Edwin Smith Papyrus: Empirical Approach to Surgery

An ancient Egyptian medical scroll dating to around 1600 BCE — and likely copied from an original as old as 3000 BCE — the Edwin Smith Papyrus documents 48 cases of trauma injuries with systematic examination, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. Unlike other Egyptian medical texts steeped in magic, it applies rational, empirical reasoning throughout. It contains the earliest known descriptions of the brain, meninges, cerebrospinal fluid, and intracranial pulsations. Purchased in Luxor in 1862 and first translated in 1930, it remains the oldest surviving surgical treatise.