The ancient Egyptians were one of the first great

civilizations on the planet.

They built the pyramids at Giza, the Great Sphinx,

and the Library of Alexandria.

As a foundationally well-structured society,

the Egyptians had a sophisticated agricultural

economy, a highly organized government,

and proper law enforcement.

These social institutions created a sense

of stability in their everyday lives

that nurtured research and documentation.

Through trial and error, the ancient Egyptians

were able to discover medical treatments that

were far ahead of their time, many of which

are still employed today.

So today we're going to take a look at what surgery

was like in ancient Egypt.

But before we get started, be sure to subscribe to the Weird

History channel and let us know in the comments below what

other Egyptian history you would like to hear about.

Open up and say "ah."

Mm-hm.

Hmm.

Well, I'm afraid you're going to have to watch this video.

Ever the overachievers, the ancient Egyptians

have practiced medicine as far back as 3300 BCE.

Their knowledge was accumulated slowly

and was largely tested and verified

through the long, arduous process of trial and error.

They started fairly small, treating

battle wounds, snake bites, scorpion stings,

and other topical ailments.

But as this body of knowledge began to build up,

it eventually put them ahead of other civilizations

in the same era--

medically speaking, at least.

But despite all of the medical knowledge,

the average life expectancy at the time

was still just about 34 years in ancient Egypt.

That being said, it pretty much goes

without saying that you are much better off in a society that

was able to heal burns and set broken bones than ones where

such injuries were considered a death sentence.

For reasons that should be fairly obvious,

invasive surgery was something that was simply not

done in ancient Egypt.

The lack of anesthesia and antiseptic

made it essentially impossible, as it

would have resulted in excruciating pain and almost

certain death from infection.

However, the ancient Egyptians were quite adept

at topical remedies.

With the use of wooden splints and linens,

they had a functional knowledge of how to set broken bones

and correct dislocations.

They also knew to stitch wounds and make

effective herbal ointments to heal burns.

While this might sound more like low-level first aid

to modern folk, in the ancient world,

even these simple cures could mean the difference

between life and death.

The ancient Egyptian society was one

of considerable innovations.

And thanks to archaeologists, we know that those innovations

included some of the first truly effective surgical tools

that aided in medical treatment.

Primarily crafted from the newly discovered metal of copper,

the ancient Egyptians had versions of pincers, forceps,

spoons, saws, hooks, and knives, all of which

can be found in medical facilities today.

They also crafted excellent bandages

and had the foresight to infuse them with willow leaves

to treat inflammation, a practice that was incredibly

ahead of its time.

Among numerous other medical firsts,

it's very likely that the world's first ever prosthetics

were used in ancient Egypt.

How do we know?

Well, a female mummy who died somewhere between 950

and 710 BCE was discovered near Luxor, Egypt,

and she was found to have a prosthetic toe made

from wood and leather.

While the idea of a cosmetic replacement for a severed toe

is itself an impressive innovation,

researchers at the University of Manchester

suggest it may have actually been functional

and helped the woman to walk.

The prosthetic toe showed significant signs

of wear, which prompted university researchers

to conduct a study that tested the gait of its participants

with and without the aid of the replicated digit.

What was found was that walking in ancient Egyptian sandals,

which was the common footwear of the time,

would have been incredibly difficult without a big toe.

Prosthetics similar to the one found in the Luxor mummy

would have gone a long way to assisting the afflicted.

Just goes to prove the old saying about necessity

being the mother of invention.

While the jury is out on the definitive origins

of the practice, it has been speculated by some

that the ancient Egyptians may have invented

the act of male circumcision.

Some of you fellows may want to gird your loins

for this next section, because it's

important to note that anesthesia did not

exist at the time.

What we do know for sure is that, whether or not

they originated it, the Egyptians

certainly shared their knowledge of circumcision

with other cultures.

According to the Greek historian Herodotus,

who wrote in the mid-fifth century BCE,

the Egyptians are the only people in the world--

they, at least, and such as have learned

the practice from them-- who use circumcision.

They practice circumcision for the sake of cleanliness,

considering it better to be cleanly than comely.

The ancient Egyptians also appear

to have performed circumcision in the males'

preadolescence phase and not at infancy, as it is usually

practiced in other cultures.

This has led some to believe that it was a ritual

to commemorate the transition from boyhood to manhood.

Thanks, but I'll just get my driver's license.

The practice does not appear to have denoted social class

or status, however, as not all kings preserved

through mummification appear to be circumcised.

