Egyptian medical papyri
The largest study of the medical papyri to date has been undertaken by Humboldt University of Berlin and was titled Medizin der alten Ägypter ("Medicine of ancient Egypt").
Most commonly "cured" by use of amulets or magical spells, the illnesses were thought to be caused by spiteful behavior or actions.
[2] These ancient Egyptian texts were written long before their discovery and publication, and many are now owned either privately or preserved at universities all over the world.
[6] In 1900, Percy Newberry started the process of unrolling and preserving the Ramesseum Papyri so that it can be further studied and stored without threat of further wear and tear.
[3][4] Subsequently, the publication of these papyri inspired Walter Wreszinski to attempt a production of overviews of medicine in ancient Egypt.
[3] It wasn't until 1932 that when Warren R Dawson first published an analytical breakdown of medical texts and confusing words and phrases therein that it was discovered some things had been incorrectly translated.
[4] There is curiosity as to whether or not the medical papyri was more progressive for the world of medicine at the time because of the reliance on non-physical treatments they still relied on.
Dated to circa 1800 BCE, the Kahun Gynaecological Papyrus is the oldest known medical text in Egypt.
The papyrus contains 35 separate paragraphs relating to women's health, such as gynaecological diseases, fertility, pregnancy, and contraception.
[1][12] Dated to circa 1600 BCE, the Edwin Smith Papyrus is the only surviving copy of part of an ancient Egyptian textbook on trauma surgery.
Written in the hieratic script of the ancient Egyptian language,[14] it is thought to be based on material from a thousand years earlier.
[citation needed] One of the most important findings of this papyrus are the references to migraines which shows the condition dates back to this time.
[1] The focus of the London Medical Papyrus is holistically spiritual and relies heavily on spells that deal with the supernatural.
[19] All of the ideas expressed in the London Papyrus are meant to cure people of their ailments using supernatural methods.
The remedies in these texts are generally related to magic and focus on conditions that involve headaches and anorectal ailments.
