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Egyptian
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Egyptian medicine was marked by a mystical approach to healing,
as well as a more empirical or rational approach that was based
on experience and observation. Common diseases of the eyes and skin
were usually treated rationally by the physician because of their
accessible location; internal disorders continued to be treated
by the spells and incantations of the priest-magician.
The
physician emerged around 2600 bc as an early form of scientist,
a type distinct from the sorcerer and priest. The earliest physician
whose name has survived is Imhotep (lived about 2600 bc), renowned
for his studies of pathology and physiology as well as his expertise
as a pyramid builder and an astrologer. The Egyptian physician normally
spent years of arduous training at temple schools in the arts of
interrogation, inspection, and palpation (examining the body by
touch). Prescriptions contained some drugs that have continued in
use through the centuries. Favorite laxatives were figs, dates,
and castor oil. Tannic acid, derived principally from the acacia
nut, was valued in the treatment of burns.
Although
Egyptians practiced embalming to preserve bodies after death, their
knowledge of anatomy was minimal. As a result, they attempted only
minor surgical procedures, with the exception of trepanning. According
to reports of the Greek historian Herodotus, the ancient Egyptians
recognized dentistry as an important surgical specialty.
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