{{Short description|Ancient Egyptian medical text}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox artefact
| image         = Edwin Smith Papyrus v2.jpg
| created       =  {{circa}} 1600 BC
|caption=Plates vi & vii of the Edwin Smith Papyrus at the Rare Book Room, [[New York Academy of Medicine]]<ref>{{cite press release |last=Martin |first=Andrew J. |date=2005-07-27 |title=Academy Papyrus to be Exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art |url=http://www.nyam.org/news/2493.html |publisher=The [[New York Academy of Medicine]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127161922/http://nyam.org/news//2493.html |archive-date=November 27, 2010 |access-date=2015-06-03}}</ref>|size=length: 4.68 meters|discovered_place=[[Egypt]]|location=[[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]], [[United States]]}}

The '''Edwin Smith Papyrus''' is an ancient Egyptian [[medical manual|medical text]], named after [[Edwin Smith (Egyptologist)|Edwin Smith]] who bought it in 1862, and the oldest known surgical [[treatise]]<ref name="WilkinsRobert">{{cite book |last=Wilkins |first=Robert H. |date=1992 |orig-year=First published 1965 |title=Neurosurgical Classics |edition=2nd |location=[[Park Ridge, Illinois]] |publisher=[[American Association of Neurological Surgeons]] |lccn=2011293270 |isbn=978-1-879284-09-8}}</ref> on [[trauma (medicine)|trauma]]. This document, which may have been a manual of military surgery, describes 48 cases of injuries, fractures, wounds, dislocations and tumors.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lawrence |first=Christopher |date=2008 |title=Biomedicine And Health: Surgery |chapter=Surgery |chapter-url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/science-magazines/biomedicine-and-health-surgery |editor1-last=Lerner |editor1-first=K.Lee |editor2-last=Lerner |editor2-first=Brenda Wilmoth |series=In Context |volume=1 |location=Detroit |publisher=[[Gale (publisher)|Gale]] |lccn=2007051972 |isbn=978-1-4144-0299-4 |access-date=2018-08-09 |archive-date=2018-08-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180809121908/https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/science-magazines/biomedicine-and-health-surgery |url-status=live }}</ref>

It is unique among the surviving [[Egyptian medical papyri]]<ref name="LewkoniaRay">{{cite book |last=Lewkonia |first=Ray |entry=education |entry-url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780192629500.001.0001/acref-9780192629500-e-159?rskey=4e8KEg&result=151 |entry-url-access=subscription |editor1-first=Stephen |editor1-last=Lock |editor2-first=John M. |editor2-last=Last |editor2-link=John M. Last |editor3-first=George |editor3-last=Dunea |date=2006 |orig-year=First published 1986 |edition=Online |title=The Oxford Companion to Medicine |publisher=[[Oxford University Press|Oxford Reference]] |lccn=2001021799 |isbn=978-0-19-172745-0 |access-date=2016-01-04 |archive-date=2016-02-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160206085625/http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780192629500.001.0001/acref-9780192629500-e-159?rskey=4e8KEg&result=151 |url-status=live }}</ref> because it presents a rational and scientific approach to medicine in ancient Egypt<ref name="Ghalioungui">{{cite book |last=Ghalioungui |first=Paul |author-link=Paul Ghalioungui |date=1965 |orig-year=First published 1963 |title=Magic and Medical Science in Ancient Egypt |location=New York |publisher=[[Barnes & Noble]] |lccn=65029851 }}</ref>{{rp|58}} and avoids prescribing [[magic (paranormal)|magic]].<ref name="RitnerRobert">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Ritner |first=Robert K. |author-link=Robert K. Ritner |entry=Magic |entry-url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195102345.001.0001/acref-9780195102345-e-0424?rskey=ktaIGm&result=421 |editor1-first=Donald B. |editor1-last=Redford |editor1-link=Donald B. Redford |date=2005 |orig-year=First published 2001 |edition=Online |entry-url-access=subscription |encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt |publisher=[[Oxford University Press|Oxford Reference]] |lccn=99054801 |isbn=978-0-19-518765-6 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2016-01-04 |archive-date=2016-03-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322105226/http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195102345.001.0001/acref-9780195102345-e-0424?rskey=ktaIGm&result=421 |url-status=live }}</ref> This copy dates to Dynasties [[Sixteenth Dynasty of Egypt|16]]–[[Seventeenth Dynasty of Egypt|17]] of the [[Second Intermediate Period of Egypt|Second Intermediate Period]] in ancient Egypt, {{circa}} 1600 BCE<ref name="Allen">{{cite book |last=Allen |first=James P. |author-link=James Peter Allen |date=2005 |title=The Art of Medicine in Ancient Egypt |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/metpublications/The_Art_of_Medicine_in_Ancient_Egypt |location=[[New York City|New York]]/[[New Haven]] |publisher=The [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]/[[Yale University Press]] |lccn=2005016908 |isbn=978-0-300-10728-9 }}</ref>{{rp|70}} but the original may date from the Old Kingdom.

