Diseases in ancient Egyptians

This book highlights some of the important diseases documented in Egyptian populations, both ancient and contemporary. It is well known that, studying diseases in ancient populations plays a major role in understanding the origin and evolution of diseases, in addition it can help in their prevention. Most diseases that have been diagnosed in the ancient Egyptian populations are documented in medical papyri and on the temples and tombs. The discovery and translations of theses papyri, provide lots of important information about the history of these diseases and the pattern of their spread in such ancient populations, particularly, the ancient Egyptians. Many infectious diseases, tumors, diabetes, cardiovascular, malnutrition and orthopaedic diseases have been found in both ancient and contemporary Egyptian population. It is reasonable and expectable to find a decrease in the prevalence of some kind of diseases, such as infectious diseases and an increase in others such as tumors. In conclusion, increased levels pollutants, bad habits, sedentary lifestyle and high sugar and fat content in the diets contribute to the high prevalence of some kind of diseases at the moment among people.