Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Dental and Medical Problems Tortured Egyptians


Although we take doctors and dentists for granted today, ancient people didn’t always have medical care available at their fingertips. Cavities and worn teeth had a negative impact on Egyptians, recent studies show that many ancient Egyptians suffered from a multitude of dental problems which caused excruciating pain, including cavities, abscesses, and periodontal diseases. The teeth on most mummies excavated are very well preserved, thus providing the opportunity for researchers to do CT imaging. Dental troubles were not the only problem of the ancient Egyptians however; many endured chronic infectious middle ear diseases as well as tuberculosis. Pulmonary diseases are being discovered in the ancient Egyptian mummies as well. These diseases, such as pneumonia, have been linked to the presence of carbon in the lungs. The death of Egyptians however remains a mystery, the embalming process and the nature of the diseases makes the death difficult to diagnose. Although in most cases, the deaths occurred due to disease, trauma, and malnutrition. Consequently, the medical well being of some Egyptians lead to a life of suffering and pain.


http://news.discovery.com/archaeology/mummies-teeth-disease-diagnosis.html

Mason G. Period 7

5 comments:

Megan Opfer said...

This article was so interesting! It's almost unthinkable how the Egyptians managed to accomplish so many feats while enduring the excruciating pains described in this article. Even though they probably did not know what it was like to live without pain, these people must have had an extremely high tolerance to maintain their society.

DianaD said...

I thought this was very well-written. I agree with Megan, that it's pretty amazing how the Egyptians could accomplish so much while bearing all that pain! I really hate going to the dentist, but at least I won't have to endure the excruciating pain that the Egyptians faced! The closest thing we have to the Egyptians' dental pain is braces... but those are thought of as good for you, to straighten your teeth! I wonder how they got carbon in their lungs...?

SPWS said...

I'm very glad that I lived in this modern era. If not, I will also suffer the dental and medical problems like the Egyptians.
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