== Papyrus ==
The papyrus is a [[scroll]] 4.68 meters or 15.3 feet in length. The recto (front side) has 377 lines in 17 columns, while the verso (backside) has 92 lines in five columns.  Aside from the fragmentary outer column of the scroll, the remainder of the papyrus is intact, although it was cut into one-column pages some time in the 20th century.<ref name="Allen" />{{rp|70}} It is written right-to-left in [[hieratic]], the Egyptian cursive form of [[Egyptian hieroglyphs|hieroglyphs]], in black ink with explanatory glosses in [[rubric|red ink]].  The vast majority of the papyrus is concerned with trauma and surgery, with short sections on [[gynaecology]] and cosmetics on the verso.<ref name="RitnerRobert_a">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Ritner |first=Robert K. |author-link=Robert K. Ritner |entry=Medicine |entry-url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195102345.001.0001/acref-9780195102345-e-0437?rskey=ktaIGm&result=432 |editor1-first=Donald B. |editor1-last=Redford |editor1-link=Donald B. Redford |date=2005 |orig-year=First published 2001 |edition=Online |entry-url-access=subscription |encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt |publisher=[[Oxford University Press|Oxford Reference]] |lccn=99054801 |isbn=978-0-19-518765-6 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2016-01-04 |archive-date=2016-08-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817055804/http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195102345.001.0001/acref-9780195102345-e-0437?rskey=ktaIGm&result=432 |url-status=live }}</ref>  On the recto side, there are 48 cases of injury. Each case details the type of the injury, examination of the patient, diagnosis and prognosis, and treatment.<ref name="Nunn">{{cite book |last=Nunn |first=John F. |date=1996 |title=Ancient Egyptian Medicine |journal= |volume=113 |pages=57–68 |location=[[Norman, Oklahoma]] |publisher=Transactions of the Medical Society of London, University of Oklahoma Press |pmid=10326089 |lccn=95039770  |isbn=978-0-8061-2831-3}}</ref>{{rp|26–28}} The verso side consists of eight magic spells and five prescriptions.  The spells of the verso side and two incidents in Case 8 and Case 9 are the exceptions to the practical nature of this medical text.<ref name="Allen" />{{rp|70}} Generic spells and incantations may have been used as a last resort in terminal cases.<ref name="RitnerRobert" />

==Authorship==
Authorship of the Edwin Smith Papyrus is debated. The majority of the papyrus was written by one scribe, with only small sections copied by a second scribe.<ref name="RitnerRobert" /> The papyrus ends abruptly in the middle of a line, without any inclusion of an author.<ref name="Allen" />{{rp|71}} It is believed that the papyrus is an incomplete copy of an older reference manuscript from the Old Kingdom, evidenced by archaic grammar, terminology,<ref name="RitnerRobert_a" /> form and commentary. [[James Henry Breasted]] speculates - but emphasises that this is pure conjecture based on no evidence - that the original author might be [[Imhotep]], an architect, high priest, and physician of the Old Kingdom, 3000–2500 BCE.<ref name="Breasted">{{cite book |last=Breasted |first=James Henry |author-link=James Henry Breasted |orig-year=First published 1930 |date=1991 |title=The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus: published in facsimile and hieroglyphic transliteration with translation and commentary in two volumes |series=[[University of Chicago Oriental Institute]] Publications, v. 3–4 |location=Chicago |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |lccn=31007705 |isbn=978-0-918986-73-3}}</ref>{{rp|9}}

