ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on ancient Egyptian medicine, particularly highlighting the history of cardiovascular diseases, which remain very common in modern times as outlined in the chapter on their epidemiology. With foundations in anthropology medicine has close affiliations with most of the theologies, many of the philosophies, and with the ‘pseudosciences’ of alchemy and astrology. The history of medicine in ancient Egypt cannot be complete without a short description of the land of the pharaohs, in which many mysterious and majestic developments have taken place over 5,000 years. Since the fundamental problems of disease are almost the same across the ages, early ideas in medicine should be revisited. The story of Egypt begins when the first settlers descended into the Nile Valley before 7000 B.C. Thus started that vast era, termed Prehistory, during which the Egyptians began their long journey toward civilization.
