History of Pharmacology: Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt is well known for mummies, tombs, and pyramids, but the ancient society also had well-developed systems of medicine and pharmacy. Health and sickness were seen as an eternal fight between good and evil. Physical procedures and natural ingredients were combined with rituals and incantations in the administration of herbal remedies. Experimentation and observation were used along with magic and ritual, and many complementary medicine modalities originated with the ancient Egyptians, including spiritual healing, massage, manipulation, and herbal medicine.

From the dawn of Egyptian civilization (c. 3300 b.c.e). until the Persian invasion (525 b.c.e)., Egyptian medical practices were largely unchanged, but were highly advanced for the time. Drug therapy is one of the most important Egyptian contributions to classical medicine. A wide array of botanical, ...