==Procedure==
The rational and practical nature of the papyrus is illustrated in 48 case histories, which are listed according to each organ.<ref name="LewkoniaRay" /> Presented cases are typical, not individual.<ref name="WilkinsRobert" /> The papyrus begins by addressing injuries to the head, and continues with treatments for injuries to neck, arms and torso,<ref name="Nunn" />{{rp|29}} detailing injuries in descending anatomical order<ref name="RitnerRobert_a" /> like a modern anatomical exposition.<ref name="WilkinsRobert" /> The title of each case details the nature of trauma, such as "Practices for a gaping wound in his head, which has penetrated to the bone and split the skull".<ref name="Allen" />{{rp|74}} The objective examination process<ref name="VeithIlza">{{cite book |last1=Zimmerman |first1=Leo M. |last2=Veith |first2=Ilza |date=1993 |orig-year=First published 1961 |title=Great Ideas in the History of Surgery |location=San Francisco |publisher=Jeremy Norman Publishing |lccn=93013671 |isbn=978-0-930405-53-3}}</ref> included visual and olfactory clues, palpation and taking of the pulse.<ref name="RitnerRobert_a" /> Following the examination are the diagnosis and prognosis, where the physician judges the patient’s chances of survival and makes one of three diagnoses: "An ailment which I will treat," "An ailment with which I will contend," or "An ailment not to be treated".<ref name="RitnerRobert_a" /> Last, treatment options are offered. In many of the cases, explanations of trauma are included to provide further clarity.<ref name="Allen" />{{rp|70}}

{{hiero|image=<hiero>A-i-s-Aa3</hiero> |name=the brain or skull|era=2ip}}
Among the treatments are closing wounds with [[Surgical suture|sutures]] (for wounds of the lip, throat, and shoulder),<ref>{{cite journal |last=Sullivan |first=Richard |date=August 1996 |title=The Identity and Work of the Ancient Egyptian Surgeon |journal=[[Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine]] |publisher=[[SAGE Publications]] |volume=89 |issue=8 |pages=467–73 |doi= 10.1177/014107689608900813|pmc=1295891 |pmid=8795503}}</ref> bandaging, splints, [[poultice]]s,<ref name="RitnerRobert_a" /> preventing and curing infection with honey, and stopping bleeding with raw meat.<ref name="Allen" />{{rp|72}} Immobilization is advised for head and spinal cord injuries, as well as other lower body fractures. The papyrus also describes realistic [[Anatomy|anatomical]], [[Physiology|physiological]] and [[Pathology|pathological]] observations.<ref name="VeithIlza" /> It contains the first known descriptions of the cranial structures, the [[meninges]], the external surface of the brain, the [[cerebrospinal fluid]], and the intracranial pulsations.<ref name="WilkinsRobert" />{{rp|1}} The procedures of this papyrus demonstrate an Egyptian level of knowledge of medicines that surpassed that of [[Hippocrates]], who lived 1000 years later,<ref name="Ghalioungui" />{{rp|59}} and the documented rationale for diagnosis and treatment of spinal injuries can still be regarded as the state-of-the-art reasoning for modern clinical practice.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=van Middendorp |first1=Joost J. |last2=Sanchez |first2=Gonzalo M. |last3=Burridge |first3=Alwyn L. |title=The Edwin Smith papyrus: a clinical reappraisal of the oldest known document on spinal injuries |journal=European Spine Journal |date=2010 |volume=19 |issue=11 |pages=1815–1823 | pmc=2989268 |  doi=10.1007/s00586-010-1523-6 |pmid=20697750 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The influence of brain injuries on parts of the body is recognized, such as [[paralysis]]. The relationship between the location of a cranial injury and the side of the body affected is also recorded, while crushing injuries of vertebrae were noted to impair motor and sensory functions.<ref name="VeithIlza" /> Due to its practical nature and the types of trauma investigated, it is believed that the papyrus served as a textbook for the trauma that resulted from military battles.<ref name="Allen" />{{rp|11}}

==History==
The Edwin Smith Papyrus dates to Dynasties 16–17 of the [[Second Intermediate Period of Egypt|Second Intermediate Period]]. Egypt was ruled from Thebes during this time and the papyrus is likely to have originated from there.<ref name="Allen" />{{rp|70–71}}  [[Edwin Smith (Egyptologist)|Edwin Smith]], an American Egyptologist, purchased it in [[Luxor]], Egypt in 1862, from an Egyptian dealer named Mustafa Agha.<ref name="Nunn" />{{rp|25}}

