(Heavy on the slashing wounds, probably because of the use of bladed objects in battle and dispute-settling.) The authors are specialists in medicine/neurology and in Egyptology and ancient civilizations. A few of the 48 case studies are: Scalp Contusion Laceration Penetrating to the Bone Head Injury with Open, Comminuted, Depressed Skull Fracture Fracture of the Nasal Septum Necrotic Maxillary Stab Wound Cranio-Facial Injury with Comminuted Maxillary-Zygomatic Fractures and Basilar Skull Fractures of the Anterior and Middle Fossae Slashing Wound of the Ear Mandibular Dislocation Anterior Neck Wound with Esophageal-Tracheal Fistula Cervical Burst Fracture with Spinal Cord Injury and Brain Contusion Traumatic Costochondritis Possible Kertinous/Epidermoid Cyst of the Chest Plate.
The color plates are of the original Edwin Smith Papyrus. Meltzer), 5 appendices, a general and medical index, and a philological index. Sanchez) and Philological Introduction (Edmund S. Includes a note on transliteration, note on column and line numbering, list of abbreviations, visual index, a General and Medical Introduction (Gonzalo M. It also includes the previously unpublished translation of the papyrus by Edwin Smith himself." - from the back cover. This publication sets the standard in the presentation of ancient medical documents. This volume features an impressive array of medical material that reveals the precise conditions described by the ancient physician and explores the Egyptian contribution to modern diagnostics, clinical practice, and methodology. Not only is the Papyrus the source of numerous anatomical and functional concepts of the nervous system, it also is the basis for the development of modern objective clinical thinking, establishing the foundations of modern medicine more than a thousand years before Hippocrates. The Edwin Smith Papyrus is the first comprehensive trauma treatise in the history of medicine. It offers an authoritative treatment of the Egyptian text, which clarifies the meaning of many passages from the papyrus and points the way to their correct medical interpretations. Item #148574 ISBN: 9781937040017 "This volume contains the original hieratic text, complete transcription into hierglyphs, transliteration, English translation, philological apparatus and copiously illustrated medical commentaries for the 48 clinical cases of the Edwin Smith Papyrus. with XVII color plates, 42 figure (mostly bw) and the manuscript reproduced in bw. Glossy grey/black boards with color image and red/putty lettering. MeltzerĪtlanta, Georgia: Lockwood Press, 2012. And Day 2 has some other interesting ingredients in store.Sanchez, Gonzalo M. You couldn’t ask for a better assessment and plan. Thou shouldst bind it with fresh meat the first day. Thou shouldst say concerning him: “One having a gaping wound in his shoulder, its flesh being laid back and its sides separated while he suffers with swelling in his shoulder blade: An ailment which I will treat.” If thou examinest a man having a gaping wound in his shoulder its flesh being laid back and its sides separated, while he suffers with swelling (in) his shoulder blade, thou shouldst palpate his wound, shouldst thou find its gash separated from its sides in his wound, as a roll of linen is unrolled, (and) it is painful when he raises his arm on account of it, thou shouldst draw together for him his gash with stitching. One favorite is ailment #47, “Instructions concerning a gaping wound in his shoulder,” excerpted below: Through the wonders of the web, you can play along at home, clicking on the various injuries and guessing Imhotep’s recommendations. It was written about 1700 BC and thought to be a copy of a much more ancient manuscript written about 3000 BC, being more or less contemporaneous with the great pyramids. The Egyptians seemed to recognize this, too - many of the ailments in the Edwin Smith papyrus are deemed untreatable. The Edwin Smith papyrus is the oldest known medical writing and also the most complete and important treatise on the surgery of antiquity.
Fittingly, the material in the Edwin Smith Papyrus deals mostly with trauma.Įvery surgeon knows the most important decision he or she makes is when NOT to operate. There’s some speculation that all surgery began as military surgery, specifically, the careful removal of arrows and darts. The practical material in the Edwin Smith papyrus stands in stark contrast to the magical incantations in another celebrated Egyptian medical text, the Ebers Papyrus. Dating to 1600 BC, it is, in fact, the oldest known medical document. The earliest known historical text on surgery is the Edwin Smith papyrus. With all the recent talk about robots encroaching on the domain of surgeons, we thought it’d be fun to take a look back to the beginning of the field.