boiled; fruits unripe, ripe very rare in the rest of the medical and over ripe, all parts of the medicinal papyri discovered. It also shows that trees even their spikes, thorns or resin the ancient Egyptians knew how to with special attention to the right and differentiate between closely related exact time for choosing these drugs, diseases, and their tend to perform and their preparation time and the many trials and experiments, as obser- best localities to obtain them. ved in that prescription for the regro- wing of the scalp's fallen hair, They also added sweetening prepared by the King Teta's mother agents so as to obscure the bad taste (3rd king of the 1st dynasty), which of some of the drugs, by using beer shows that this papyrus W2S the or milk. They also knew how to result of many years of experiments differentiate between simple, cold before it was written, probably before and bitter kinds of beer, and between the dynastic period, and that medical fresh, sour and cooked milk from knowledge was interchangeable bet- different sources such as mares, cows ween ancient Egypt and other neigh- or human. Also, knew sycamore bouring countries like the city of latex, simple and mineral water, Byblos ill Lebanon. Certain words linseed emulsion, flour water. natran were found to be orehistoric while water .. etc. copying, so a side note was added to explain their meaning. g) The prescriptions contained dif- fernt sorts of food. skin and hair Ebers papyrus is 20.23 metres long, ointments, pills for chewing. enemas, with 108 columns each of 20-22Iines. ear wash, body wash, nasal drops, e) Also mentioned in the papyrus, a gargles, suppositories. snuffs, incense, ~;:escription pr -parad bv a pharmacist purification vapours. perfumes, inhala- named "Khov" in Heliopolis for the tions, potions, cataplasrna. ophthalmic cure of oecular infections. This preparations; eye ointments and proves that there existed in Heliopolis. drops, Kohl and several medical pharmacists who used to prepare advices. certain medicaments, c~lIed after their names (!S a sort of trade mark The surgical part was written in 38 Bull. Ind. Inst. Hist. Med. Vol. XX the same pattern as in Edwin Smith c) It is also concerned with the papyrus. treatment of surgical cases together with some magical incantations and 2. Edwin Smith surgical papyrus: spells. It shows how great the human It was discovered in 1862 A D. mind war; in discovering the hidden by the American Edwin Smith, toge- secrets of the human body and how ther with the Ebers papyrus, and is progressive were the ancient Egyp- kept now in the Historical Society of tians in the classification of the study New York. It dates back to nearly of the surgical cases by first descri- 1700 B.C, but shows that it was bing them, then their examination, recopied from the original manuscript diagnosis, choice of the treatment, which was written by Imhotep, the ways of preparation of the medica- famous physician of that age, round ment and mode of use. 2800 BC., (Translated by James Concerning surgery, the ancient Breasted in 1930). Egyptian surgeons were very skilled in operating on wounds, head It shows the following a) It comprises 17 columns, 469 concussions, broken limbs .. etc. using various surgical instruments of lines, with a length of 4.68 metres, various shapes such as curved knives full of ancient Egyotian drawings, drills, saws ..etc. They used to open vertically and horizontally oriented the skull, remove any blood clots or and believed to have been written by stop bleeding, then clean the damaged different persons due to the insimila- tissues and finally replace the piece rity of the writings, but looks identical of skull and bind it in position with to that kind of writinq commonly bandages and adhesives. used during the Hvksos invasion. Such operations were performed b) It contains explanations of seve- by the ancient Eqvptims, even in r21 cases without mentioning the pre-dynastic times (a number of skulls treatment. Also other cases which have been found which bear evidence could not be cured, description of of trepanning, and the patient some- wounds and fractures that occur in times survived as the fact that the the different parts of the body. Also severed section of the skull had knit contains some incantations and pres- to the parent bone, as was found in cription!' for rejuvenation of the elder one of the mummies). people. So it shows how remote the ancient Egyptians' great civilisation, Other operc.tions as delicate as and to how extent was the develop- this were performed by the Egyptian ment of surgery by them.
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