[[File:Images from Edwin Smith Papyrus Wellcome L0003140.jpg|thumb|The Breasted edition (1930): left page photograph of the original papyrus, right page transcription of hieroglyphics.  This is Plate XIII (column 13, case 38-41)]]
The papyrus was in the possession of Smith until his death, when his daughter donated the papyrus to [[New York Historical Society]]. There its importance was recognized by [[Caroline Ransom Williams]], who wrote to [[James Henry Breasted]] in 1920 about "the medical papyrus of the Smith collection" in hopes that he could work on it.<ref name="Sheppard">{{cite web|last1=Sheppard|first1=Kathleen|title=The Contributions of Caroline Ransom Williams (1872-1952) to Archaeology|url=http://brewminate.com/the-contributions-of-caroline-ransom-williams-1872-1952-to-archaeology/|website=Brewminate|date=December 16, 2016|access-date=February 25, 2017|archive-date=July 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726072128/http://brewminate.com/the-contributions-of-caroline-ransom-williams-1872-1952-to-archaeology/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Randolph">{{cite journal|last1=Randolph|first1=Louise F.|title=College Women and Research|journal=Journal of the American Association of University Women|date=1921|volume=15|page=51|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ivpNAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA51|access-date=25 February 2017|archive-date=26 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226052618/https://books.google.com/books?id=ivpNAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA51|url-status=live}}</ref> He completed the first translation of the papyrus in 1930, with the medical advice of Dr. [[Arno B. Luckhardt]].<ref name="Nunn" />{{rp|26}} Breasted’s translation changed the understanding of the history of medicine. It demonstrates that Egyptian medical care was not limited to the magical modes of healing demonstrated in other Egyptian medical sources. Rational, scientific practices were used, constructed through observation and examination.<ref name="Breasted" />{{rp|12}}

From 1938 through 1948, the papyrus was at the [[Brooklyn Museum]]. In 1948, the New York Historical Society and the Brooklyn Museum presented the papyrus to the [[New York Academy of Medicine]], where it remains today.<ref name="Allen" />{{rp|70}}

From 2005 through 2006, the Edwin Smith Papyrus was on exhibition at the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] in New York.  [[James Peter Allen|James P. Allen]], curator of Egyptian Art at the museum, published a new translation of the work, coincident with the exhibition.<ref name="Allen" /> This was the first complete English translation since Breasted’s in 1930.  This translation offers a more modern understanding of hieratic and medicine.

== List of cases ==
As listed in <ref name=":0">{{cite book |title=The Edwin Smith surgical papyrus, published in facsimile and hieroglyphic transliteration with translation and commentary in two volumes |date=1930 |publisher=University of Chicago, Oriental Institute |location=Chicago, Ill. |isbn=978-0-918986-73-3|url=https://oi.uchicago.edu/sites/oi.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/shared/docs/oip3.pdf}}, fulltext of translation with commentary.</ref>

* Head (27 cases, the first incomplete)
** Skull, overlying soft tissue and brain, Cases 1-10.
** Nose, Cases 11-14.
** Maxillary region, Cases 15-17.
** Temporal region, Cases 18-22.
** Ears, mandible, lips and chin, Cases 23-27.
* Throat and Neck (Cervical Vertebrae), Cases 28-33.
* Clavicle, Cases 34-35.
* Humerus, Cases 36-38.
* Sternum, Overlying Soft Tissue, and True Ribs, Cases 39-46.
* Shoulders, Case 47.
* Spinal Column, Case 48 (incomplete).

