In ancient Egypt, because a majority of the population had to endure hard physical toil, bone abnormalities such as arthritis, inflammation of the joints, bone attrition, kyphosis, osteo-arthritis, or tuberculosis were a common occurrence. None of these conditions were, however, considered surgical cases. The surgical repertory was limited. Both physical remains and written sources support the notion that operations were sporadic and minor, and that the emphasis was on physical treatment of fractures or dislocations, with a few cases of incisions or cuts into certain regions of the body. There were also various external organic alterations like abscesses, boils, fistulas, hemorrhoids, ulcers, and some superficial growths. Malfunctions of the nose, ear, and teeth were treated in this manner only occasionally. In treatment, the anatomical knowledge applied was taken from earlier medical observations and theories, not from the science of mummification. Good examples of this are the...
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Győry, H. (2016). Surgery in Ancient Egypt. In: Selin, H. (eds) Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7747-7_9795
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