The quick and the dead : : biomedical theory in ancient Egypt / / Andrew H. Gordon and Calvin W. Schwabe.

• Superior document: Egyptological memoirs, 4
• Author: Gordon, Andrew H.
• TeilnehmendeR: Schwabe, Calvin W.
• Year of Publication: 2004
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: Egyptological memoirs ; 4.
• Physical Description: xxii, 236 p. :; ill.
• Notes: Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph
• Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• ISBN: 1280859083; 9786610859085; 9047404165
• ISSN: 1387-2710
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: Andrew H. Gordon and Calvin W. Schwabe.

This volume uses a cross-disciplinary approach to examine the origins of ancient Egyptian medicine in the domestication, care and sacrifice of cattle. Ritual cattle sacrifice in Egypt led to a rudimentary understanding of animal anatomy and physiology, which was then applied to humans. Two original theories developed from this comparative medicine: Life as movement, especially seen in the fasciolations of excised limbs, and the male's role in reproduction. Discussions include Egypt as a cattle culture, the ka as an animating force, "living flesh," the possible animal origins of the ankh , djed and was hieroglyphs, the bull's foreleg and the Opening-of-the-Mouth ritual, Egypt's healing establishment, and veterinary medicine as it relates to the origin of human medicine.