Difference between revisions of "Edwin Smith Papyrus" - New World Encyclopedia
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==Description== | ==Description== | ||
| + | The Edwin Smith Papyrus comprises 17 pages (377 lines) on the recto and five pages (92 lines) on the verso (Demand 2000). (Recto refers to the right-hand page and verso to the left-hand page.) the rector and verso are written in the style of Middle Egyptian dating and with the same hand (Demand 2000). The Edwin Smith Papyrus is written around 1600 B.C.E. (NYAM 2005) in the [[hieratic]] script of the ancient [[Egyptian language]], which is somewhat like a cursive form of hieroglyphics (Carpenter et al. 1998). | ||
| + | The Edwin Smith Papryrus is a partial copy of an earlier document, dated to about 3000 to 2500 B.C.E. (Wilkins 1964). This original manuscript is considered to be a composite manuscript that contained, in addition to the original author's text, a commentary that was added a few hundred years later in the form of 69 explanatory notes (Breasted 1930; Wilkins 1964). | ||
| + | The individual who copied the original manuscript, to yield the Edwin Smith Papryus, made many errors and corrected some of these in the margins (Wilkins 1964). The Edwin Smith Papyrus lacks the beginning and end of the original textbook and does not include the name of the author (Wilkins 1964). The copy stops at the bottom of a column, in the middle of a word, in the middle of a sentence, in the middle of a line, and leaves 15.5 inches (39 centimeters) empty at the end of the roll (Wilkins 1964). | ||
| + | [[Imhotep]], credited with being the founder of Egyptian medicine, was also thought to be the original author of the text (Peltier 1990), but internal evidence suggests it was written and edited by at least three different authors. | ||
| + | ==Medical knowledge== | ||
| + | The Edwin Smith Papyrus contains 48 case histories (typical, rather than individual), including presentation of the title, examination, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. The text begins by addressing injuries to the head, and continues with treatments for injuries to neck, arms, and torso, where the text breaks off. Included are description of 27 head injuries and 6 spinal traumas (Wilkins 1964). Each case is given a verdict of either favorable, uncertain, or unfavorable ("an ailment not to be treated"), with the later verdict, listed 14 times, not found in any other Egyptian medical treatise (Wilkins 1964). | ||
| − | + | The surgical procedures in the papyrus were quite rational given the time period (Rutkow 1988), and only one of the 48 cases resorts to magic (Wilkins 1964). There is differentiation between rational surgical treatments and medico-magical treatments (Wilkins 1964). There is, however, a description of magical incantations against pestilence (NYAM 2005). | |
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| − | + | Among the treatments are closing wounds with sutures (for wounds of the lip, throat, and shoulder), preventing and curing infection with [[honey]] and [[mold|mouldy]] bread, and stopping bleeding with raw meat. Immobilisation was often advised for head and [[spinal cord]] injuries, which is still in practice today in the short-term treatment of some injuries. The use of [[magic (paranormal)|magic]] for treatment is resorted to in only one case (Case 9). | |
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The [[papyrus]] also describes [[human anatomy|anatomical]] observations in exquisite detail. It contains the first known descriptions of the cranial [[suture (anatomical)|suture]]s, the [[meninges]], the external surface of the [[human brain|brain]], the [[cerebrospinal fluid]], and the [[intracranial pulsation]]s.<ref>Wilkins, ''op.cit.'', p.1</ref> The papyrus shows that the [[heart]], [[blood vessel|vessels]], [[liver]], [[spleen]], [[kidney]]s, [[ureter]]s and [[bladder]] were recognized, and that the blood vessels were known to be connected to the heart. Other vessels are described, some carrying air, some [[mucus]], while two to the right ear are said to carry the breath of life, and two to the left ear the breath of death. The physiological functions of organs and vessels remained a complete mystery to the [[ancient Egypt]]ians.<ref>Hakim & Papalois, ''op.cit.'', p.5</ref> | The [[papyrus]] also describes [[human anatomy|anatomical]] observations in exquisite detail. It contains the first known descriptions of the cranial [[suture (anatomical)|suture]]s, the [[meninges]], the external surface of the [[human brain|brain]], the [[cerebrospinal fluid]], and the [[intracranial pulsation]]s.<ref>Wilkins, ''op.cit.'', p.1</ref> The papyrus shows that the [[heart]], [[blood vessel|vessels]], [[liver]], [[spleen]], [[kidney]]s, [[ureter]]s and [[bladder]] were recognized, and that the blood vessels were known to be connected to the heart. Other vessels are described, some carrying air, some [[mucus]], while two to the right ear are said to carry the breath of life, and two to the left ear the breath of death. The physiological functions of organs and vessels remained a complete mystery to the [[ancient Egypt]]ians.<ref>Hakim & Papalois, ''op.cit.'', p.5</ref> | ||
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==Modern history of the Papyrus== | ==Modern history of the Papyrus== | ||
Revision as of 01:10, 19 November 2008
Edwin Smith Papyrus, or Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus, is a preserved medical document from ancient Egypt that traces to about the 16th century B.C.E. but actually is the only surviving copy of part of a much older treatise on trauma surgery from about 3000 to 2500 B.C.E. The Edwin Smith Papyrus is one of the oldest surviving texts of medical literature (medical papyri) and is the world's oldest known surgical document. The Kahun Gynecological Papyrus is older (dating to about 1800 B.C.E.) while the Ebers Papyrus (dated to about 1550 B.C.E.) is longer and more complete
The Edwin Smith Papyrus contains 48 case histories beginning with discussion of injuries of the head and proceeding downward to the thorax and spine, but leaves off the beginning and end of the original surgical textbook.
