In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Fractures Modern people tend to think of broken bones (fractures) as less serious medical problems because of our facility in stabilizing the broken bone until it fully heals. Fractures in earlyhumansmusthavebeenlife-threateningproblems.Withoutstabilizingtheboneinthe correct position, the fracture might never heal or could knit in a configuration that would be detrimental to function. This could markedly interfere with the individual’s ability to compete in a hostile environment. Other more immediate problems associated with fractures include secondary infections and blood clots. Ancient Mesopotamians recognized the potential problems associated with fractures. Legal codes specified penalties for deliberately breaking the bones of another individual.1 One text even provided a penalty for causing a hired ox to break its leg. There are also letters that refer to various accidents resulting in broken bones. Two are particularly noteworthy : “a pig crossed (in front of) me so that I fell and broke my foot”2 and “Two slaves fell into a well. One of them broke a collar bone and the other broke his hip.”3 The amshipu had methods for the treatment of fractures that included stabilization of the brokenboneandplantmedicinestopreventinfection.Thesecondtextbelowseemstoindicate that physicians were aware of the importance of proper alignment of the broken bone for a successful outcome. 11.1 ana shi-me-er-te ka-li-shu shu-s.e-e LÚ TI . . . (BAM 158 iv 26–27//BAM 171:44⬘; AMT 82/1:10⬘) **To make any kind of fracture go away (and) to cure the man . . . chapter 11 Bones and Joints If you want to lubricate stiff hips . . . —AMT 56/1 r. 5⬘//AMT 69/8:11 11.2 she-bir-tú ana ke-shi-ru . . . (BM 30918:32//BAM 124 iii 57//BAM 125:28//BAM 413 obv. 1⬘–2⬘) **To straighten up fractures . . . We have from another reference the ingredients for the material used to make a fracture -stabilizing cast. Physicians called this “a bandage to make (limbs) go straight” (BAM 181:7). It included crushing together a mixture of reeds and cuttings (probably used to strengthen the cement), plaster of Paris (gas.s.u), wheat and barley flour, gums, malt, gazelle dung, and oven slag, and boiling it in beer to form a medicated cement. Boiling would sterilize the ingredients, especially the dung. Unfortunately, there is no information about how the cast was put on, or how long it was left in place. Joints The mechanical ability to manipulate our environment depends on muscles attached to intact stable bones, as well as joints that permit movement when the muscles contract. If our joints were to freeze up, we would end up in the same predicament as the tin woodsman in the Wizard of Oz. Ancient Mesopotamian physicians knew that smooth, free movement of joints was important. 11.3 DISHa-na MURUB4 ásh-t.a-a-te lu-ub-bu-ka . . . (AMT 56/1 r. 5⬘//AMT 69/8 obv. 11)4 **If you want to lubricate stiff hips . . . Ancient physicians distinguished three different varieties/grades of joint immobility and change. The term asht.u, which also means “hard” and is used to describe the impenetrable qualities of stone walls, mountain passes, and the cuneiform script,5 was applied to joints with severe stiffness. As one might suppose from this, affected limbs were not merely stiff but also hard and might actually be immobilized, as in the last reference. 11.4 [DI]SHNA GÚ-su ush-shu-ut. . . . (SpTU 3.100:1)6 **{If} a person’s neck is stiff all over . . . 11.5 Ú.MESH MURUB4 ás h-t.a-te . . . (BAM 80:9; BAM 380:12//STT 92 iii 28⬘; BAM 327 i 10⬘)7 **Plants for stiff hips . . . 11.6 DISH U4.5.KÁM U4.10.KÁM U4.15.KÁM U4.20.KÁM U.MESH SHUII-s hú u GÌRII-shú ams há ash-t.a-a-ma BAD-a u GUB-za NU ZU-e SHU d15 us h-s har-ma : is h-s hìr-ma DIN (DPS XVI:59⬘–60⬘ [AOAT 43.177])8 **If he has been sick for five, ten, fifteen, (and then) twenty days (and) the digits of his hands and his feet are immobilized (and) so stiff that he cannot open (them) or stand (on them), “hand” of Ishtar. (If) it leaves him (var. he comes through), he will get well. The second category of joint stiffness, shaggu or s higgatu,9 was used to refer to stiff necks, feet, and...

Share