Practice like an Egyptian
Thursday, July 1st, 2010The King Tut exhibit is here in Denver, and I can hardly wait to go. I love Egyptology, and perhaps should have been an archaeologist! So for fun, (hey it’s a holiday weekend soon!) I thought I would share with you the Edwin Smith Papyrus.
The so called Edwin Smith Papyrus, a 16th century B.C. manuscript, written in ancient Egypt script, describes the treatment of 48 traumatic injuries, like those suffered in battle and pyramid building. Edwin Smith, an American living in Egypt, bought the manuscript in 1862, and it eventually made its way to the New York Academy of Medicine. It details the physical exam, treatment and prognosis of various traumatic injuries. It is logically organized, working from the head down. (We can’t read past the torso, as the papyrus breaks off.)
Among the recommendations:
- honey and moldy bread to cure infection (?early penicillin?)
- raw meat to stop bleeding
- immobilization of head and neck injuries
- use of sutures to close wounds
- use of papyrus to document illnesses (early charting system!)
- how to set a broken jaw.
As to prognosis, the author of the papyrus categorizes ailments into one of three prognosis: “An ailment I will handle,” “An ailment I will fight with” and “An ailment for which nothing can be done.” The latter must have applied to case 31–a description of paraplegia, in which a patient is “unaware of his arms and legs” and a loss of bladder control is noted. The papyrus notes that this is secondary to a spinal cord injury.
The papyrus is logical and organized, but if all else fails, there is an magical incantation to be used, noted in case 9. For a look at the papyrus, and it’s translation as well as explanations and more facts, visit the National Library of Medicine
. You can actually “unroll the scroll” from start to finish, and read along. Have fun!