Egyptian medical papyri

Dated to circa 1800 BCE, the Kahun Gynaecological Papyrus is the oldest known medical text in Egypt. It was found at El-Lahun by Flinders Petrie in 1889,[9] first translated by F. Ll. Griffith in 1893, and published in The Petrie Papyri: Hieratic Papyri from Kahun and Gurob. The papyrus contains 35 separate paragraphs relating to women's health, such as gynaecological diseases, fertility, pregnancy, and contraception.[1] It does not describe surgery. Kahun papyri is efficiently divided into three different sections.[10] These sections are there to provide a guideline on the interaction between patient and physician. The first being what are the symptoms, the second being how the physician should consult the patient along with diagnoses, and lastly a treatment is offered or advised.[10]

The Ramesseum medical papyri consist of 17 individual papyri that were found in the great temple of the Ramesseum. The Papyri was buried under a brick magazine discovered by Flinders Petrie and James Quibell in 1895.[11] They concentrate on the eyes, gynecology, paediatrics, muscles and tendons.[1][12]

Plates vi & vii of the Edwin Smith Papyrus (around the 17th century BC), among the earliest medical texts

Dated to circa 1600 BCE, the Edwin Smith Papyrus is the only surviving copy of part of an ancient Egyptian textbook on trauma surgery. The Edwin Smith papyri is of a great deal of importance because it changed medical practices, people were now learning that they could do surgery, whereas before they relied on more religious healing practices.The papyrus takes its name from the Egyptian archaeologist Edwin Smith, who purchased it in the 1860s.[13] The most detailed and sophisticated of the extant medical papyri, it is also the world's oldest surgical text. Written in the hieratic script of the ancient Egyptian language,[14] it is thought to be based on material from a thousand years earlier.[15] The document consists of 22 pages (17 pages on the recto, and 5 pages on the verso). 48 cases of trauma are examined, each with a description of the physical examination, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis.[1] An important aspect of the text is that it shows that the heart, liver, spleen, kidneys, ureters, and bladder were all known to the Egyptians, along with the fact that the blood vessels were connected to the heart. The entire translation is available online.

The Ebers Papyrus was also purchased by Edwin Smith in 1862. It takes its name from Georg Ebers who purchased the papyrus in 1872. The papyrus dates to around 1550BC and covers 110 pages, making it the lengthiest of the medical papyri.[1] The papyrus covers many different topics including; dermatology, digestive diseases, traumatic diseases, dentistry and gynecological conditions. It makes many references to treating ailments with spells or religious techniques. One of the most important findings of this papyrus are the references to migraines which shows the condition dates back to this time.[16]

The Hearst Papyrus was offered in 1901 to the Hearst Expedition in Egypt. It is dated around 2000 BC, though doubts subsist about its authenticity. It concentrated on treatments for problems dealing with the urinary system, blood, hair, and bites. It has been extensively studied since its publication in 1905.[1] [17] Some of the context in the Hearst Papyrus has also been similarly found in the Ebers Papyrus and repeated in the Berlin Papyrus.[18]

Londonpapyrus EA 10059

The London Medical Papyrus is located in the British Museum and dates back to Tutankhamun. Although in poor condition, study of it has found it to focus on magical spells as remedy for disease.[1] The focus of the London Medical Papyrus is holistically spiritual and relies heavily on spells that deal with the supernatural.[18] Instructions are given on driving out demons and raising people from the dead.[18] All of the ideas expressed in the London Papyrus are meant to cure people of their ailments using supernatural methods.

The Greater Berlin Papyrus, also known as the Brugsch Papyrus (Pap. Berl. 3038) was discovered by Giuseppe Passalacqua. It consists of 24 pages and is very similar to the Ebers Papyrus. Later sold to Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia with other objects in 1827 for the Berlin Museum, the Greater Berlin Papyrus was translated into German in 1909.[1]

The Carlsberg Papyrus is the property of the Carlsberg Foundation. The papyrus covers diseases of the eye and pregnancy.[1] While similar to the Kahun and Berlin Papyrus, the Carlsburg papyrus goes into much more detail on pregnancy, covering methods such as determining whether or not a woman will give birth through the use of hippopotamus excrement.[19] The Carlsberg Papyrus sheds light on how women will conceive and whether or not they will conceive, using garlic. This garlic is used as an indicator once properly placed in the body of a woman.

The Chester Beatty Medical Papyrus is named after Sir Alfred Chester Beatty who donated 19 papyri to the British Museum. The remedies in these texts are generally related to magic and focus on conditions that involve headaches and anorectal ailments.[1]

The Brooklyn Papyrus – Focusing mainly on snakebites, the Brooklyn Papyrus speaks of remedial methods for poisons obtained from snakes, scorpions, and tarantulas. The Brooklyn Papyrus currently resides in the Brooklyn Museum.[1][20]