1. Ancient Egyptian medicine
The search for immortality

2. Aims of this session By the end of this revision session you will
Describe the main features of society and religion in Ancient Egypt
Understand what we mean by natural and supernatural explanations of disease and give examples of each in Ancient Egypt
Evaluate the medical progress made between prehistoric and Egyptian times

3. Ancient Egypt
By 1500BC the Egyptians had established the first civilisation
1st to write things down – papyrus and hieroglyphics
First form of Government – Pharaohs
First to explore science
First to farm as opposed to hunt

4. The afterlife
The Egyptians were very religious and believed strongly in an afterlife
They believed that you needed all your organs to be intact in order to progress to the afterlife
To do this they preserved the body by embalming and mummification

5. Mummification
All organs were removed from the body, embalmed and put in special jars – this meant that doctors could not dissect them
The body was then wrapped in bandages to preserve it
This is an example of how religious belief helped to promote and hold back medical progress

6. Egyptian religion and medicine
Mummification gave the Egyptians a knowledge of anatomy
Used charms and spells to cure disease and to keep the gods happy
The Egyptians had gods of healing – Imhotep and Sehkmet – people made sacrifices to them

7. Egyptian anatomical knowledge
As a result of mummification the ancient Egyptians could name and identify most of the organs of the body
But as a result of dissection not being allowed they did not know how they worked
They realised the importance of the heart but did not know what it did or how it worked

8. Egyptian doctors The Egyptians had a well developed medical profession
They were respected and many Pharaohs has their own physicians
The most famous of these – Imhotep – was made a god
Many were loaned to foreign courts for their expertise

9. Egyptian doctors in action
Egyptian doctors were the first to make notes on their patients – they were able to refer back to these
They were the first doctors to use the method of observation, examination, diagnosis and treatment
The first modern doctors but still used a mix of natural and supernatural ideas

10. The use of herbs and spices
The Egyptians used herbs and spices from all over the world to treat illness
They wrote the properties of these down
This was a progression from prehistoric ideas
Many of these herbs and spices are used in modern drugs