History of sickness and medical art 1２ : Ancient Egypt ２

＜　a mural painting of a doctor's grave in about 2200 BC. Massage of hand and foot.　＞

This time, I write about sickness and medical art of Ancient Egypt.

今回は、古代エジプトの病気と治療について書きます。

＜　A picture of Job in the Old Testament at the 9-century in Roma. Job was suffered from a skin disease.　＞

Sickness

Although they knew about 200 kinds of sicknesses, there is no sick description in connection with entrails like lung or liver, etc.

Probably, it was beyond their understanding.

As for medical disease, clear things were only constipation, the inflammation of the rectum, cystitis, and the bloody urine by blood fluke.

However, the description about external lesion and external injury is clear.

Frequent sicknesses are bronchial asthma, erysipelas, gonorrhea, scurvy, epilepsy, polio, and parasitic disease。

Hansen’s disease and smallpox often attacked people.

It seems that the skin disease that Job was suffered from by a mischief of God was Hansen's disease.

From mummies of the past kings such as Ramses, the remains of an artery disease or an infectious disease of their face were seen.

A lot of mummies of the commoner have pneumoconiosis caused by the dust storm of the desert, and diseases due to the parasitic worm.

Arteriosclerosis was seen in 20% of adults.

病気

彼らは約２００種類の病気を認識していたが、肺や肝臓、膵臓、腎臓などの病気に関する記述はない。

彼らの理解を超えていたのだろう。

内科的疾患で明確なのは便秘、直腸の炎症、膀胱炎、住血吸虫による血尿のみである。

しかし外部の病変と外傷についての記述は明瞭である。

よく現れる病気は気管支喘息、丹毒、熱帯性肝炎、淋病、壊血病、てんかん、小児麻痺、寄生虫疾患で、しばしばハンセン病と天然痘に襲われた。

ヨブが神の悪戯で患った病気はハンセン病と推測される。

ラムセスなどの歴代王などのミイラからは動脈疾患や顔面の伝染病跡が見られる。

一般人のミイラから、砂漠の砂塵による塵肺症や寄生虫による病気の多いことが確認され、成年の２０％で動脈硬化が見られた。

Medical treatment

Prescriptions of the medical disease were 700 kinds and were categorized according to entrails.

As for surgery, treatment of fracture, extraction of calculus, operation of eyes, and removal of external tumor have been performed.

A trepanning of skull, treatment of cavity, and also making a false tooth were performed.

Surgical instruments such as many pins, scissors, and knife were pictured in the mural painting of ruins.

Steam from tar fragments, coriander, powder of carob, and opium were also used for anesthesia.

治療

内科疾患の処方は７００種あり、関係する臓器ごとに分類されていた。

外科は骨折治療、結石の摘出、目の手術、外腫瘍の除去、包皮切開が行われていた。

頭蓋骨の穿孔手術、虫歯治療、ブリッジによる義歯作りも行われた。

遺跡の壁画に数多くのピン、ハサミ、ナイフなどの外科用器具が描かれている。

麻酔にタール破片からの蒸気やコリアンダー、イナゴマメの粉末、アヘンも使用された。

＜　Horus : It has a head of falcon and is a God of the sky and the sun.

A charm of Horus's eye　＞

When rational medical arts could not cure it, people relied on magician who was always nearby.

The reason to use feces, urine, and the blood for prescription is because people thought that the demon that is the cause of the disease avoids it and runs away.

In addition, the people demanded help from Amen-Ra, Toto, Horus, Isis of Gods and gave prayer.

Getting on a charm became common, it of Horus’ eyes that protected from snake, scorpion, or crocodile were the most common.

The medical treatment was provided at the sanitarium of shrines too.

Patients were isolated in small rooms, and offered prayer.

In addition, while sleeping, they were given the grace in dreams, and were cured.

Also they took a ritual bath in the shrine.

This resembles the medical treatment of Asklepios's shrine that prospered in Greece.

Next time, I write down drugs etc. of ancient Egypt.

合理的な医術でうまく行かない場合は、常に身近にいた呪術師の出番となった。

処方に糞、尿、血を使う理由は、病原である魔物が嫌い逃げ出すと考えたからである。

また神々のアメン、トト、ホルス、イシスなどに助けを求め、祈りを捧げたりした。

護符を身に付けることも普及しており、蛇やサソリ、ワニから守ってくれるホルスの目が最も一般的だった。

神殿のサナトリウムで治療が行われてもいた。

患者は小部屋に隔離され、祈りを捧げ、眠っている間に夢の中で神の恩寵にあずかり癒され、さらに神殿のプールで沐浴も行った。

これはギリシャで隆盛を極めた治癒神アスクレピオスの神殿治療に似ている。

次回は、古代エジプトの最後で、薬剤等を記します。