The Edwin Smith Papyrus is an ancient Egyptian medical text, named after Edwin Smith who bought it in 1862, and the oldest known surgical treatise on trauma. This document, which may have been a manual of military surgery, describes 48 cases of injuries, fractures, wounds, dislocations and tumors.

It is unique among the surviving Egyptian medical papyri because it presents a rational and scientific approach to medicine in ancient Egypt and avoids prescribing magic. This copy dates to Dynasties 16–17 of the Second Intermediate Period in ancient Egypt, 1600 BCE but the original may date from the Old Kingdom.

Papyrus

The papyrus is a scroll 4.68 meters or 15.3 feet in length. The recto (front side) has 377 lines in 17 columns, while the verso (backside) has 92 lines in five columns. Aside from the fragmentary outer column of the scroll, the remainder of the papyrus is intact, although it was cut into one-column pages some time in the 20th century. On the recto side, there are 48 cases of injury. Each case details the type of the injury, examination of the patient, diagnosis and prognosis, and treatment. The verso side consists of eight magic spells and five prescriptions. The spells of the verso side and two incidents in Case 8 and Case 9 are the exceptions to the practical nature of this medical text.

Procedure

The rational and practical nature of the papyrus is illustrated in 48 case histories, which are listed according to each organ. included visual and olfactory clues, palpation and taking of the pulse. bandaging, splints, poultices, The influence of brain injuries on parts of the body is recognized, such as paralysis. The relationship between the location of a cranial injury and the side of the body affected is also recorded, while crushing injuries of vertebrae were noted to impair motor and sensory functions. He completed the first translation of the papyrus in 1930, with the medical advice of Dr. Arno B. Luckhardt.

  • Head (27 cases, the first incomplete)
  • Skull, overlying soft tissue and brain, Cases 1-10.
  • Nose, Cases 11-14.
  • Maxillary region, Cases 15-17.
  • Temporal region, Cases 18-22.
  • Ears, mandible, lips and chin, Cases 23-27.
  • Throat and Neck (Cervical Vertebrae), Cases 28-33.
  • Clavicle, Cases 34-35.
  • Humerus, Cases 36-38.
  • Sternum, Overlying Soft Tissue, and True Ribs, Cases 39-46.
  • Shoulders, Case 47.
  • Spinal Column, Case 48 (incomplete).

See also

  • List of ancient Egyptian papyri
  • Ancient Egyptian medicine
  • Medical literature

References

Bibliography

  • translation of 13 cases from Breasted, James Henry (1930) pertaining to injuries of the skull and spinal cord, with commentary.
  • translation of 13 cases from Breasted, James Henry (1930) pertaining to injuries of the skull and spinal cord, with commentary.
  • The Edwin Smith surgical papyrus, Vol. 1 and The Edwin Smith surgical papyrus, Vol. 2 published in facsimile and hieroglyphic transliteration with translation and commentary in two volumes in 1930 by the University of Chicago Press, Oriental Institute, Chicago, Illinois, by James Henry Breasted, fulltext of translation with original hieroglyphics (printed) and commentary.