Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
evident from the rounded edges on the bone surrounding the hole, which indicate that
the bone had grown again after the operation. These survivors also achieved a special status
of sanctity so that, after their death, pieces of their skull were used as amulets to ward off
convulsive attacks. From these beginnings, the practice of medicine has become integral to
all human societies and cultures.
It is interesting to note the fate of some of the most successful of these early practitioners.
The Egyptians, for example, have held Imhotep, the architect of the first pyramid (3000 BC),
in great esteem through the centuries, not as a pyramid builder but as a doctor. Imhotep's
name signified “he who cometh in peace” because he visited the sick to give them “peaceful
sleep.” This early physician practiced his art so well that he was deified in the Egyptian
culture as the god of healing.
Egyptian mythology, like primitive religion, emphasized the interrelationships between
the supernatural and one's health. For example, consider the mystic sign
, which still
adorns all prescriptions today. It has a mythical origin: the legend of the Eye of Horus.
It appears that as a child Horus lost his vision after being viciously attacked by Seth, the
demon of evil. Then Isis, the mother of Horus, called for assistance to Thoth, the most
important god of health, who promptly restored the eye and its powers. Because of this
intervention, the Eye of Horus became the Egyptian symbol of godly protection and recov-
ery, and its descendant, Rx, serves as the most visible link between ancient and modern
medicine.
The concepts and practices of Imhotep and the medical cult he fostered were duly
recorded on papyri and stored in ancient tombs. One scroll (dated c. 1500 BC), which
George Elbers acquired in 1873, contains hundreds of remedies for numerous afflictions
ranging from crocodile bites to constipation. A second famous papyrus (dated c. 1700 BC),
discovered by Edwin Smith in 1862, is considered to be the most important and complete
treatise on surgery of all antiquity. These writings outline proper diagnoses, prognoses, and
treatment in a series of surgical cases. These two papyri are certainly among the outstanding
writings in medical history.
As the influence of ancient Egypt spread, Imhotep was identified by the Greeks with their
own god of healing: Aesculapius. According to legend, the god Apollo fathered Aesculapius
during one of his many earthly visits. Apparently Apollo was a concerned parent, and, as is
the case for many modern parents, he wanted his son to be a physician. He made Chiron, the
centaur, tutor Aesculapius in the ways of healing (Figure 1.1). Chiron's student became so
proficient as a healer that he soon surpassed his tutor and kept people so healthy that he
began to decrease the population of Hades. Pluto, the god of the underworld, complained
so violently about this course of events that Zeus killed Aesculapius with a thunderbolt
and in the process promoted Aesculapius to Olympus as a god.
Inevitably, mythology has become entangled with historical facts, and it is not certain
whether Aesculapius was in fact an earthly physician like Imhotep, the Egyptian. However,
one thing is clear: by 1000 BC, medicine was already a highly respected profession. In Greece,
the Aesculapia were temples of the healing cult and may be considered the first hospitals
(Figure 1.1). In modern terms, these temples were essentially sanatoriums that had strong
religious overtones. In them, patients were received and psychologically prepared, through
prayer and sacrifice, to appreciate the past achievements of Aesculapius and his physician
priests. After the appropriate rituals, they were allowed to enjoy “temple sleep.” During
Rx
