An investigation of the pharmacological applications used for the Ancient Egyptian systemic model ‘ra-ib’ compared with modern Traditional Chinese Medicine

Abstract Ethnopharmacological relevance Ancient Egyptian texts only offer glimpses into their conceptual understandings of the inner-body and illness manifestation. Explanations of how prescribed materia medica were believed to work are rare and obscure, often resulting in modern approximations for ancient terminology such as ‘ra-ib’—an ancient Egyptian classification predominantly translated as ‘stomach’—leading to misunderstandings of historical texts, and therefore their use of pharmacology. Aim of the study To investigate the ra-ib and the explanatory models of illness from the Egyptian perspective, and to explore the link between these and the prescribed selection of materia medica. To…