In ancient Egypt, because a majority of the population had to endure hard physical toil, bone abnormalities such as arthritis, inflammation of the joints, bone attrition, kyphosis, osteo‐arthritis, or tuberculosis were a common occurrence. None of these conditions were, however, considered surgical cases. The surgical repertory was limited. Both physical remains and written sources support the notion that operations were sporadic and minor, and that the emphasis was on physical treatment of fractures or dislocations, with a few cases of incisions or cuts into certain regions of the body. There were also various external organic alterations like abscesses, boils, fistulas, haemorrhoids, ulcers, and some superficial growths. Malfunctions of the nose, ear, and teeth were treated in this manner only occasionally. In treatment, the anatomical knowledge applied was taken from earlier medical observations and theories, not from the science of mummification. Good examples of this are the...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
For information on Kocher's method, see http://www.tki.unibe.ch/theodor.htm.
- 2.
The dura matter is the tough fibrous membrane covering the brain and the spinal cord and lining the inner surface of the skull. It is the outermost of the three meninges that surround the brain and spinal cord.
- 3.
Cartonnage was papyrus or linen soaked in plaster, shaped around a body. It was used for mummy masks and coffins.
- 4.
Dranunculiasis, also known as Guinea worm disease, is a painful and debilitating infestation contracted by drinking stagnant water contaminated with Guinea worm larvae that can mature inside a human's abdomen until the worm emerges through a painful blister in the person's skin.
- 5.
Natron was a salt (sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate) that was used in the mummification process to dry out the body of the deceased in order to assist in its preservation.
- 6.
An antiagglutin is a substance that makes particles (such as bacteria or cells) stick together to form a clump or a mass.
- 7.
Haemolysis is alteration, dissolution, or destruction of red blood cells in such a manner that hemoglobin is liberated into the medium in which the cells are suspended, e.g., by specific complement‐fixing antibodies, toxins, various chemical agents, tonicity, or alteration of temperature.
References
Arnst, C.‐B. Chirurgische Instrumente im Ägyptischen Museum. Forschungen und Beriche 28 (1990): 23–33.
Breasted, J. H. The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus in Facsimile and Hieroglyphic Transliteration with Translation and Commentary. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1930
Ebbell, Bendix. Die alt‐ägyptische Chirurgie. Die chirurgischen Abschnitte der Papyrus E. Smith und Papyrus Ebers. Oslo: I kommisjon hos J. Dybwad, 1939.
Ebeid, N. I. Egyptian Medicine in the Days of the Pharaohs. Cairo: General Egyptian Book Organization, 1999.
Estes, J. W. The Medical Skills of Ancient Egypt. Revised Edition, Canton, Massachusetts: Science History Publications, 1993.
Griffith, F. Ll. and Thompson, H. The Demotic Magical Papyrus of London and Leiden, 1–3. London: H. Grevel & Co. 1904–1909.
Hoenes, S.‐E. Untersuchungen Zu Wesen und Kult der Göttin Sachmet. Bonn: Habelt, 1976.
Känel, F. von. Les prêtres‐ouab de Sekhmet et les conjurateurs de Serket. Paris: Presses universitaires de France, 1984.
Majno, G. The Healing Hand: Man and Wounds in the Ancient World. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1975.
Nunn, J. F. Ancient Egyptian Medicine. London: British Museum, 1996.
Ruffer, M. A. Studies in the Palaeopathology of Egypt. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1921.
Sauneron, S. Un traité égyptien d'ophiologie, papyrus du Brooklyn museum no. 47.218.48 et.85, No. 11, Bibliothèque générale. Cairo: IFAO, 1989.
Sipos, P. and H. Győry, et al. Special Wound Healing Methods Used in Ancient Egypt and the Mythological Background. World Journal of Surgery 28 (2004): 211–16.
Smith, E. and W. Dawson, Egyptian Mummies. London: G. Allen & Unwin, 1924
Von Deiner, G. and W. Westendorf, Grundriβ der Medizin der Alten Ägypter, I–IX. Berlin: Akademie‐Verlag, 1954–1973.
Westendorf, W. Handbuch der altägyptischen Medizin 1–2. Leiden‐Boston‐Köln: Brill, 1999.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg New York
About this entry
Cite this entry
Győry, H. (2008). Surgery in Ancient Egypt. In: Selin, H. (eds) Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4425-0_9795
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4425-0_9795
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-4559-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-4425-0
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and Law