Medicine in Ancient Egypt - Presentation Example

What was medicine like in Ancient Egypt?

In Ancient Egypt, medicine was used to cure diseases thought to be caused by spirits, demons, and gods. At the time, numerous doctors believed channels in the body were blocked by spirits thus affecting its functions. As such, their research entailed finding ways through which to unblock these channels. As time passed on, through a trial and error process and the application of some basic science knowledge, a doctor of medicine profession arose (Carr, 2016). Doctors at these ancient times knew that the body had a pulse, which was linked with the hearts functions. However, despite their knowledge of the heart, they overlooked blood circulation thus unable to differentiate tendons, nerves, and blood vessels. The ancient Egyptians, during this time, had rituals, priests, and temples where the dead had to be mummified. When mummifying, learning something on the way the human body works was a requirement, which as a result made a huge majority of the priest, at the time, become medical doctors (Medical Today, 2017).

Why is this topic important to the study of Ancient Egypt?

Medicine is important to the Ancient Egypts study because it evolved around their religion, beliefs, and ways of life. The ancient Egyptians traded, which made them travel extensively in search of herbs from lands far away (Nunn, 2002). As a result, their standards of living were relatively high, thus, boosting their agricultural economy, structured and organized government, properly enforced laws, and social conventions (Reshafim.org, 2017).

How did it serve the social, political, or religious needs of the Ancient Egyptians?

Medicine helped the ancient Egyptians social, political, and religious needs considering all of these factors and more were manifestations of their beliefs. As such, they traveled far and wide in search of herbs that also expanded their knowledge on ways to heal diseases believed to be caused by spirits (Mark, 2017). Due to the vast research and expertise they had acquired through documenting their medical findings, their needs social, political, and religious needs became served (Teeter & Brewer, 2017).

References

Carr, K. (2016). Doctors and Medicine in Ancient Egypt - Quatr.us. Quatr.us. Retrieved 6 August 2017, from http://quatr.us/egypt/science/medicine.htm

Mark, J. (2017). Ancient Egyptian Medicine: Study & Practice. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 6 August 2017, from http://www.ancient.eu/article/50/Medical Today. (2017). What Is Ancient Egyptian Medicine?. Medicalnewstoday.com. Retrieved 6 August 2017, from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/medicine/ancient-egyptian-medicine.php

Nunn, J. F. (2002). Ancient Egyptian medicine. University of Oklahoma Press.

Reshafim.org. (2017). Ancient Egypt: Medicine. Reshafim.org.il. Retrieved 6 August 2017, from http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/timelines/topics/medicine.htm

Teeter, E., & Brewer, D. (2017). Religion in the Lives of the Ancient Egyptians. Fathom.lib.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 6 August 2017, from http://fathom.lib.uchicago.edu/1/777777190168/