Egypt Flashcards
What major development happened in the Egyptian period?
Writing hieroglyphics - ideas could now be recorded and communicated better and passed on for development
Who ran the government?
Pharaoh
What kind of doctors where there?
Specialised
Priest doctors who worshipped sekhmet
They looked for logical causes
Why was there limited knowledge of anatomy?
The weren’t allowed to dissect
But had embalmers
What natural and supernatural causes were believed in at the time?
Natural:
The blocked channel theory
Bad diet - knew diet was important
Bad hygiene - washed, changed and shaved regularly due to religion
Supernatural:
God
What did they use as a antiseptic?
Honey
What charm was used to prevent disease and infection?
Eye of Horus
How did the Egyptians get limited knowledge of anatomy?
Embalmers - mummification of dead bodies, believed body needed in afterlife, preserved them by mummification, extracted soft organs in process so gave some knowledge of the anatomy
Injured soldiers and builders
When was the Egyptian period?
6,000bc - 30bc
What was the blocked channel theory?
Nile, like the body was full of channels, if you became ill, channels in your body were blocked, used purging vomiting and blood letting to unblock channels
What was surgery like in the Egyptian period?
Had metal instruments that were used for simple surgery
Describe public health in ancient Egypt.
Responsibility of the individual
Washed and shaved regularly due to religion, so helped their public health anyway by chance.
