Ancient Egyptian Medicine

9780806135045

0806135042

The skills of the ancient Egyptians in preserving bodies through mummification are well known, but their expertise in the everyday medical practices needed to treat the living is less familiar and often misinterpreted. John F. Nunn draws on his own experience as an eminent doctor of medicine and an Egyptologist to reassess the evidence. He has translated and reviewed the original Egyptian medical papyri and has reconsidered other sources of information, including skeletons, mummies, statues, tomb paintings and coffins. Illustrations highlight similarities in the conditions of ancient and modern patients. Nunn appraises the criteria by which the ancient Egyptian doctors made their diagnoses in the context of current medical knowledge, showing that many of their findings are still valid today. Nunn also explores ancient Egyptian spells and incantations and the relationship of magic and religion to medical practices. Incorporating the most recent insights of modern medicine and Egyptology, Nunn furnishes the reader with a comprehensive and authoritative book on a fascinating subject.