Bone fractures and their treatment in ancient Egypt based on the Edwin-Smith papyri

Ancient Egypt refers to the area along the Nile River where the Ancient Egyptian civilisation developed. As a state creation, Egypt was the place of many firsts, including architecture, art, economy, and science. Over time, within the priestly class in Egypt, priests began to appear who devoted their lives to different sciences, primarily astronomy, astrology, but also medicine. Ancient Egyptian medicine will be the focus of this paper, together with the diagnostic procedures, methods, and different ways of treating bone fractures, which will all be presented in more detail throughout the paper. Despite the fact that the paper will discuss extremely old historical periods, sources for this topic can be found in ancient Egyptian papyri that have survived to the present day. This is why the Edwin-Smith Papyrus, which is a treasure trove of ancient Egyptian medical science, should be highlighted. Also, since the Egyptian religion was deeply ingrained in Egyptian society, it should not be surprising that numerous medical procedures and remedies can be found in the magical texts/incantations that the ancient priests would recite during the process of treating a patient. This paper will first briefly present ancient Egyptian medicine in general, then its close connection with religion and magic, and finally, the diagnostics, methods, and interventions used by ancient doctors to treat bone fractures of their patients as described in the Edwin-Smith Papyrus.