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Community Project Magazine 2020-2021

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Pharmacy and Medicine in Ancient Egypt

Pharmacy through the Centuries

Pharmacy Practice in Egypt

"We are Changing the World with Technology"

Written By: EPSF Editorial Team 2020-21 Ms. Aya Hamdy, Content Writers Coordinator 1. Ms. Alaa Shaban

3. Ms. Rowan Mowad

2. Ms. Aya Shawkat

4. Ms. Yara Kamel

Pharmacy and Medicine in Ancient Egypt The ancient Egyptians built one of the most marvelous civilizations ever known to man. They had an organized economy and system of government, a settled population, social conventions, and properly enforced laws. This stability allowed medical research to develop. The ancient Egyptians had a great knowledge of the therapeutically effects of plants and other medicinal practices, and they passed this knowledge from father to son throughout the generations.

THE EBERS PAPYRUS Archaeologists have found a number of written records that describe ancient Egyptian medical practice, including the Ebers Papyrus. This document contains over 700 remedies and magical formulas and scores of incantations aimed at repelling demons that cause disease. The authors probably wrote them around 1500 B.C.E., but the document may contain copies of material dating back to 3400 B.C.E. They are among the oldest preserved medical documents in existence. The scroll provides evidence of some sound scientific procedures. Doctors appear to have had fairly good knowledge about bone structure and some awareness of how the brain and liver and other important organs (such as the heart) worked. The scroll also discussed complex topics such as mental illnesses, dementia, and depression. There was also advice about basic hygiene, birth control, and skin and eye problems. In addition, there is evidence that doctors knew how to set broken bones and treat burns. The Egyptians also practiced dentistry. Caries and tooth decay appear to have been common.

Remedies included: 

Cumin, incense, and onion to treat swollen gums.



Opium, possibly, to treat pain.



Drilling holes into the jaw to drain an abscess.

However, they do not seem to have extracted teeth.

MAGIC AND RELIGION Everyday life in Egypt involved beliefs and fear of magic, gods, demons, evils spirits, and so on. They believed that the gods created and controlled life. Heka was the goddess of magic and medicine while Bes, another god, protected women during pregnancy. People called upon Serket if they had a scorpion bite. Angry gods or evil forces caused bad luck and disaster, so people used magic and religion to deal with these forces and to treat people. Priests and doctors were often one and the same. Many healers were priests of Sekhmet, an Egyptian warrior goddess and the goddess of healing, curses, and threats. As well as science, treatment involved the use of magic, incantations, amulets, aromas, offerings, tattoos, and statues. The religious and magic rituals and procedures probably had a powerful placebo effect, so they may have resulted in healing.

IMPORTANT FIGURES IN ANCIENT EGYPTIAN MEDICINE Hesy- Ra The earliest ever record of a male physician was Hesy-Ra in 2700 B.C.E. He was “Chief of Dentists and Doctors” to King Dioser. Hesy-Ra was an ancient Egyptian high official during the early Third Dynasty of Egypt. His most notable title was Wer-ibeḥsenjw, meaning either "Great one of the ivory cutters" or "Great one of the dentists", which would make him the earliest named dentist.

Peseshest The first record of a female doctor was probably Peseshet in 2400 B.C.E., the supervisor of all female doctors, but there may have been female doctors as early as 3000 B.C.E. Peseshet, who lived under the Fourth Dynasty, is often credited with being the earliest known female physician in ancient Egypt. Her relevant title was "lady overseer of the female physicians."

Pharmacy through the Centuries Pharmacy is a very mixed science, it contains both chemistry and biology along with a little bit of physics to spice it up. No one can deny the huge growing importance of pharmacy practices in our modern world. But that can leave us wondering: what was the spark that lightened up our ancestors' minds to develop such a complex and diverse science? And how was pharmacy modified throughout the ages? That’s what we’re going to dive in to today, so lend me your ears my friends, and let me be your guide during our historical journey on a magic carpet as old as time.

ANCIENT EGYPT Our first destination will be where it all began, in a land that existed even before history, ancient Egypt. Using herbs and medicinal plants as remedies, the Egyptians were able to make pills, tablets, infusions, ointments, and plasters, in addition to smoking materials. Not only did they make medicine from vegetable origin (like poppy, acanthus, resin, turpentine, and palm oil), but they also made medicine from animal origin like hair, bile, fat and teeth. The Egyptians were also successful in making cosmetics and skin products which is why the Ancient Egyptian civilization is considered the birthplace of dermatology.

BABYLON CIVILIZATION On the other hand, a little bit more to the east, in the cradle of civilization and the jewel of ancient Mesopotamia, is ancient Babylon. The people of the Babylonian Empire were the first to practice the apothecary art, that method was the first to combine the herbal or chemical care with the spiritual care. In 2600 B.C, that practice was shared among priests, physicians and pharmacists. The Babylonian medical texts, which were carved on clay, showed us the steps of the apothecary method. 1. Physicians recorded the symptoms and suggested prescription to treat the patient. 2. Pharmacists would file and compound the prescription. 3. Priests would invocate to the gods and pray for the ill.

CHINA’S CONTRIBUTIONS Now, our magic carpet will fly us to the Far East, land of charm and cherry blossom trees, off we go to China. In ancient China 2000 B.C, there were legends that claimed that investigations of hundreds of plants’ medical properties took place. This led to recording more than 365 native herbal drugs. That marvelous knowledge was collected and written by the great emperor Shen Nung in a book called: “The great herbal”.

