Egypt

Medicine in Ancient Egypt

Journal3

Historically, many Egyptologists focused primarily on the very visible aspects of ancient Egyptian society, such as the pyramids, much to the bain of those interested in more than just monumental architecture. From the beginning of the scholarly study of Egypt’s past there have been few scholars who recognized the importance of the process of disease and health on a population. With the turn of the century, new archaeological discoveries, increased knowledge of Egyptian language and writing, and the advent of more sophisticated medical techniques, new life was breathed into the study of disease and health in the ancient Nile Valley. It was this period that saw the academic study of Egyptian disease segregated into three distinct categories.

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- Mummies Tell History Of A ‘modern’ Plague
Past Horizons With photos and illustrations. Mummies from along the Nile are revealing how age-old irrigation techniques may have boosted the plague of schistosomiasis, a water-borne parasitic disease that infects an estimated 200 million people today....

- In The Lab: Mummies From The Egyptian Museum, Cairo
Al Ahram Weekly (Nevine El-Aref) An intelligent summary of some of the results of the work being done at the Cairo Museum where researchers have been using CT scans to find out more about the health of ancient Egyptians. If you have been given the unwelcome...

- In The Lab: Results From Mummy Scans From Cairo Museum
Los Angeles Times (Thomas H. Maugh II) With photos. CT scans of Egyptian mummies, some as much as 3,500 years old, shows evidence of atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries, which is normally thought of as a disease caused by modern lifestyles, researchers...

- What Does Medicine Owe To Africa?
BBC News Health (Jane Elliott) The contribution of European culture to medicine has long been recognised. The Greeks are thought by many to be forerunners of modern medicine - they studied the progression of disease, they knew something of the inner workings...

- The Heart Of Princess Ahmose-meryet-amon
This is an interesting study which claims to have found heart disease in the 3500 year old royal mummy of the princess Ahmose-Meryet-Amon. I hesitated running this article because the pictures are not of the princess and the mummy shown probably...

Egypt