Ancient Egyptian papyri
Only ten medical treatises created in Ancient Egypt have survived to the present day. All of them are written in hieroglyphic script on papyrus scrolls. The greatest historical value belongs to two documents dating back to approximately 1550 BC (the second millennium BC).
The Ebers Papyrus is titled the "Book of Preparing Medicines for All Parts of the Body." It is a comprehensive pharmacological reference book containing about 900 prescriptions. It details methods of drug therapy for respiratory and digestive disorders, eye, skin, and parasitic pathologies. The treatise also contains recommendations for treating burns, stopping bleeding, and treating diseases of the ear, nose, and throat.
The Smith Papyrus is a surviving fragment of a larger work. It is recognized as the oldest surviving text dedicated to surgery. The document focuses on the structure of the human body and surgical intervention techniques. It is in this papyrus that an entirely new term for that time appears — the name of the brain.
Healing in Mesopotamia
The civilization of Sumer was located in the lower reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers (the territory of southern modern Iraq). Later, their cultural and scientific heritage was adopted by Assyria, Babylon, and other Mesopotamian states. Medical information here was recorded using cuneiform — the pressing of wedge-shaped signs into damp clay tablets. Archaeologists have discovered tens of thousands of such artifacts.
All discovered medical literature from this region can be divided into three key groups:
- Educational glossaries. Bilingual terminological manuals that helped healers master complex vocabulary.
- Anatomical compendia. A striking example is a work from the second half of the second millennium BC, consisting of more than 30 tablets. Descriptions of organs, body parts, and their functions in it are strictly systematized according to the principle of a capite ad calcem (from head to toe).
- Disease nomenclatures. Tablets were grouped by affected body parts and described characteristic symptoms.
Development of the profession and the Code of Hammurabi
As the states of the Ancient East developed, there was an active accumulation of knowledge. Original treatises, glossaries, and anatomical textbooks were regularly copied and recopied. Large libraries were created to store papyri and heavy clay tablets, gathering information from various scientific fields.
A major milestone in the history of medicine was the reign of the Babylonian king Hammurabi (1792–1750 BC). In his famous code of laws, for the first time in human history, the profession of a physician was established as an independent specialty at the legal level. This emphasized the high importance of healers for society and regulated their status.
Briefly: answers to topical questions
What specific surgical instruments and dressing materials are mentioned in the Smith Papyrus?
The provided sources do not name specific surgical instruments in the Edwin Smith Papyrus. It is indicated that in Ancient Egypt, papyrus leaves soaked in resin were used to immobilize injuries; honey and oils were used to treat wounds, and hardening bandages were used for fractures. The papyrus contains a description of 48 traumatic cases, of which 16 are deemed hopeless. It also contains the first-ever term designating the brain.
What were the names of the two main categories of healers in Ancient Mesopotamia (Sumer and Babylon)?
In Ancient Mesopotamia, there were two main types of healers who constantly competed with each other.
- Ashipu — priest-healers, whose art was called ashiputu. They relied on folk, empirical healing and natural remedies, but cast the treatment in the form of a religious ritual (e.g., reciting incantations before starting treatment).
- Asu — healers known as "water-knowers." Their art (asutu) used water for treatment and included patient care, hygiene, and methods akin to psychiatry.
What legal liability and punishments for a physician for an unsuccessful operation were prescribed in the Code of Hammurabi?
The Code of Hammurabi provided for severe legal liability for unsuccessful treatment.
| Outcome of treatment | Patient status | Physician's punishment / liability |
|---|---|---|
| Death or loss of an organ, i.e., mutilation | Free person | The physician's hand was cut off |
| Dead | Slave | The physician had to compensate for the loss: return a slave of equal value to the owner, give his own slave, or pay their cost — 16–20 shekels of silver |
| The physician stated in advance that they could not cure and did not start treatment | — | No liability was incurred |
If a healer undertook treatment but failed to cure the patient, and the patient died or was mutilated, under the laws of Hammurabi, the physician's hand was cut off.
To avoid confusing Egyptian sources: "Smith Papyrus — Scalpel (ancient surgery), Ebers Papyrus — Elixirs (900 recipes)"
Class and exam questions
Where and when did the first medical texts appear?
The earliest records appeared in Egypt (late 4th millennium BC) and Sumer (early 3rd millennium BC).
In which document is the brain first described?
In the Egyptian Smith Papyrus (c. 1550 BC), which is also the oldest known treatise on surgery.
What does the principle of a capite ad calcem mean?
Translated from Latin, this means "from head to toe." This is how anatomical compendia in Ancient Mesopotamia were structured, listing organs from top to bottom.
What role did the Code of Hammurabi play in medicine?
In this code of laws (1792–1750 BC), medical practice first acquired the status of an independent profession, legally codified.
What else to study on this topic
- Structure and translation of recipes from the Ebers Papyrus
- Specifics of surgical operations according to the Smith Papyrus
- Principles of symptom classification in Babylonian nomenclatures
- Bilingual terminological dictionaries of Mesopotamia
- Features of cuneiform as a method of transmitting medical information
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