Contains 48 cases, arranged from ****
Description
The Edwin Smith Papyrus comprises 17 pages (377 lines) on the recto and five pages (92 lines) on the verso (Demand 2000). (Recto refers to the right-hand page and verso to the left-hand page.) the rector and verso are written in the style of Middle Egyptian dating and with the same hand (Demand 2000). The Edwin Smith Papyrus is written around 1600 B.C.E. (NYAM 2005) in the hieratic script of the ancient Egyptian language, which is somewhat like a cursive form of hieroglyphics (Carpenter et al. 1998).
The Edwin Smith Papryrus is a partial copy of an earlier document, dated to about 3000 to 2500 B.C.E. (Wilkins 1964). This original manuscript is considered to be a composite manuscript that contained, in addition to the original author's text, a commentary that was added a few hundred years later in the form of 69 explanatory notes (Breasted 1930; Wilkins 1964).
The individual who copied the original manuscript, to yield the Edwin Smith Papryus, made many errors and corrected some of these in the margins (Wilkins 1964). The Edwin Smith Papyrus lacks the beginning and end of the original textbook and does not include the name of the author (Wilkins 1964). The copy stops at the bottom of a column, in the middle of a word, in the middle of a sentence, in the middle of a line, and leaves 15.5 inches (39 centimeters) empty at the end of the roll (Wilkins 1964).
Imhotep, credited with being the founder of Egyptian medicine, was also thought to be the original author of the text (Peltier 1990), but internal evidence suggests it was written and edited by at least three different authors.
Medical knowledge
The Edwin Smith Papyrus contains 48 case histories (typical, rather than individual), including presentation of the title, examination, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. The text begins by addressing injuries to the head, and continues with treatments for injuries to neck, arms, and torso, where the text breaks off. Included are description of 27 head injuries and 6 spinal traumas (Wilkins 1964). Each case is given a verdict of either favorable, uncertain, or unfavorable ("an ailment not to be treated"), with the later verdict, listed 14 times, not found in any other Egyptian medical treatise (Wilkins 1964).
The surgical procedures in the papyrus were quite rational given the time period (Rutkow 1988), and only one of the 48 cases resorts to magic (Wilkins 1964). There is differentiation between rational surgical treatments and medico-magical treatments (Wilkins 1964). There is, however, a description of magical incantations against pestilence (NYAM 2005).
Among the treatments are closing wounds with sutures (for wounds of the lip, throat, and shoulder), preventing and curing infection with honey and mouldy bread, and stopping bleeding with raw meat. Immobilisation was often advised for head and spinal cord injuries, which is still in practice today in the short-term treatment of some injuries. The use of magic for treatment is resorted to in only one case (Case 9).
The papyrus also describes anatomical observations in exquisite detail. It contains the first known descriptions of the cranial sutures, the meninges, the external surface of the brain, the cerebrospinal fluid, and the intracranial pulsations.[1] The papyrus shows that the heart, vessels, liver, spleen, kidneys, ureters and bladder were recognized, and that the blood vessels were known to be connected to the heart. Other vessels are described, some carrying air, some mucus, while two to the right ear are said to carry the breath of life, and two to the left ear the breath of death. The physiological functions of organs and vessels remained a complete mystery to the ancient Egyptians.[2]
Modern history of the Papyrus
Edwin Smith bought the ancient manuscript from a dealer named Mustapha Aga in 1862 in the city of Luxor, Egypt. Although he recognized the importance of the manuscript and attempted to translate it, he never published it. He died in 1906, leaving the papyrus to his daughter who gave it to the New-York Historical Society.[3]
In 1920, the Society asked James Breasted to translate it, a task he completed by 1930.[4] It changed the understanding of the history of medicine, demonstrating that Egyptian medical care of battlefield injuries was based on observable anatomy and experience in stark contrast with the often magical modes of healing described in other Egyptian medical sources, such as the Ebers Papyrus. In 1938 the Smith Papyrus was sent to the Brooklyn Museum, and in 1948 it was transferred to the New York Academy of Medicine where it remains.[5]
The Papyrus was exhibited for the first time since 1948 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art from September 13 2005 to January 15 2006. Coinciding with the exhibition James P. Allen, curator at Met, prepared a completely new translation of the papyrus, which is included in the catalog for the exhibition.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
http://www.neurosurgery.org/cybermuseum/pre20th/epapyrus.html Neurosurgical Classic-XVII Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus
Robert H. Wilkins, MD Division of Neurosurgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina
he following article is reprinted with Dr. Wilkins' permission from Journal of Neurosurgery, March 1964, pages 240-244.
cyber Museum of Neurosurgery
- James Henry Breasted, The Edwin Smith Papyrus, New-York Historical Society 1922
- Demand, N. H. 2000. [http://www.indiana.edu/~ancmed/egypt.HTM Medicine in Ancient Egypt; Medical Papyri.
The Edwin Smith Papyrus ]. Asclepion. Retrieved September 4, 2008.
- Ira M. Rutkow, The History of Surgery in the United States, 1775-1900, Norman Publishing 1988
- Robert H. Wilkins, Neurosurgical Classics, Thieme 1992
- Leonard Francis Peltier, Fractures: A History and Iconography of Their Treatment, Norman Publishing 1990
- Ann Rosalie David, The Experience of Ancient Egypt, Routledge 2000
- Nadey S. Hakim, Vassilios E. Papalois eds., Surgical Complications: Diagnosis & Treatment, Imperial College Press 2007
See also
Footnotes
External links
- The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus: translation of all 48 cases from the papyrus.
- Ancient Egyptian Medicine
- Medicine In Ancient Egypt
- Cybermuseum of Neurosurgery: translation of 13 cases pertaining to injuries of the skull and spinal cord, with commentary.
- History of Medicine - lists other papyruses
- Bishoy Morris, Surgery on papyrus
- The New York Academy of Medicine
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