The concept of medical care did not evolve until the 3300BCE.
Several papyri were discovered in the late nineteenth century which focused on all kinds of treatments and medical procedures right from contraception for women to treating asthma, and even treating mental disorders like dementia and depression.
Though most treatments were scientific, the perception of diseases were still religious. They perceived them to be the influences of "evil spirits". They would also rely on incantations and chants. They came up with the "channel theory" that said that the blockages of the channels of the body (vessels) were doings of an evil spirit whom they called "Wehedu". They thought that the heart was the center of 46 channels but weren't aware of the fact that they had different functions. Although the cause of the blockages were thought to be spiritual, it stimulated the change of cures to spiritual to practical solutions. This is considered to be a major breakthrough in the history of medicine.
The Ebers papyrus gave evidence that Egyptians had great knowledge about first aid and knew how to effectively fix broken bones and dislocated joints, and treat burns.
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They also had the skills of basic surgery procedures. They could stitch wounds and also used leaves of willow for bandaging which worked effectively cured inflammations.
Many of the treatments used herbs or plants that looked like the illness, for example, using ostrich eggs for fractured skulls. This approach was called as "Simila similibus" meaning, similar to similar.
The Edwin Smith Papyrus gave information on how to reduce swelling of broken nose, how to stem the blood flow and to fix dislocated jaws. Most of their medical care treatment relied of plants and herbs, most of which even stood successful. For example, they used aloe to clear phlegm, cinnamon for mouth ulcers and mandrake for relieving pain and for its aphrodisiac properties.
Though some methods were impractical and bizarre, they also came up with several treatments, some of which are even useful today. These contributions by the egyptians to the medical field are of massive importance to the evolution of medicine to what it is today.
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