The Past
Egyptian medicine
CAPTION: Physician with a patient with religious rite being performed by priests in the background.
Though the ancient Egyptians lived 6000 years ago, their medicine was very advanced. They knew how to use massage, herb, and even surgeries to cure a patient. By doing dissection of mummies, they gained knowledge about anatomy. The surgeries they performed were very interesting. They knew how to successfully amputate body parts, circumcision, catheterization, stop bleeding by compression, and even brain surgery! An ointment was used as an anesthesia for these surgeries. Besides these, they used an interesting method to test pregnancy by letting a woman pee on barley and grain. The Egyptian papyrus recorded down diseases and their symptoms and treatments to it, and these writing were categorized very well. However, they still believed that sickness was caused by evil spirits and curses. So, they also do some religious rituals as part of the healing process. The Egyptian goddess for healing is Sekhmet. Regardless of the spiritual method, the practices of Egyptian medicine are similar to modern medicine.