A God for Guts

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BACKGROUND MODERN STUDIES OF REMOVED While attending the 15th National Con- ORGANS ference on Advances in Perinatal and Corp2 remarks that subjects such as Paediatric Nutrition at the University of James II who have accessible remains are Stanford, California, July 2001, at an ideal subjects to study DNA. In the case evening social event at the Cantor Center of the Stuarts this is relevant to the study for Visual Arts, I chanced upon the small of the porphyria gene which appears to but remarkable collection of ancient have been passed down by his grand- Egyptian artefacts from the Stanford mother Mary Queen of Scots. Gastroen- Family Collection. terologists however are likely to be disappointed as Nunn argues that the CANOPIC JARS state of preservation is too poor to reveal In the University of Stanford collection of the presence of disease but has the ancient Egyptian artefacts are two alabas- attempt been made? Much is known ter canopic jars dating from the 18th about bone disease, etc., in ancient Egypt dynasty (1539–1295 BC) at the time of from investigation of mummies. the New Kingdom. One had a head stop- per shaped like a falcon (fig 1) represent- ing Kebeh-senu-ef, one of the four sons of GASTROENTEROLOGY IN Horus acting as a guardian god of the ANCIENT EGYPT embalmed guts of the deceased. A very Knowledge of the internal organs of the similar name is given at the British body was limited in ancient Egypt. No Museum for the same god, namely Qebh- human dissection was undertaken in senuef. These four sons of Horus were the Egypt until the Ptolemaic period in the genii who guarded the north, south, east, third century BC. This was undertaken and west. Remarkably, the ancient Maya by the Greek physician, Herophilus of of central America also had four deities Chalcedon in Alexandria. Nunn1 recalls upholding heaven at the four points of the the words of Celsus (Loeb edition,1 http://gut.bmj.com/ compass. The Maya also used funerary Prooemium 23) jars called after these gods. Figure 1 Alabaster canopic jar: Egypt 18th Nunn,1 in his remarkable account of dynasty (1539–1295 BC). The falcon head ancient Egyptian medicine, states that stopper represents Kebeh-senu-ef, son of “Moreover, as pains, and also Horus, guardian of the embalmed intestines the embalmers showed great technical various kinds of disease arise in (photographed by the author at University of the more internal parts, they (the expertise removing those internal or- Stanford, Cantor Center for Visual Arts). gans, most likely to putrefy through a Rationalists) hold that no one can relatively small incision. These organs apply remedies for these who is on September 29, 2021 by guest. Protected copyright. could not be discarded as they could be ignorant about the parts used to cast spells against the deceased. tinued for centuries, especially for royalty. themselves; hence it becomes Furthermore, they had to be adjacent to Perhaps the most remarkable case is that necessary to scrutinize their the body when, as they believed, resur- of the deposed Stuart King James II viscera and intestines.” rection occurred in the afterlife. The (England) and VII (Scotland). His en- organs removed were the liver, lungs, trails, brain, and heart were all removed Extraordinarily, Herophilus probably stomach, and intestines. Each had a son and then his body embalmed. Also, flesh undertook vivisection of criminals as well of Horus as a protector as well as a was taken from his right arm, pieces of as postmortem studies.4 Perhaps because protective goddess. The goddess for the linen were dipped in his blood, and of this, after his time human dissection intestines was Serqet. From the 18th cuttings of his hair preserved. All this was dynasty of Egypt each canopic jar had a ceased in antiquity. done to provide religious relics of the king head. For the intestines it was described However, there certainly was a folk who was almost regarded as a saint in as the falcon (see above) or hawk.1 The awareness that internal organs such as Roman Catholic circles. His entrails were the intestines could be the site of disease. internal organs were dried in natron 2 (sodium chloride, sulphate, carbonate, divided in two and placed in two urns. In the British Museum a crude terracotta and bicarbonate) and placed in the One is still in the church of Saint- model of the intestines, Roman in origin canopic jars. Interestingly, by 700 BC the Germain-en-Laye in Paris and the other, and dating from the third to the first organs were dried and placed back in the now out of an urn, is at Stonyhurst century BC, is displayed. Such models of 2 body. Yet canopic jars remained, in fact College. parts of the body were dedicated at these were now solid wood and were As recently as 1989, the heart was shrines of the healing gods in the hope of only there as they had become vital to removed from the body of the last a cure or as a thank offering for a cure the funerary assemblage (British Mu- Empress of Austria-Hungary, Zita in itself. Such votive offerings of simple seum exhibit 2001). Switzerland, where it remains in the models of body parts such as legs, eyes, monastery of Muri. Her embalmed body etc, continue in the Orthodox Church to ORGAN REMOVAL AT DEATH was buried in Vienna with the this day. The custom of removing vital organs at Hapsburgs.3 However, her intestines Nunn1 identifies in the hieroglyphic death and burying these separately con- were not removed. writings a description of a doctor as

www.gutjnl.com Gut file 887 being “a court gastroenterologist” by diseases.5 He was born in Antioch during J Walker-Smith, which he means a royal doctor of the the third century and was tortured by The Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of belly or abdomen and also identified a being forced to wear copper heated cloth- Medicine at UCL, University College London, proctologist, literally a herdsman of the ing around his abdomen. Later his domin- 24 Eversholt St, London NW1 1AD, UK; Gut: first published as 10.1136/gut.50.6.886 on 1 June 2002. Downloaded from anus. Citing from the ancient Egyptian ion over the bowels was indicated by johnwalker_smith@hotmail. com medical papyri, Nunn was able to dem- images of him holding a spit around onstrate some significant knowledge of which intestines were wrapped. His feast gastrointestinal disease by the practising day is still celebrated by both Roman doctors of the time. He states however Catholic and Orthodox churches on that it is by no means clear to what 2 June. REFERENCES extent the embalmers passed on any 1 Nunn JF. Ancient Egyptian medicine. London: anatomical knowledge to the doctors as CONCLUSION British Museum Press, 2000. the embalmers themselves were re- It is of interest that from ancient times 2 Corp E. The last years of James II garded as unclean. He does cite one through to the early Christian era the 1690–1701. History Today 2001:51;19–25. example of a chief physician of the Mid- intestines had their sacred protectors or 3 Eftychiadis A, Chen TS. Saint Erasmus, patron saint of gastrointestinal and liver dle Kingdom who had a grandfather guardians. In ancient Egypt the god for diseases. J Med Biogr 2001;9:97–8. who was an embalmer. the guts was Qebhseneuf, one of the four 4 Nunn JF. Ancient Egyptian medicine. London: In Christian times a Bishop of the guardians of the corners of the world. In British Museum Press, 2000. 5 Jackson R. Doctors and diseases in the Church, Saint Erasmus, was identified as the early Christian period, Saint Eras- Roman Empire. London: British Museum Press, patron of gastrointestinal and liver mus became the saint of the guts. 1988. http://gut.bmj.com/ on September 29, 2021 by guest. Protected copyright.

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