In 1849, a British woman named Elizabeth Blackwell

became the first woman to ever be granted an MD

degree in the United States.

It was a pretty impressive feat for the time,

but Elizabeth actually missed out

on being the first female doctor in history

by roughly 4,500 years, give or take a few years.

The ancient Egyptians weren't just ahead

of the curve in technology.

And being the first at so many milestones of medicine,

it should come as little surprise

that the earliest recorded instance of a female doctor

occurred in ancient Egypt.

The first known female doctor was named Merit-Ptah,

and according to archaeologists, she

lived somewhere in the neighborhood of 2700 BCE.

She likely held the title of chief physician,

meaning she had the authority to teach,

had supervision over other doctors,

and personally attended to the monarch of that time.

Though invasive surgery was an almost unheard

of practice in ancient Egypt, their doctors

still managed to accumulate a pretty solid knowledge

of the internal organs and how they functioned.

The Ebers Papyrus, one of the oldest preserved documents

regarding medical practices, illustrates the thoughts

on the workings of vital organs at the time.

While some of the theories are slightly off,

there are some which are impressively spot on.

For starters, they knew a fair amount about the heart.

In the words of the Ebers Papyrus,

which we've slightly adapted into more modern terms,

from the heart there are vessels to all four limbs

to every part of the body.

Of the respiratory system, they knew

that when we breathe in through our noses,

the air enters our hearts and lungs and then

the entire belly.

Close enough.

They also had knowledge of the liver, which

they believed is supplied with liquid and air via four

vessels.

When they overfill the liver with blood,

they cause many diseases.

And of course, because it's pretty hard to miss,

they knew of the anus and had quite a few thoughts on it,

including that the liquid and air that comes out of the anus

comes from the vessels that exist in the arms and legs

when they are overflowing with waste.

OK, so it's not exactly what you'd

learn in a modern medical school,

but it's still pretty impressive when you consider all of this

was written down around 1550 BCE.

Almost nobody really loves going to the dentist,

but imagine having to go to the dentist in an era

when dental care didn't really work.

Well, that's exactly what the ancient Egyptians faced

when they had tooth problems.

For starters, the diet of the average ancient Egyptian

was not exactly conducive to a great set of teeth.

The tools used to grind food often

left behind traces of sand and stone,

which are naturally abrasive.

And this often meant tooth loss at an early age.

Now, the ancient Egyptians did have some remedies

for these kinds of dental ailments,

but they were fairly bizarre and typically painful.

For example, according to the Ebers Papyrus,

the treatment for a toothache was

rubbing a powdered mixture of onion, cumin, and incense

on a tooth.

Now, if you're wondering how that promoted healing,

it didn't.

There are cases where the ancient Egyptians

filled cavities with a mix of resin

and a greenish mineral that contained copper

and drilled into jawbones to drain abscesses of fluid.

But curiously, the process of tooth extraction,

which can be lifesaving in cases of infection,

was almost never used.

If the ancient Egyptians are known for anything,

it's the pyramids, the Sphinx, and their surprisingly

sophisticated process of mummification,

the latter of which has led to an understanding of how

they functioned as a society and how they viewed public health.

The mummification procedure was an incredibly invasive one

that involved thorough dissection to remove moisture

from the body.

The process included the removal of brain tissue

through the nostril via a gruesome hook implement.

And that being the case, the priests

who performed the sacred act got a fairly up-close and personal

look at the internal organs of the human beings

they prepped for the afterlife.

Curiously, the knowledge gleaned from mummification

was not employed for any medical use.

While nobody knows exactly why these areas were so discreet,

a strong possible explanation is that priests and doctors

of the time simply did not operate in the same circles.

So the communication just wasn't there.

It's been regarded as a strange oversight

for a civilization that practiced

such thorough documentation.

Though the ancient Egyptians used

many legitimate medical remedies,

the primary method of care still relied heavily on magic.

You see, they believed that all diseases

had supernatural causes.

That being said, they assumed that healing also logically

relied on the supernatural as well.

So medical treatment often came with a spell that

was believed to aid recovery.

One example of this would be a remedy for whooping cough.

The medical treatment would consist

of a grounded, roasted mouse mixed into milk,

followed by the magical aid of a lullaby that

drove off evil spirits.

Sounds like it would be a disaster.

But archaeologists have found evidence of the effectiveness

of such treatments.

So does this mean that magic works?

Well, we can't rule that out entirely-- actually, we

can-- but most modern scientists and doctors believe

the success rate was likely due to a powerful placebo effect.