EGYPTIAN MEDICINE
What is known of Egyptian medicine comes principally from two large fragments of writing, the Ebers
papyrus and the Smith papyrus. These papyruses were written about 1600 ©; the Ebers text is a compilation from many sources, and the Smith is probably a copy of a text written about 2500 ©. The Ebers papyrus includes incantations for specific illnesses as well as invocations to the gods; careful case histories and valuable prescriptions, such as castor oil as a cathartic and tannic acid for burns, also were recorded. The Smith papyrus, on the other hand, includes surgical advice that remains pertinent today, such as the use of compression to stop bleeding, and sections on diseases of the eye and the heart and other internal organs. The practices outlined resemble those of modern medicineÑdefining the disease, stating its symptoms, indicating what the
physician should find upon examination, suggesting therapy, and giving a prognosis. The greatest Egyptian physician was Imhotep (about 2800 ©), who also was the architect of the Step Pyramid of Saqqarah.