Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus: 17th century BC
The National Library of Medicine has provided online access to the Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus. The papyrus was discovered in Egypt by American archeologist Edwin Smith in the 1860′s. The text is thought to have been created around 1600 BC. Written in Ancient Egyptian hieratic script, the papyrus contains 48 cases of wounds and trauma and offers a detailed description of the injuries, diagnoses, prognoses, and treatments. The original papyrus currently resides at the Library of the New York Academy...
