egyptian medicine history

Egyptian Medicine
Western medical tradition can be traced back directly to the practitioners of ancient Egypt. The most famous of the Egyptian physicians was Imhotep, who lived about 2800 BC. Imhotep is also famous as the architect of the great Step Pyramid of Saqqarah. Egyptian priest-physicians specialized in treating different parts of the body, because they believed different parts of the body were governed by different gods. They used special religious incantations to treat patents for specific ailments.

Egyptologists have found two large medical documents, written on papyrus, that tell much about medical practice.
Just as with prehistoric civilization, healing and religion went hand-in-hand, but Egyptian priest-physicians kept careful case histories. They developed surgical techniques that are still used today including using direct compression to stop bleeding. Most interesting, the Egyptian texts record methods of training and practice that closely resemble modern medicine. These documents define a variety of diseases and conditions, identify their symptoms, explain what other healers should look for during examinations, suggest specific therapies, and describe how to develop a prognosis.

The priest-physicians were assisted by other lay physicians and magicians who specialized in bandaging and public health. There was an official "Lady Director of Lady Physicians" who supervised the work of the female practitioners who specialized in minor surgery and bloodletting as well as obstetrics and gynecology.

Egyptian pharmacists used almost 700 different drugs and an assortment of mortars, mills, sieves, and balances to prepare over 800 standardized prescriptions that were dispensed to patients as pills, ointments, inhalants, and gargles. Some historians think that the modern day Rx pharmacy symbol has its origin in the Egyptian Eye of Horus.