Antiquity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) remains controversial, and its origins in Americas or in the Old World are disputed. Proponents of the latter frequently refer to RA in ancient Egypt, but validity of those claims has never been... more
Antiquity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) remains controversial, and its origins in Americas or in the Old World are disputed. Proponents of the latter frequently refer to RA in ancient Egypt, but validity of those claims has never been examined. Review of all reported RA cases from ancient Egypt revealed that none of them represent real RA, instead being either examples of changing naming conventions or of imprecise diagnostic criteria. Most cases represented osteoarthritis or spondyloarthropathies. Also review of preserved ancient Egyptian medical writings revealed many descriptions of musculoskeletal disorders, but none of them resembled RA. This suggests that RA was absent in ancient Egypt and supports the hypothesis of the New World origin of RA and its subsequent global spread in the last several centuries.
Health was a constant concern in life and even the deceased needed extra care so that they would be at their prime when enclosed in the sarcophagus; and in the possession of magical ‘weapons’ so that when they reached the Afterlife, they... more
Health was a constant concern in life and even the deceased needed extra care so that they would be at their prime when enclosed in the sarcophagus; and in the possession of magical ‘weapons’ so that when they reached the Afterlife, they would be in complete possession of all their physical abilities. Medicine in ancient Egypt was trying to restrain all malefic beings from action and to preserve the well-being of the individual. Through this work, all descriptions and conceptions observed in the existing legacy of ancient Egypt will lead to conclusions that attest this unique duality: its main aim is to synthesize information from ancient Egyptian daily life; everything that has been written upon it and analyzed until today, throughout the world, in different perspectives and several languages, thus giving a contribution for international research and also possible future contributions for medicine and Egyptology. This work is divided into four chapters: Chapter 1: Sources of Information; Medical and Magical Papyri; Chapter 2: Heka –“the art of the magical written word”; Chapter 3: Pathological types; Chapter 4: Medical-magical prescriptions and their ingredients; this list is a description that contemplates from the global perspective to details, revealing all, from general existing sources to particular ingredients used in prescriptions.
Examination of ancient Egyptians' depictions of the respiratory tract, dating back to the 30th century BC, reveals their awareness of the pulmonary anatomy: reinforced with cartilaginous rings, the trachea is split into two main bronchi,... more
Examination of ancient Egyptians' depictions of the respiratory tract, dating back to the 30th century BC, reveals their awareness of the pulmonary anatomy: reinforced with cartilaginous rings, the trachea is split into two main bronchi, which then enter the lungs (lungs being divided into pulmonary lobes).
The science and art of medicine has always been an integral part of the history of Egypt. Medical practice in ancient Egypt was based on the most advanced knowledge compared to other regions. Muslim scholars helped in the transmission of... more
The science and art of medicine has always been an integral part of the history of Egypt. Medical practice in ancient Egypt was based on the most advanced knowledge compared to other regions. Muslim scholars helped in the transmission of medical practice through the medieval period from the decline of ancient teaching to the rise of modern learning. Kasr Al Ainy school of Medicine, established in 1827, continues the glory of medicine in Egypt as one of the biggest and oldest medical schools not only in Egypt but also in the world. Keywords: medicine, ancient Egypt, Kasr Al Ainy, paleopathology, mummies
Merit Ptah is widely described as "the first woman physician and scientist" on the Internet and in popular history books. This essay explores the origins of this figure, showing that Merit Ptah came into being in the 1930s when Kate... more
Merit Ptah is widely described as "the first woman physician and scientist" on the Internet and in popular history books. This essay explores the origins of this figure, showing that Merit Ptah came into being in the 1930s when Kate Campbell Hurd-Mead misinterpreted a report about an authentic ancient Egyptian healer. Merit Ptah gradually became a prominent figure in popular historical accounts during second-wave of feminism, and, in the twenty-first century she appeared in Wikipedia and subsequently spread throughout the Internet as a female (sometimes black African) founding figure. The history of Merit Ptah reveals powerful mechanisms of knowledge creation in the network of amateur historians, independently from the scholarly community. The case of Merit Ptah also pinpoints factors enabling the spread of erroneous historical accounts: the absence of professional audience, the development of echo chambers due to an obscured chain of knowledge transmission, the wide reach of the Internet, the coherence with existing preconceptions, the emotional charge of heritage, and even - in the case of ancient Egypt - the tendency to perceive certain pasts through a legendary lens. At the same time, the story of Merit Ptah reveals how important role models have been for women entering science and medicine.
The earliest physician recorded in history is Athotis (Aha), one of the first rulers of ancient Egypt. While it is debatable whether the story of a king-physician is a fact or just a legend, it is clear that ancient Egyptian medicine... more
The earliest physician recorded in history is Athotis (Aha), one of the first rulers of ancient Egypt. While it is debatable whether the story of a king-physician is a fact or just a legend, it is clear that ancient Egyptian medicine developed around the time of his reign. The fortunate combination of earlier medical observations, the development of script, and favorable social conditions made the dawn of ancient Egypt also the dawn of medicine.
This paper focuses on part of my Manchester MSc dissertation; the plants prescribed as treatments for the illnesses described in the 21 paragraphs of the last section of the Ebers Papyrus. This is a treatise on tumours, which is now... more
This paper focuses on part of my Manchester MSc dissertation; the plants prescribed as treatments for the illnesses described in the 21 paragraphs of the last section of the Ebers Papyrus. This is a treatise on tumours, which is now considered to relate to oncological concerns, bearing in mind the problem of the translations made so far, as some plants are still unidentified today.
