Ancient Egyptian Medicine: Egyptian Physicians

Modern medicine owes much to the Ancient Egyptians. Most famous of the Egyptian physicians is Imhotep, who is also renowned for his role as a Pyramid designer. Physicians such as Imhotep used a variety of methods to heal patients but based much of their practice upon religious belief: physicians in Ancient Egypt were also priests. It was common for different priests to act as physicians for different parts of the body, in much the same way that doctors specialise now, as they believed that different gods governed different sectors of the human body.

Much of what we now know of Egyptian medicine and the work of the physicians comes from a variety of medical documents written by these physician-priests. These documents, known as 'papyrus' are the first known records of medical practice: a significant, if rather obvious, development on prehistoric practices. The various papyrus documents that have been recovered and translated show us that the Egyptians had developed an understanding of medicine: they inform us of cures to some illnesses and that they performed surgical operations to remove cists and tumours. The evidence provided by these early medical training manuals is quite remarkable. They show quite clearly that the Egyptians had identified and developed cures for a wide range of diseases, many of which cures are still in use today (Direct pressure on cuts to stop bleeding for example). Such was the extent of Egyptian knowledge that there are records of over 800 medical procedures and remedies making use of over 600 drugs and a vast array of surgical tools. Click on the links below to develop a more detailed understanding of Egyptian medicine.