Ancient Egyptian Medicine: Surgery

Whilst the Egyptians did not perform major surgery as conducted today they did make major developments in surgical knowledge and practice. Egyptian physicians are known to have performed some minor surgical operations however. The Papyrus Edwin Smith informs us of methods used to treat dislocated bones, the Papyrus Ebers informs us of practices relating to the removal of cysts and tumors' and offers a variety of methods to achieve this (cautery and bleeding).

Egyptians used antiseptic to aid the healing process, another major development in medical practice (they used Willow leaves and bark which are known to decrease the likelihood of infection).

Key Points to remember:

Anaesthetics were not available

Egyptians had a reasonable understanding of the functions of major organs

They knew that vessels carried blood around the body

Surgical practices were written down and taught to physicians

Surgery was often conducted in conjunction with healing methods derived from religious beliefs.

Ancient Egyptian Medicine - pages in this unit

Egyptian Medicine - Egyptian Doctors and Physicians - Alexandria and the development of Medical training - Surgery in Ancient Egypt - The role of religion in Egyptian Medicine - Mummification - Activities relating to Egyptian and Ancient Medicine - Image gallery

Recommended Books - see the Books section for a wider variety of recommended books on this topic.

	Prehistoric and Egyptian Medicine The first part of the History of Medicine series. Written by Ian Dawson, this book provides students and adult readers alike with an excellent introduction to Medicine in Ancient Egypt. The text is supported by an excellent selection of images and is an excellent preparation for the GCSE Course in Medicine Through Time whilst also being suitable for interested 'grown ups'.

Textbooks	Revision Guides

In this unit:

Recommended Resources

Medicinethroughtime.co.uk - new site. Including Blog and use of twitter for free text / IM revision tips.

SchoolsHistory.org.uk highly recommends these sites:

Schoolhistory.co.uk - fantastic range of interactive games, revision materials and links.
ActiveHistory.co.uk - outstanding use of ICT to engage pupils.
Thinkinghistory.co.uk - a brilliant range of learning activities from Ian Dawson
JohnDClare.net - simply the best for Modern World GCSE students
History.org.uk - resources and CPD materials from the Historical Association.
Historyboxes.com - make your lessons 'real' with artefacts and living history provided by experts
Schoolshistory.com - same author as this site, just put together in a slightly different way!