Ancient Egypt, renowned for its advanced medical practices and profound understanding of human anatomy, has once again provided a pivotal insight into the history of medicine: evidence of early attempts at surgical intervention for brain tumors dating back to approximately 4,700 years ago.
The discovery centers around the remains of a man who lived between 2,686 BCE and 2,345 BCE, revealing remarkable insights into ancient Egyptian medical practices. Upon analyzing the man’s skull using micro-computed tomography (CT) scans, scientists from the Duckworth Laboratory at Cambridge in the UK uncovered telltale signs of malignant brain tumors. These tumors were not only present but had left discernible scarring on the cranial walls.
What makes this finding truly groundbreaking is the identification of tiny cut marks on the skull, indicative of surgical intervention. This suggests that ancient Egyptian physicians were either attempting to remove the malignant tumors or conducting an autopsy to study them postmortem – an unprecedented revelation in the history of medicine.
Senior study author Dr. Edgard Camarós, a professor at the University of Santiago de Compostela in Coruña told CNN, “It was the very first time that humanity was dealing surgically with what we nowadays call cancer.”
“If those cut marks were done with that person alive, we’re talking about some kind of treatment directly related to the cancer,” or “it means that this is a medical autopsy exploration in relation to that cancer.”
While evidence of crania surgery dates back to the Neolithic period, this case represents the earliest known instance involving cancer. It underscores the advanced medical knowledge and surgical skill possessed by ancient Egyptian physicians, whose expertise is documented in several treatises and medical dictionaries on papyrus. These ancient detail various ailments and their treatments, providing insights into the medical practices of the time.
Interestingly, one such document, the Edwin Smith papyrus, acknowledges breast cancer but notes the absence of a cure or effective treatment – a testament to the challenges faced by these early physicians in combating certain diseases.
For ancient Egyptian physicians, cancer represented a frontier in medical science – a complex challenge that pushed the boundaries of their understanding.
Another skull from the Duckworth collection, labeled E270 and dating back approximately 2,000 years later, also revealed evidence of bone damage caused by malignant tumors. Although the tumors were not removed, this women’s skull exhibited signs of a prior medical intervention for a fracture, which she lived with for years before her death.
In both cases, skull treatment would have been excruciatingly painful and impossible to perform neatly without some form of anesthesia. This implies that the Egyptians must have developed powerful painkillers beyond the use of simple analgesic plants.
The Duckworth skulls offer an astonishing glimpse into the skills of ancient surgeons and demonstrate that cancer has affected human mortality long before the extended lifespans of modern times.
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