History of occupational medicine: relevance of Imhotep and the Edwin Smith papyrus.

Abstract

The origins of the recorded history of occupational medicine are usually dated to the time of Hippocrates (c460 BCE-c370 BCE).1 2 Hippocrates's admonition to his followers to observe the environment of their patients was complemented by his descriptions of the diseases of certain occupations including those of metallurgists, fullers, tailors, horsemen, farmhands, and fishermen.12 Before Hippocrates in the history of occupational medicine, reference is sometimes made to the fact that the study of the diseases of occupations is as old as man and his work; in certain texts considerable attention is paid to the work and related hazards of primitive and prehistoric peoples.3 The transition in the history of occupational medicine from prehistory to the recorded history of Hippo crates, however, passes over a body of writing with acknowledged relevance to the general history of medicine, the Egyptian papyri.4 These writings have special relevance to the recorded history of occupational medicine as well.