Medicine and Health in Ancient Egypt Aim: To research and peer teach each other about Egyptian medicine.

‘Market Place’ Read through the test that you will complete at the end of the lesson. Each group converts the resource material into a visual display, a “poster”. The poster must be designed for visitors to view and understand. The poster can have up to twenty words and no more. You can use as many numbers, diagrams, symbols, pictures, graphs, cartoons, maps and initial letters as you wish. To succeed in the test you now have to learn from each other. Decide which member will stay home and be its “stallholder”. The other members will go into the “marketplace” to gather information. The stallholder must tout for business, so customers can find their way around. The stallholder explains the poster to visitors, but is allowed to answer only questions asked by visitors. The visitors need to visit stalls for all topics and should take notes, so that they can teach their group effectively at the next stage. Their job is to look at the other groups’ posters, try to work out the information portrayed and ask the stallholders questions for clarification, explanation and expansion. Everyone returns to their home base. Those who went into the marketplace to research information should now teach to the stallholder what they found out. Everyone should try to take notes. The aim is for everyone by the end of this stage to be ready for the test. All notes, posters and original source materials are put out of sight. The test is conducted under exam conditions, individually and in silence. In class discuss correct answers and mark your test.

Test Q’s 1. Specialist Doctors: a. What is meant by a ‘general’ doctor? b. What is meant by a ‘specialist’ doctor? c. What are the differences between a ‘general’ doctor and a ‘specialist’ doctor? d. Why did ‘specialist’ doctors come about? 2. Knowledge of the body: a. Why did the Egyptians NOT use dissection? b. How did the Egyptians learn about the body? c. What is embalming? d. How useful was embalming in passing on knowledge of the body? 3. Ideas about the causes of illness: a. Why did the Egyptians think that blockages make you ill? b. What did Egyptians believe caused illness? 4. Preventing Illness – hygiene & cleanliness: a. How do we know that Egyptians thought that cleanliness was very important? b. What was the difference between the hygiene and cleanliness of rich Egyptians and poor Egyptians? c. How were Egyptians toilets emptied, and what might the effect of this be? 5. Everyday Treatments: a. What were Egyptian treatments made out of? b. What new treatment did doctors develop to unblock the blocked channels in a person’s body? c. What types of simple surgery did Egyptians do on the outside of the body?

1. Specialist Doctors: What is meant by a ‘general’ doctor? - General doctors treated soldiers or labourers, they were a little like our GP’s today. b. What is meant by a ‘specialist’ doctor? - A specialist doctor was an expert at one or some aspects of medicine, such as Ir-en-akhty who was the Pharaoh’s doctor. He specialised in eye diseases, and problems with the stomach and rectum. c. What are the differences between a ‘general’ doctor and a ‘specialist’ doctor? - Specialist doctors normally worked for just one person, such as the Pharaoh or his lords. They had lots of time to study medicine and improve their knowledge unlike general doctors who treated lots of different people and were very busy. d. Why did ‘specialist’ doctors come about? - They developed because the Pharaoh and his lords were very rich and could afford to spend money employing their own doctors.

2. Knowledge of the body: Why did the Egyptians NOT use dissection? - Egyptian religion said that the body was needed in the afterlife so they did not dissect it. b. How did the Egyptians learn about the body? - It is most likely that they learnt through treating wounded soldiers or workers injured on building projects. c. What is embalming? - Embalming is the process of removing and preserving the body’s organs after death. d. How useful was embalming in passing on knowledge of the body? - It is debateable how useful embalming was, as embalmers were often thought of as ‘unclean’ people and were cut off from the rest of society. This meant that they couldn’t really pass on their knowledge. However embalming was often a family business, and so knowledge could be passed on from generation to generation.

3. Ideas about the causes of illness: Why did the Egyptians think that blockages make you ill? The idea came from farming, as the Egyptians developed a famous irrigation system where they dug channels from the Nile to their fields. If their was a blockage in the system the field would not be watered and the crops would begin to die. b. What did Egyptians believe caused illness? - Egyptians thought that blockages in the body made people ill. If blood, air and water could flow freely around the body then they believed a person was healthy.

4. Preventing Illness – hygiene & cleanliness: How do we know that Egyptians thought that cleanliness was very important? - We know that Egyptians thought that cleanliness was important because they washed twice a day and before each meal in cold water. They also used soda and scented oil as soap. b. What was the difference between the hygiene and cleanliness of rich Egyptians and poor Egyptians? - Rich and poor people used very different types of toilet. The rich sat on a limestone seat over a bowl in a big pit. The poor used a wooden stool with a hole cut in it and placed a cup underneath. The different designs meant that the levels of hygiene were also different as the poor version was less clean. c. How were Egyptians toilets emptied, and what might the effect of this be? - The individual was responsible for cleaning the toilet. They had to empty the toilet by hand. The effect of this could be that disease and germs would be passed on from excrement to the person emptying the toilet. The cleanliness of the toilet relied on the individual emptying it regularly and properly.

5. Everyday Treatments: What were Egyptian treatments made out of? - Egyptian treatments were made from herbs, plants, minerals and animal parts. b. What new treatment did doctors develop to unblock the blocked channels in a person’s body? - A new treatment to unblock the blocked channels in a persons body was bleeding, or making patients empty their bowels or vomit. c. What types of simple surgery did Egyptians do on the outside of the body? - Simple surgery in Egyptian times took place on the outside of the body. Doctors would cut out swellings, or sew up wounds. They also carried out trephining to the skull.