Ebers Papyrus: Egyptian Medical Text
c. 1550 BCE · Ancient World
A 110-page hieratic scroll measuring approximately 20 meters in length, the Ebers Papyrus contains 842 remedies using 328 ingredients across 876 prescriptions. Composed during the reign of Amenhotep I, it covers internal medicine, ophthalmology, dermatology, dentistry, gynecology, and surgical treatment of tumors. The text includes a description of the circulatory system recognizing the heart as center of blood supply. German Egyptologist Georg Ebers purchased the scroll at Luxor in 1873 from the Theban necropolis.
Key Figures
Georg Ebers
Locations
Thebes
Topics
pharmacologymedical textshieratic writingancient remediesEgyptian medicinecirculatory system
Connected Events — 2 Connections
Contemporary Egyptian medical papyrus — Edwin Smith focuses on surgery while Ebers covers internal medicine and pharmacology Edwin Smith Papyrus: Empirical Approach to Surgery
Egyptian empirical medical tradition predated Greek rational medicine by a millennium Hippocrates Establishes Medicine as a Rational Discipline
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