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A Short History of Medical Careers Egyptian
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Egyptian Medicine
Western
medical tradition can be traced back directly to the practitioners of ancient
Egypt. The most famous of the Egyptian physicians was Imhotep, who
lived about 2800 BC. Imhotep is also famous as the architect of the
great Step Pyramid of Saqqarah. Egyptian priest-physicians specialized
in treating different parts of the body, because they believed different
parts of the body were governed by different gods. They used special
religious incantations to treat patents for specific ailments.
Egyptologists have found two large medical documents, written on papyrus,
that tell much about medical practice.
Just as with prehistoric civilization, healing and religion went hand-in-hand,
but Egyptian priest-physicians kept careful case histories. They
developed surgical techniques that are still used today including using
direct compression to stop bleeding. Most interesting, the Egyptian
texts record methods of training and practice that closely resemble modern
medicine. These documents define a variety of diseases and conditions,
identify their symptoms, explain what other healers should look for during
examinations, suggest specific therapies, and describe how to develop a
prognosis.
The priest-physicians were assisted by other lay physicians and magicians who specialized in bandaging and public health. There was an official "Lady Director of Lady Physicians" who supervised the work of the female practitioners who specialized in minor surgery and bloodletting as well as obstetrics and gynecology.
Egyptian
pharmacists used almost 700 different drugs and an assortment of mortars,
mills, sieves, and balances to prepare over 800 standardized prescriptions
that were dispensed to patients as pills, ointments, inhalants, and gargles.
Some historians think that the modern day Rx pharmacy symbol has its origin
in the Egyptian Eye of Horus.
If you would like to learn more about Egyptian medicine, the Karolinska
Institute in Sweden has many interesting links.
