Ear, Nose and Throat in Ancient Egypt Part III (original) (raw)
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Oncology and Infectious Diseases in Ancient Egypt
This work focuses on pathogenic elements found in the Ebers papyrus: a series of prescriptions that are believed to be the remains of a ?book of tumours? which deals with what appear to have been benign ganglionic masses, polyps, sebaceous cysts, varicose veins and aneurysms. Discussion of this Treatise on Tumours (paragraphs 857-877) includes the previous probable identification of a disease, the analysis carried out to date by several Egyptologists, and my own interpretation which combines the linguistic approach adopted by these scholars in the past, and the medical observations of scientists in more recent years: in total we have descriptions of neoplasias versus swellings. This work also includes some references to the plants mentioned as treatments for the illnesses described in the 21 paragraphs of the Papyrus? last section on tumours (what it is now thought to be oncological concerns) taking into account the problem of translation, since some plants are still unidentified today.References are made to material evidence found in Egyptian mummies in several sites revealing the presence of a tumour.
Oncology and Infectious Diseases in ancient Egypt, 2009
This work focuses on pathogenic elements found in the Ebers papyrus: a series of prescriptions that are believed to be the remains of a ?book of tumours? which deals with what appear to have been benign ganglionic masses, polyps, sebaceous cysts, varicose veins and aneurysms. Discussion of this Treatise on Tumours (paragraphs 857-877) includes the previous probable identification of a disease, the analysis carried out to date by several Egyptologists, and my own interpretation which combines the linguistic approach adopted by these scholars in the past, and the medical observations of scientists in more recent years: in total we have descriptions of neoplasias versus swellings. This work also includes some references to the plants mentioned as treatments for the illnesses described in the 21 paragraphs of the Papyrus? last section on tumours (what it is now thought to be oncological concerns) taking into account the problem of translation, since some plants are still unidentified today.References are made to material evidence found in Egyptian mummies in several sites revealing the presence of a tumour.
Multiple Bone Tuberculosis in a Child From Predynastic Upper Egypt (3200 BC) H.
Tuberculosis, one of the most ancient human diseases, was present in ancient Egypt and has been observed since predynastic times. Excavations in the predynastic to early dynastic necropolis of Adaima, Upper Egypt (3500–2700 BC) led to the discovery of a number of remarkably well-preserved skeletons of children. The skeletal remains of a 4.5–5-year-old child dated from Nagada III A2 (3200–3100 BC) displayed various lesions on the post-cranial skeleton: spondylitis on the thoracic (T12) and lumbar (L1) vertebrae, partial lytic destruction of the right radio-ulnar joint, lytic lesions on the scapula and a clavicle, dactylitis on the short bones of hands and feet, enlargement (spina ventosa) and periosteal new bone formation on the long bones. Radiographs show well-defined radiolucent (cyst-like) lesions in the metaphysis and the diaphysis of long tubular bones (ulna, radius, femur, tibia, fibula). The lesions recorded during macroscopic and radiological analysis strongly suggest a case of multiple bone tuberculosis. The occurrence of this case of tuberculosis in a child provides a picture of a period where tuberculosis must have been endemic throughout the population living during the origins of urban settlement in Upper Egypt during the predynastic period. Copyright 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Multiple bone tuberculosis in a child from predynastic Upper Egypt (3200 BC)
International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2010
Tuberculosis, one of the most ancient human diseases, was present in ancient Egypt and has been observed since predynastic times. Excavations in the predynastic to early dynastic necropolis of Adaima, Upper Egypt (3500-2700 BC) led to the discovery of a number of remarkably well-preserved skeletons of children. The skeletal remains of a 4.5-5-year-old child dated from Nagada III A2 (3200-3100 BC) displayed various lesions on the post-cranial skeleton: spondylitis on the thoracic (T12) and lumbar (L1) vertebrae, partial lytic destruction of the right radio-ulnar joint, lytic lesions on the scapula and a clavicle, dactylitis on the short bones of hands and feet, enlargement (spina ventosa) and periosteal new bone formation on the long bones. Radiographs show well-defined radiolucent (cyst-like) lesions in the metaphysis and the diaphysis of long tubular bones (ulna, radius, femur, tibia, fibula). The lesions recorded during macroscopic and radiological analysis strongly suggest a case of multiple bone tuberculosis. The occurrence of this case of tuberculosis in a child provides a picture of a period where tuberculosis must have been endemic throughout the population living during the origins of urban settlement in Upper Egypt during the predynastic period.
A kidney’s ingenious path to trimillennar preservation: Renal tuberculosis in an Egyptian mummy?
International Journal of Paleopathology, 2015
Irtieru is a male mummy enclosed in cartonnage, dating to the Third Intermediate Period in the Egyptian collection of the Museu Nacional de Arqueologia in Lisbon. The computed tomography scans of this mummy showed a small dense bean-shaped structure at the left lumbar region. Its anatomical location, morphologic and structural analysis support a diagnosis of end-stage renal tuberculosis. If this diagnosis is correct, this will be the oldest example of kidney tuberculosis, and the first one recorded in an intentionally mummified ancient Egyptian.
A brief journey into medical care and disease in ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was one of the greatest civilizations to have arisen, becoming the cradle of scientific enquiry and social development over 3 millennia; undoubtedly its knowledge of medicine has been vastly underestimated. Few artefacts survive which describe the medical organization, but from the extent of the diseases afflicting that ancient populus there would have been much to study. Evidence from papyri, tomb bas reliefs and the writings of historians of antiquity tell of an intense interest in the sciences, humanities and medicine born of an educated society which had overcome the superstitions of its nomadic ancestors.