Highlights
- •Surgery in Ancient Mesopotamia was performed by the physician, the asû or āšipu.
- •Surgeons performed complex procedures, including scalp abscess and empyema drainage, after careful diagnostic evaluation.
- •Surgery was part of a holistic approach to disease, integrated with spiritual/magical practices.
Abstract
Background
The Ancient Mesopotamian civilization, the earliest known, emerged in the fourth millennium
BCE.1 While the advent of medicine is established, there is little understanding of surgery's
origins. We sought to describe the characteristics and medical acumen of the surgeons
of the first civilization.
Methods
Source documents and commentary on Mesopotamian medicine were systematically analyzed
for evidence of surgery and physician descriptions.
Results
Early tablets reveal evidence of the incisional drainage of a scalp abscess and empyema,
advanced wound care, fracture alignment, and possible caesarians without evidence
of wound suturing, emergency procedures, trephination, or circumcision.2 While the asû and āšipu understood disease processes, strong evidence of an inextricable connection between
spiritual and diagnostic/curative roles exists.
Conclusions
Mesopotamian physicians were diagnosticians and healers, approaching surgery as part
of their holistic practice rather than a separate entity. Surgery was utilized as
an endpoint to a careful process aided by objective evaluation and spiritual incantation.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: April 01, 2022
Accepted:
March 25,
2022
Received in revised form:
February 18,
2022
Received:
October 26,
2021
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
