Edwin Smith Papyrus

File:Edwin Smith Papyrus v2.jpg

Plates vi & vii of the Edwin Smith Papyrus at the Rare Book Room, New York Academy of Medicine

The Edwin Smith Papyrus is the only surviving copy of part of an Ancient Egyptian textbook on trauma surgery. It is among the world's earliest surviving examples of medical literature, the Kahun Gynecological Papyrus being older, and is the world's oldest surgical document. Written in the hieratic script of the ancient Egyptian language around the 16th century BC, it is based on material from a thousand years earlier. The document covers 22 pages (17 pages on the recto, and 5 pages on the verso). 48 traumatic injury cases are examined, each with a description of the physical examination, treatment, and prognosis. The entire translation is available online.

Procedures

The surgical procedures in the papyrus were quite rational given the time period, although it does describe magical incantations against pestilence. The text begins by addressing injuries to the head, and continues with treatments for injuries to neck, arms and torso, where the text breaks off. Among the treatments are closing wounds with sutures (for wounds of the lip, throat, and shoulder), preventing and curing infection with honey, and stopping bleeding with raw meat. Immobilisation was often advised for head and spinal cord injuries, which is still in practice today in the short-term treatment of some injuries. The use of magic for treatment is resorted to in only one case (Case 9).

The papyrus also describes anatomical observations. It contains the first known descriptions of the cranial sutures, the meninges, the external surface of the brain, the cerebrospinal fluid, and the intracranial pulsations. The physiological functions of organs and vessels remained a complete mystery to the ancient Egyptians.

Authorship

Imhotep, credited with being the founder of Egyptian medicine, was thought to be the original author of the text, which dates from 3000-2500 BC, with explanatory notes added a few centuries later. Unfortunately the manuscript copy was left unfinished, breaking off in mid sentence with a large area of papyrus left blank at the end. The beginning and end of the original are missing, and the name of the author is not mentioned.

History

Edwin Smith bought the ancient manuscript from a dealer named Mustapha Aga in 1862 in the city of Luxor, Egypt. Although he recognized the importance of the manuscript and attempted to translate it, he never published it. He died in 1906, leaving the papyrus to his daughter who gave it to the New-York Historical Society.

In 1920, the Society asked James Breasted to translate it, a task he completed by 1930. It changed the understanding of the history of medicine, demonstrating that Egyptian medical care of battlefield injuries was based on observable anatomy and experience in stark contrast with the often magical modes of healing described in other Egyptian medical sources, such as the Ebers Papyrus. In 1938 the Smith Papyrus was sent to the Brooklyn Museum, and in 1948 it was transferred to the New York Academy of Medicine where it remains.

The Papyrus was exhibited for the first time since 1948 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City from 13 September 2005 to 15 January 2006. Coincident with the exhibition, museum curator James P. Allen prepared a completely new translation of the papyrus, which was included in the exhibition catalog.

See also

• Ancient Egyptian medicine
• Medical literature

Bibliography

• James Henry Breasted, The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus. 2v. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1930. (University of Chicago Oriental Institute Publications, 3) This includes a facsimile, transcription, translation, and commentary.
• James Henry Breasted, "The Edwin Smith Papyrus". New-York Historical Society Quarterly Bulletin 6.1 (April 1922): 5–31.
• Ira M. Rutkow, The History of Surgery in the United States, 1775-1900, Norman Publishing 1988
• Robert H. Wilkins, Neurosurgical Classics, Thieme 1992
• Leonard Francis Peltier, Fractures: A History and Iconography of Their Treatment, Norman Publishing 1990
• Ann Rosalie David, The Experience of Ancient Egypt, Routledge 2000
• Nadey S. Hakim, Vassilios E. Papalois eds., Surgical Complications: Diagnosis & Treatment, Imperial College Press 2007

External links

• Turning the Pages: a virtual reconstruction of the scroll.
• Ancient Egyptian Alchemy and Science, contains a detailed description of the manuscript.
• The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus: translation of all 48 cases from the papyrus. An unacknowledged reprint of the translations from Breasted 1930.
• Ancient Egyptian Medicine
• Medicine In Ancient Egypt
• Cybermuseum of Neurosurgery: translation of 13 cases pertaining to injuries of the skull and spinal cord, with commentary.
• History of Medicine: lists other papyruses.bg:Папирусът Едуин Смит

zh:艾德溫·史密斯紙草文稿