Health 

     Ancient Egypt was famous for their doctors. Ancient Egyptian doctors were highly respected. Ancient Egyptian doctors were advanced for their time. Doctors were well-informed and efficient. Ancient Egyptians had significant medical skills. Medicine treatment was a mixture of religion, magic, and science. Every medicine and treatment was accompanied by a prayer. Doctors knew that they couldn’t cure all diseases. For those diseases that the doctors couldn’t cure they used magic spells and magic potions. Sometimes doctors were summoned to foreign royalty. Doctors may have passed their knowledge to son but that doesn’t mean that they didn’t have medical schools. When someone that is finished the training for being a doctor and officially recognized as a doctor, they receive a salary from the government. Skilled doctors were known as physicians to the royal court. Doctors understood a lot about the body. They knew that the heart pumps blood and knew a little bit about the nervous system. They were skilled at setting bones. Doctors thought that the brain was useless and the heart thought everything. They also thought that that water air and nerves passed through the heart. Doctors learned about drugs and treatments through trials and errors. They knew a good diet was important. They also believed too much food caused diseases and polluted the body. Doctors also understood rest and hygiene could prevent illnesses and could cure them. Doctors had textbooks and could consult on how to diagnose and treat illnesses. There were books on anatomy, woman diseases, dentistry, surgery, and veterinary science. Doctors followed strict procedures when treating someone. They looked for symptoms, asked questions, inspected, felt, smelled, and probed. They took notes and recorded the treatments and results. The notes were used in future cases. Ancient Egyptians had extensive medical knowledge. Egyptian papyri from 1600 BCE contain a number of descriptions about structure and function of the human body. In 1500 BCE, doctors were very aware of importance of the human heart. Many ancient Egyptians became sick from diseases caused by sand and water. Sand in the air caused lung diseases and breathing troubles. Sand in bread wore down people’s teeth. Diseases carried by worms in the river water caused lots of problems. Ancient Egyptians also suffered from diseases we even have today. Ancient Egyptians probably had the world’s earliest medical profession. They had doctors, nurses, and medical students that who were trained at the temple. Childbirth was dangerous because lots of babies and mothers died. Egyptians possessed significant medical skills. Texts also revealed they had accurate knowledge of the human anatomy. The life expectancy was generally high. Some Egyptians lived to the age of 80 and beyond. Embalmers weren’t doctors but they were skilled in the anatomy. They understood the causes of decay in bodies. They removed all the organs except for the heart and pumped bituminous substance into the body to preserve it for its journey into the afterlife. The Brain was removed from the nostrils. Studies of mummies have revealed they had quite sophisticated dentistry skills. Doctors specialized in a particular part of the body. The state of Egypt paid the doctors’ wages allowing them to treat for free-of-charge during wartime or on any journey within Egypt. Priests had to keep themselves free of disease. They had to observe strict codes of cleanliness which included shaving their heads. . Doctors were forbidden to dissect human corpses. They relied on the dissection of animals for the understanding of the body. They understood the heart was the center of the circulatory system and various functions of the organs. Egyptians saw diseases as a result of an invasion of the body by evil spirits. Until physicians were allowed to practice medicine priest were permitted to cure the sick who would come to the temple for treatment. Ancient Egypt had doctors for the head and teeth, doctors for feet, and doctors for the belly. Physicians at the royal palace had even more important titles than normal physicians. Doctors during that time would ask you questions about your condition, feel your pulse, palpate your body, and examine secretions such as mucus or urine. If someone had a wound the doctor would smell it. If someone had a broken arm the doctor would wrap it in palm-fibre lint and set it with tree-bark splints. Ancient Egyptian surgical knives were made from pounded bronze. They blamed bad spirits and angry dead people for diseases. They believed to stay healthy so they could be protected against those forces. They used magic amulets and chants as well as medicines and medical treatments. Locals had no understanding of actual causes or prevention of infection. Bacteria and their role in disease weren’t discovered until the 1700 BCE. Lots of locals were sick quite often. Ancient Egyptians caught parasites easily because they walked barefoot through fields, ditches, and bathed in the river. The main problem locals suffered was toothache. Ancient Egyptians start out with good teeth but then it gets worn-out. Worn-out teeth can quickly get infected and without treatment that works it will eventually cause death. There knowledge was kept in long papyrus documents. In the documents, it describes how to examine a patient, what the doctor should expect to find, and how an illness was to be treated. Doctors were trained in anatomy. They didn’t understand everything about the human body. They thought that the brain was useless.

Picture from http://historyofscience.com/G2I/timeline/images/ebers_papyrus.png