[Cardiopulmonary resuscitation already in Egypt 5,000 years ago?].
In light of the medically relevant features of the ancient Egyptian mouth-opening ceremony, the question of the effectiveness of medical practices in Egypt thousands of years ago is examined, whereby the religious and cultural framework also plays a significant role. In the Land on the Nile myth and reality clearly generated special conditions which favoured the systematic treatment of questions of resuscitation. Numerous examples show that this had practical consequences in the area of everyday medicine. In addition, rebirth and resurrection were central elements of the cult of the dead which had exact medical equivalents. These equivalents may demonstrate the advanced state of resuscitation practices in Egypt at that time. In this context, a reconstruction of an ancient Egyptian mouth-opening instrument is presented. In the cult of the dead, this instrument played a role which can be compared to the function of a modern laryngoscope. It appears possible that at the time of the pyramids the Egyptians already had an understanding of the technology required to perform instrument-aided artificial respiration. Whether or not they actually possessed a fundamental knowledge of the principles of cardio-pulmonary resuscitation remains unclear. Nevertheless, the astonishingly functional characteristics of the reconstructed mouth-opening instrument suggest that it was developed for more than purely symbolic purposes.
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Abteilung für Anüsthesiologie und operative Intensivmedizin, St. Genrauden, Krunkenhaus Berlin, Bundesrepublik Deutschland.
D002048:Burial / Q000266:history; D000076144:Egypt, Ancient; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D020704:Laryngoscopes; D007828:Laryngoscopy / Q000266:history*; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D012151:Resuscitation / Q000266:history* / Q000295:instrumentation