Edwin Smith papyrus
The Edwin Smith papyrus (c. 1600 BC) is the earliest known medical document. It is an ancient textbook on surgery, and describes anatomical observations and the examination, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of numerous ailments in exquisite detail. The papyrus contains careful descriptions of the injuries as well as the first descriptions of the cranial sutures, the meninges, the external surface of the brain, the cerebrospinal fluid, and the intracranial pulsations.
The information contained in the Edwin Smith papyrus dates as early as 3000 BC. It shows that the heart, vessels, liver, spleen, kidneys, ureters and bladder were recognized, and that the blood-vessels were known to come from the heart. Other vessels are described, some carrying air, some mucus, while two to the right ear are said to carry the breath of life, and two to the left ear the breath of death.
Imhotep is credited as the founder of Egyptian medicine and the original author of the papyrus, although it was written and edited by at least three different authors, the last of which stopped mid-word. It is a compilation of 48 battlefield injury cases and the treatments that the victims had received. The treatments are rational, and magic is resorted to in only one case.
History
Edwin Smith was born in 1822, the year that Egyptian hieroglyphs were first deciphered. Being an Egyptologist, he bought parts of the ancient manuscript in 1862 in Luxor, Egypt. Although he recognized the importance of the manuscript and attempted to translate it, he never published about it. He died in 1906, leaving the papyrus to his daughter who gave it to the New York Historical Society.
In 1920, the Society asked James Breasted to translate it, completing it by 1930. It changed medical history, since it showed that medicine on the Egyptian battle field stood in stark contrast with the irrational modes of healing the rest of Ancient Egypt utilized, as exemplified in the Ebers papyrus.
See also
External links
- Medicine In Ancient Egypt
- Cybermuseum of Neuro Surgery
- Translation
- "Edwin Smith papyrus", from the Encyclopędia Britannica Premium Service.