==See also==
{{Portal|Ancient Egypt|Books|History}}
*[[List of ancient Egyptian papyri]]
*[[Ancient Egyptian medicine]]
*[[Medical literature]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin|2}}
*{{cite press release |last=Martin |first=Andrew J. |date=2005-07-27 |title=Academy Papyrus to be Exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art |url=http://www.nyam.org/news/2493.html |publisher=The [[New York Academy of Medicine]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127161922/http://nyam.org/news//2493.html |archive-date=November 27, 2010 |access-date=2008-08-12 }}
*{{cite book |last=Allen |first=James P. |author-link=James Peter Allen |date=2005 |title=The Art of Medicine in Ancient Egypt |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/metpublications/The_Art_of_Medicine_in_Ancient_Egypt |location=[[New York City|New York]]/[[New Haven]] |publisher=The [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]/[[Yale University Press]] |lccn=2005016908 |isbn=978-0-300-10728-9 }}
*{{cite book |last=Breasted |first=James Henry |author-link=James Henry Breasted |orig-year=First published 1930 |date=1991 |title=The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus: published in facsimile and hieroglyphic transliteration with translation and commentary in two volumes |series=[[University of Chicago Oriental Institute]] Publications, v. 3–4 |location=Chicago |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |lccn=31007705 |isbn=978-0-918986-73-3}}
*{{cite book |last=Ghalioungui |first=Paul |author-link=Paul Ghalioungui |date=1965 |orig-year=First published 1963 |title=Magic and Medical Science in Ancient Egypt |location=New York |publisher=[[Barnes & Noble]] |lccn=65029851 }}
*{{cite book |translator-last=Kosack |translator-first=Wolfgang |date=2011 |title=Der medizinische Papyrus Edwin Smith: The [[New York Academy of Medicine]], Inv. 217: Neu in Hieroglyphen übertragen, übersetzt und bearbeitet |language=de |location=Berlin |publisher=Christoph Brunner Verlag Basel |lccn=2013402815 |isbn=978-3-033-03331-3}}
*{{cite book |last=Nunn |first=John F. |date=1996 |title=Ancient Egyptian Medicine |journal=Transactions of the Medical Society of London |volume=113 |pages=57–68 |location=[[Norman, Oklahoma]] |publisher=[[University of Oklahoma Press]] |pmid=10326089 |lccn=95039770  |isbn=978-0-8061-2831-3}}
*{{cite journal |last=Sullivan |first=Richard |date=August 1996 |title=The Identity and Work of the Ancient Egyptian Surgeon |journal=[[Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine]] |publisher=[[SAGE Publications]] |volume=89 |issue=8 |pages=467–473 |doi= 10.1177/014107689608900813|pmc=1295891 |pmid=8795503}}
*{{cite journal |last=Wilkins |first=Robert H. |date=March 1964 |title=Neurosurgical Classic-XVII (Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus) |url=http://www.neurosurgery.org/cybermuseum/pre20th/epapyrus.html |journal=[[Journal of Neurosurgery]] |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=240–244 |doi=10.3171/jns.1964.21.3.0240 |access-date=5 January 2016 |pmid=14127631 |archive-date=5 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200205230644/http://www.neurosurgery.org/cybermuseum/pre20th/epapyrus.html |url-status=dead |url-access=subscription }} translation of 13 cases from Breasted, James Henry (1930) pertaining to injuries of the skull and spinal cord, with commentary.
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Edwin Smith Papyrus}}
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite web |url=https://ceb.nlm.nih.gov/proj/ttp/smith_home.html |title=Edwin Smith Papyrus |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=February 25, 2015 |website=Turning the Pages Online |publisher=[[U.S. National Library of Medicine]] Communications Engineering Branch |access-date=January 5, 2016 |archive-date=February 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205185852/https://ceb.nlm.nih.gov/proj/ttp/smith_home.html |url-status=dead }}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.arabworldbooks.com/articles8.htm |title=Medicine in Ancient Egypt - Part 1 |last=Arab |first=Sameh M. |date=<!--server returns current date--> |website=Arab World Books Articles |publisher=Arab World Books |access-date=2011-11-18 |archive-date=2016-09-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923185651/http://www.arabworldbooks.com/articles8.htm |url-status=live }}
*{{cite journal |last=Wilkins |first=Robert H. |date=March 1964 |title=Neurosurgical Classic-XVII (Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus) |url=http://www.neurosurgery.org/cybermuseum/pre20th/epapyrus.html |journal=[[Journal of Neurosurgery]] |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=240–244 |doi=10.3171/jns.1964.21.3.0240 |access-date=5 January 2016 |pmid=14127631 |archive-date=5 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200205230644/http://www.neurosurgery.org/cybermuseum/pre20th/epapyrus.html |url-status=dead |url-access=subscription }} translation of 13 cases from Breasted, James Henry (1930) pertaining to injuries of the skull and spinal cord, with commentary.
*{{cite web |url=http://www.aams.org.au/contents.php?subdir=library/history/&filename=pharonic_egypt |title=Some Aspects of Medicine in Pharonic Egypt |last1=Sadek |first1=Ashraf Alexandre |date=January 2001<!--server returns current date--> |website=History of Medicine |publisher=Australian Academy of Medicine & Surgery |access-date=January 2, 2016 |archive-date=March 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190305173434/http://www.aams.org.au/contents.php?subdir=library%2Fhistory%2F&filename=pharonic_egypt |url-status=dead }}
*[https://oi.uchicago.edu/sites/oi.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/shared/docs/oip3.pdf The Edwin Smith surgical papyrus, Vol. 1] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20230505210803/https://isac.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/shared/docs/oip4.pdf The Edwin Smith surgical papyrus, Vol. 2] published in facsimile and hieroglyphic transliteration with translation and commentary in two volumes in 1930 by the University of Chicago Press, Oriental Institute, Chicago, Illinois, by [[James Henry Breasted]], fulltext of translation with original hieroglyphics (printed) and commentary.
{{refend}}

{{Ancient Egyptian medicine}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith Papyrus, Edwin}}
[[Category:Ancient Egyptian medical works]]
[[Category:Papyri from ancient Egypt]]
[[Category:2nd-millennium BC manuscripts]]
[[Category:History of medicine]]
[[Category:Medical texts]]
[[Category:16th-century BC literature]]
[[Category:Military medicine books]]