WORLD FIRST PHARMACOPOEIA Later in the following millennial, Hippocrates was known to be one of the most ancient medicinal specialists. During that time, drugs were attributed to mythical Chiron (a centaur in Greek mythology who was believed to have great wisdom and knowledge of medicine). In that era during the beginning of the 2nd century, Asclepiades (a well-known Greek physician) created the first drug pharmacopoeia ever to be introduced to humanity, and it was known by history to include nearly 500 different drugs.

THE DARK AGES, BUT NOT SO DARK FOR THE ARABS Moving forward to a more recent era, we got the dark ages. However, the Arabs were known to yield the brightest culture during the dark ages of Europe. The time between the 9th and 13th century was definitely the golden period of the Arabic sciences; they mastered the skill of using their own culture, natural resources, and trade links in order to contribute to great development of pharmacy, which was then - after the collapse of the Arab rule - taken over by the Turks along with the cultural heritage.

Unfortunately, our journey is done for now; the world we be forever grateful for every culture that contributed to the development of pharmacy as we know it today. And the tiniest try of each scientist of any age that helped format the pharmaceutical sciences. As the art of creating various medicines and pharmaceutical dosage forms can’t be of any less importance than creating life itself.

Pharmacy Practice in Egypt Egypt is one of the pioneers in the region with respect to modern pharmacy education and practice, which was started in the nineteenth century. Currently, Egypt has the fourth highest number of pharmacists per 10,000 of population in the world. Pharmacists in Egypt are employed in various sectors, including enforcement, drug information, pharmaceutical product sales and promotion, manufacturing, research, academia, and hospital and community pharmacy. Pharmacists are also involved in other professional practices, including forensic services, biomedical laboratories, the cosmetic industry, veterinary medicine, and military pharmacy services. The majority of pharmacists in Egypt work in community pharmacies, followed by hospitals as well as industrial, academic, and research institutions.

COMMUNITY PHARMACY They are present in all areas of Egypt from big cities to small villages and provide pharmaceutical care to their customers. The role of the community pharmacist is essential in the provision of medical care. In addition to dispensing of prescription drugs and extemporaneous preparation, community pharmacists recommend OTC (over the counter) drugs for treatment of simple ailments, monitor drug therapy, and perform tests to monitor chronic diseases, such as blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol monitoring. They also perform public health activities to promote healthy lifestyles. Many patients refer to pharmacists in seeking advice about their symptoms and get information about local physicians they should visit for treatment.

PHARMACY IN HOSPITALS Hospital and clinical pharmacy services and awareness about their importance are rapidly increasing nowadays in many governmental and private hospitals. The Hospital Pharmacy Department within the Ministry of Health has devoted a sincere effort to putting forth standardized clinical pharmacy implementation guidelines that include a clinical pharmacist job description, a hospital pharmacist job description, criteria for establishment of clinical pharmacy units and drug information services, clinical pharmacy staff development, facilities and infrastructure, and a drug information pharmacist job description.

INDUSTRIAL PHARMACY There are 119 licensed pharmaceutical manufacturers in Egypt. They are mainly involved in the production of formulations from pharmaceutical starting materials and some involvement in the repackaging of finished dosage. They perform many duties, including manufacturing, quality assurance and control, drug registration, research and development, marketing, and clinical trials.

Finally, producing graduates with a high competency level and keeping them updated through their career pathway is a big challenge but crucial to insure that the pharmacy practice keeps improving and saving lives by the minute. The pharmacy profession is responsible for ensuring equity, accessibility, and affordability of essential drugs and vaccines to the entire Egyptian population.

"We are changing the World with Technology" When you hear the word technology, Mobile phones, laptops, robots, electronic cars, and smart homes must have crossed your mind. These devices facilitate your life and make it easier for you to do your job. They save you a lot of time and effort. Now we are going to explore some new pharmaceutical technologies around the world and you will have a close look on the future yourself. Let’s have a look on the future together, shall we?

In an era of rapid change in health care delivery, the pharmacy profession is experiencing significant growth and development .Traditionally, pharmacy was all about preparing drug products for medicinal use. Now, the pharmacist is the only drug expert. And as the role of pharmacy and pharmacist in the health care system evolved over years, technologies as artificial intelligence, virtual health, AR-VR, Digital Apps 3D printer, and organ on chips help imagine a new integrated future of health. So, here we start with some trending technologies that are already changing and will have a great impact on shaping the modern pharmaceutical industry.

Artificial Intelligence and machine learning are now being used for conducting repetitive tasks such as data entry, lab test analysis, data management, medical consultations, medication management, disease identification, and diagnosis. Don’t be amazed just yet, that is not everything. It will also help to reshape the future with the huge amount of patient data it holds. It will make us see the effect of a particular drug on thousands of people in seconds rather than months. IoT, which stands for Internet of everything, refers to the billions of physical devices around the world that are now connected to the internet, all collecting and sharing data. It has interesting potential to help the pharmaceutical industry. Introducing a network of connected devices with monitoring sensors can reduce the risk of machinery malfunctions and guarantee precision production by detecting issues and making adjustments before they cause a problem. Organs on Chips is basically an individualized computer simulation used in the development or regulatory evaluation of a medication product, device, or intervention. While completely simulated clinical trials are not feasible with current technology and understanding of biology, its development would be expected to have major benefits over current in vivo clinical trials. And it will make Testing drugs on humans or animals in the framework of costly and lengthy clinical trials disappear.

Theses few previous examples are a living proof of the miracle of the human brain. And these inventions show us that a dream can be true with research, hard work and dedication.