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THE OATH OF IMHOTEP: INRECOGNITION OF AFRICANCONTRIBUTIONS TO WESTERNMEDICINEAnthony Carl Pickett, MDWashington, DC

A large body of primary knowledge supports theclaim that Africans in antiquity made many significantcontributions to western medicine and were the origina-tors of medicine.1 Greek philosophers such as Pythago-ras and Isocrates, historians such as Herodotus, andphysicians such as Hippocrates and Galen write of thisin their works.2 Current medical history texts do notadequately reflect the many contributions to modernmedicine made by people of color throughout history.This oath was written neither to subvert tradition nor todevalue the impact that early, well-known figures hadon western medicine. Rather, it is written in the memoryand recognition of the historical father of medicine,Imhotep.3 It alludes to the early African concept ofmonotheism4 in contrast to the Hippocratic oath, whichgives praise to the Greek gods and goddesses ofhealth-Apollo, Panacea, Aesculapius, and Hygeia.The oath presented here stands as an alternative.

DISCUSSIONImhotep would be considered, by today's standards,

to be the world's first "multi-" genius. He lived about3000 BC during the reign of Pharoah Zoser, in the ThirdDynasty. As a member of the pharoah's court, he was anengineer, architect, scribe, sage, priest, and physician.He is credited with building the stepladder Pyramid ofSaqqara and the world's first hospital. He also wasresponsible for instructing many Greeks on the philoso-phy and practice of the art of medicine.5 In fact,

From the Howard University College of Medicine, Washington,DC. Requests for reprints should be addressed to Dr AnthonyCarl Pickett, Howard University College of Medicine, Office ofthe Dean, 520 W St, NW, Washington, DC 20059.

Isocrates traced the teachings of Hippocrates back toPythagoras. He claims that Pythagoras, after havingstudied in Egypt (KiMiT) for 22 years, returned toGreece to impart his newly acquired medical knowl-edge to his contemporaries.6 Anthropologist CheikhAnta Diop contends that KiMiT was a scientific andmedical Mecca where "Mediterranean peoples went ona pilgrimage to drink at the fount of scientific, religious,moral, and social knowledge, the most ancient suchknowledge that mankind had acquired."4The Edwin Smith Papyri, probably written around

1500 BC but based on works dating back to about 3000BC, contains the earliest known information aboutsurgery in use at the time. It describes clinical medicine,the use of experimental scientific observation, andmany diagnostic and therapeutic modalities. It reportsremarkably accurate observations on physiology, anat-omy, and pathology. Breasted attributes its authorshipto Imhotep.7 The Papyri describe accurate anatomical-clinical correlations, speaks of the use of cautery,hemostasis, tapes, sutures, and the beginnings ofantisepsis with copper salts.8 Osler stated that Imhotepwas "the first figure of a physician to stand out clearlyfrom the midst of antiquity."9

CONCLUSIONIt is the hope of this author that this article will

provoke thought, discussion, and further personalresearch, thereby bringing to the fore other individualswhose contributions have gone unrecognized (espe-cially women). The accompanying oath was written inthe spirit of the restoration of culture, the reclamation ofidentity, and in recognition of Imhotep, the historicalfather of medicine.

636 JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, VOL. 84, NO. 7

MEDICAL HISTORY

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AcknowledgmentThe author thanks his grandparents, Leo and Tommie

Pickett, for their inspiration, and Ivan Van Sertima and FredrickNewsome, MD, for their work on this subject.

Literature Cited1. Newsome F. Black contributions to the early history of

Western medicine. J Natl Med Assoc. 1 979;71 :189-193.2. Saunders JB. The Tradition From Ancient Egypt to

Greek Medicine: Logan Clendening Lectures on History andPhilosophy of Medicine. Lawrence, Kan: University Press ofKansas; 1963.

3. Hurry JB. Imhotep. Chicago, III: Ares Publishers Inc;1978.

4. Diop CA. The African Origins of Civilization: Myth andReality. New York, NY: Lawrence Hill; 1974.

5. Luth VP. Imhotep Oder Asklepios: On the Beginning ofScientific Medicine in Egypt and Greece. Hippocrate; 1963.

6. Galimard P. Hippocrate et La Tradition Pythagoriciene.Paris, France: 1940. Thesis.

7. Breasted JH. The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyri. Chicago,III: University of Chicago Press; 1930.

8. Majno G. The Healing Hand: Man and Wound in AncientWorld. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press; 1977.

9. Osler Sir W. Evolution of Modern Medicine. New Haven,Conn: 1983.

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