Ancient Egypt

1. Ancient Egypt Adam pitt

2. Beliefs about how the body worked • The Egyptians developed a theory of physiology that saw the heart as the centre of a system of 46 tubes, or 'channels'. • They failed, though, to realize that the different tubes had specific purposes. • Their system is called the Channel Theory by historians.

3. They also believed a person had three souls • The Ka was a less solid duplicate of the body. • The Ba was able to leave the tomb and revisit the dead person's haunts in the mortal world. • The Akh was the immortal soul which emerged when the Ka and the Ba united after the deceased person passed judgement in the Egyptian Mummification

4. Methods of diagnosis and treatment • The Egyptians were good at practical first aid. • They could reset dislocated joints, and they could mend broken bones. • As long as the problem was on the surface of the skin, Egyptian surgery could deal with it effectively. • Egyptian doctors were excellent at bandaging - they bound willow leaves into the bandages of patients with inflamed wounds. • Many of their cures were based on the Channel Theory. They thought that they could unblock the 'channels' of the body by making people vomit, or bleed, or empty their bowels, and that this would cure sickness. • Some of their cures used what we call today sympathetic magic. For instance they used a pig's eye to try to cure blindness – • they believed that the power of sight in the pig's eye would transfer to the patient's eye. • however, the Egyptians still believed that the gods ultimately controlled their lives. Many cures included a spell to give power to the remedy.

5. 'To kill roundworm' • Root of pomegranate 5 ro, water 10 ro, remains during the night in the dew, is strained and taken in 1 day. Then say this incantation: "The burdens are loosened, and the faintness departs which the worm has put into this my belly. The one whom the god has created, against him the enemy has made an attack; but the god cures that which he has done in this my belly."

6. 'Remedy for blindness' • A pig's eye, red ochre and a little honey are finely ground and mixed together and poured into the ear of the man so that he may be cured at once. Then recite this spell twice: "I have brought this ointment and applied it to the trouble spot and it will remove the horrible suffering." ... A really excellent remedy.

7. Broken Nose • “If you examine a man whose nose is disfigured - part of it being squashed in while the other part is swollen and both his nostrils are bleeding, then you shall say: "You have a broken nose and this is an ailment I can treat." • You should clean his nose with two plugs of linen and then insert two plugs soaked in grease into his nostrils. You should make him rest until the swelling has gone down. You should bandage his nose with stiff rolls of linen and treat him with lint every day until he recovers. • 'Papyrus Edwin Smith', c.1500BC”

8. What people suffered from at the time • eye diseases: prominent in healing manuscripts, as to be expected from the sand and dust of Saharan climate, but not detectable in depictions • illness caused by bites of scorpions or serpents: prominent in healing manuscripts, as to be expected in the Sahara • diseases affecting internal organs: difficult to detect even in well-preserved bodies • tuberculosis: several instances of spinal tuberculosis were found

9. Public health • Egyptians had simple baths and toilets. • Egyptian men and women took great care over their personal cleanliness and appearance, • there is evidence that they used eye make-up that helped protect their eyes from diseases. They also slept under mosquito nets. • Priests, for religious reasons, kept themselves meticulously clean. They regularly washed themselves, their clothes and their cups.

10. The Egyptians didn't use cleanliness to ward off disease but instead appealed to their gods, using charms, amulets and spells. • They didn't have a public health system in the modern sense of state-organized sewers, public hygiene or medical care.

11. Doctors • Egyptian doctors believed that the gods caused disease, but that they did so by disturbing the normal workings of the body. • So, alongside their prayers and spiritual remedies, the doctors developed practicalcures. • They were the first people to develop  methods to cure disease, rather than simply looking for spiritual explanations for it. • This put the ideas of Egyptian doctors halfway between those of the witch-doctors and those of the Greek philosophers. They made the break from superstition, and began the march towards modern medical care. • The Egyptian god of healing, Imhotep, had been, in fact, a doctor. • The Egyptians were the first people to develop the profession of medicine.

12. Change or Continuity • Mummification led to advances in knowledge of anatomy, and led to good bandagingskills. • Religion channelled money and thought away from practical medicine. • Healer-priests gradually evolved into professional doctors. • Much medicine was nevertheless still done bymagicians and priests. • Cleanliness was important to Egyptians for religious reasons. • Egyptians did not understand the medical significance of cleanliness. • Egyptians thought spells and remedies would give additional 'power' to their practical medical cures. • Some charms were downrightunhealthy.

13. How to make a mummy • Step 1 - When an Egyptian died the family went into mourning and the body was taken to the embalmers and a price was agreed for undertaking the process • Step 2 - The body was taken for ritual washing. It was washed with palm wine to kill bacteria and rinsed with water from the Nile. The corpse was then transferred to the 'Place of Purification', the embalming hall called the Wabet • Step 3 - Removal of the brain. A hook was inserted into the nostrils and through the nose which punctured the brain. The body was turned on its side and the brain fluid drained out of the corpse • Step 4 - Resin such as pistacia tree resin and balsam sap was poured into the brain which then solidified  to prevent the skull from collapsing • Step 5 - Incisions were made into the body and the stomach, liver, lungs and intestines were removed

14. Step 6 - The organs were stored in special alabaster containers called canopic jars - which would be buried with the mummy. The canopic jars were filled with crystals of natron ( natron is a compound of sodium carbonate and bicarbonate which stopped rotting) The heart was left in the body as the Ancient Egyptians believed the heart would be needed on the Day of Judgement • Step 7 - The body and the cavity in the abdomen were packed with small sacks of natron • Step 8 - The body moisture was absorbed by the natron • Step 9 - The small sacks of natron were removed from the body

15. Step 10 - The corpse was washed with water • Step 11 - The body was then anointed with oils, incense, scents, spices, herbs and resins • Step 12 - The body cavity was then  packed with linen or straw soaked with the same oils, scents, spices, herbs and resins • Step 13 - The cavities were then sewn together • Step 14 - The body was then covered with layers with linen shrouds coated with resin. Linen bandages were used to bind the extremities • Step 15 - The process of mummification was completed