Schesau
| Schesau in hieroglyphics | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
schesau šs3.w Medicine, pathology, diagnostics |
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Schesau refers to an ancient Egyptian medical teaching text. It served Egyptian doctors to pass on medical knowledge to students, successors or other doctors. It is probably the oldest known written formulation of medicine as a science .
The best-known Egyptian teaching texts include the medical Lahun papyri , the book of wounds of the Edwin Smith papyrus , as well as the stomach and tumor book of the Ebers papyrus .
terminology
The word šs3.w is derived from šs3 , which means “to be knowledgeable, to be knowledgeable”. The term thus describes customer or medicine and expresses the intention to pass on knowledge to others. The term can also be compared with today's word information.
construction
The teaching texts were usually structured according to the same scheme, but were often shortened in practice. The structure was highlighted in red ink in the text ( rubrum ). A typical full teaching text was structured as follows:
- heading
- In contrast to usual texts, the headline was only secondary and could often be missing. She was present, she had the form of medicine for the disease X or the Y sick .
- examination
- The investigation was started with the words “when you investigate” or similar phrases. The words "and (if) you find" were followed by a list of symptoms . These were either immediately visible or had to be determined through the intervention of the doctor, e.g. B. by palpating a wound.
- diagnosis
- The diagnosis began with the words "then you should say about it" and summarized again which illness the symptoms indicated. Often this was already mentioned in the heading and in the examination, but a more precise specification could be made in the diagnosis. The repetition of the disease name could be a relic from earlier times when healing practices were accompanied by magic acts and it was necessary to know the name of the disease demon or god in order to meet him with the spell.
- verdict
- The diagnosis was followed by the verdict (or prognosis ), which assessed the chances of recovery and occurred in three stages:
- "A disease that I will treat."
- "A disease I'll struggle with."
- "A disease that is not treated."
- therapy
- The therapy contained the actual prescription part and was introduced with the words “then you should do it”. The prescription could consist of medications to be taken, enema, or emetics . Possible were associations or ointments to be rubbed. Surgical measures could result in the placement or splinting of bones or the cutting / burning out of tumors and ulcers . In some cases, special treatments have also been used, such as: B. instilling the remedy with the help of a vulture feather in an eye injury. The treatment often ended with the indication that the patient would be healthy again after a few days.
- Glosses
- If necessary, glosses appeared at the end of each case , which were used to explain outdated words or expressions in more detail and to make them understandable for readers of the time. A typical gloss was of the form: "As for: A. - That is or means: B".
- Alternatives and special features
- If there were deviations from the normal case, the sentence: “But if you find it” followed, and the procedure of the examination, the diagnosis, the verdict or the therapy could be changed. Normal follow-up treatments, which provided new findings and diagnoses, were also initiated with these words.
See also
literature
- Wolfhart Westendorf : Handbook of ancient Egyptian medicine. Volume 1, Leiden-Boston-Cologne 1999 (Handbuch der Orientalistik, 36), ISBN 90-04-11320-7 , pp. 82-86.