5/6/2023 0 Comments Ebers papyrus author![]() ![]() All parts of the plant contain toxic chemicals. In addition to its medicinal use, squill has been employed as a poison. The plant has also been used in folk medicine as a laxative and to clear mucus build-up. Over the centuries, Drimia maritima was used as a common treatment for dropsy (abnormal accumulation of fluid in tissues) before the more effective foxglove ( Digitalis sp.) became the standard treatment during the 18 th century. One of the earliest medical applications of the sea squill came from the Greek physician Hippocrates (4 th century BCE), who advocated its use to treat jaundice (yellowing of the skin), convulsions and asthma. Materia Medica jar containing sea squill bulb In the 6 th century BCE the Greek philosopher Pythagoras wrote about the uses of squill and, along with Dioscorides (1 st century ACE and author of De Materia Medica), recommended hanging the bulb to protect against evil spirits. Image taken from Drimia maritima flowersĭrimia maritima has been mentioned as far back as the 16 th century BCE in the Ebers Papyrus (an ancient Egyptian medicinal text). Pollination of the Drimia maritima flowers occurs by both insects (specifically the western honey bee, the Oriental hornet, and the paper wasp) and wind. This flower-bearing shoot can achieve a height of up to 2 metres. The leaves die away by autumn, when a shoot containing the flowers grows from the bulb. In the spring, the bulb produces a rosette of dark green, leathery leaves that can reach up to a metre long. It grows from a large bulb that can be up to 20 cm wide and a kilogram in weight. Sea squill from Boquer Valley, Mallorcaĭrimia maritima is a poisonous plant that grows in rocky coastal habitats across southern Europe, western Asia and northern Africa. During her time there she saw a number of sea squills ( Drimia maritima) so I thought I would write a post about this interesting plant. 1800 BC), and herbal remedies, and nutrition of Ancient Egypt.Earlier in the month Rachel went on a trip to Mallorca, with a group of 1st year undergraduates from the University of Manchester (for more information see her blog post: ). 1600 BC), the Kahun Gynecological Papyrus ( c. Please check out the Ancient Egyptian Medicine website, which talks in details not only about the Ebers Papyrus, but also about other famous Papyri such as the Edwin Smith Papyrus ( c. The Papyrus Ebers is currently kept at the Leipzig University‘s library (Ebers was chair of the Egyptology department there) in Germany. Yellow ochre was prescribed as a remedy for urological complaints. ![]() One of the most common remedies described in the papyrus is ochre, or medicinal clay, which was prescribed for intestinal and eye complaints. There is also a chapter titled Book of Hearts, which deals with mental disorders such as depression and dementia. It contains about 700 magical formulas and remedies, for things such as asthma, evacuation of belly, bowels, birth control, guinea worms (this remedy is still the standard practice today, over 3500 years later), and even cancer. It is written in hieratic Egyptian writing and preserves the most voluminous record of ancient Egyptian medicine known. It was given the name Ebers, after the man who purchased it in Luxor ( Thebes) in the winter of 1873-74, Georg Ebers, a German Egyptologist and novelist. The Papyrus Ebers is one of the oldest medical papyri still well-preserved. Even Homer of the Odyssey recognized this when he said, “ In Egypt, the men are more skilled in medicine than any of human kind” and “ the Egyptians were skilled in medicine more than any other art“. 33 rd century BC until Persian invasion in 525 BC, Egyptian medicine remained one of the world’s most advanced, and was used in some non-invasive surgery, setting of bones, and an extensive set of pharmacopeia. It is among the world’s oldest preserved medical documents.įrom c. It is 110-page scroll, and is about 20 m long. It is believed to have been copied from earlier texts. This papyrus is a medical papyrus of herbal knowledge, and dates back to c. Today, we will be talking about the Papyrus Ebers or Ebers Papyrus, which is among the oldest and most important medical papyri of Ancient Egypt and of the world. ![]()
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