DOI issue:
Nr. 1
DOI article:Ruffer, Marc Amand: Histological studies on egyptian mummies
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.11327#0020
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usually of wax, but sometimes of bronze, bearing the conventional sign of the eye or
Uta. In some cases, the gaping wound was not protected by a plate of any sort ;
and in two cases examined by Prof. Elliot Smith, the edges were brought together and
kept in position by a running ligature.
In one mummy that I dissected, the wound was firmly closed by a linen plug
which must have been rammed in with considérable force, after the body had been well
fllled with earth.
Treatment The body cavity having thus been opened, the intestines, liver, spleen, kidneys,
tf organs and stomach, pelvic viscera and most of the vessels were completely removed. The dia-
body cavity.
phragm having been eut through, the lungs were freed by severing the bronchi, or, in
some cases, the lower end of the trachea.
The heart was left in the body but never exactly in the normal position. Gene-
rally it was pushed upwards into the upper part of the right side of the thorax; some-
times it was left in the middle line in front of the vertébral column, or again, it is found
in the left side of the chest.
In one mummy which I examined, the heart had been removed by the embalmer.
It had not been replaced in its proper position, however, for both kidneys filled the
pericardium. Behind the liver, there was a packet containing striped muscular fibre,
which was probably the heart.
Sometimes only the arch and a small part of the aorta were left behind, but in
one body, Prof. Elliot Smith found the whole aorta and iliac arteries. I also dissected
out the whole of the aorta (except the transverse part) together with the iliac arteries,
of one mummy.
After the viscera had been removed, both the body and the organs were put into
the saline bath, described by Herodotus. The various tissues of the body and the organs
contain saline material and the skin shows unmistakable signs of having been macerated
until ail the cuticle, together with the hair, except that of the head, had peeled off.
There are certainly exceptions to this rule, as in some cases I have found the epidermic
cells intact and even their nuclei stained well.
The heart left in the body cavity is always well preserved. In many cases,
the valves are intact and it is often possible to recognise the chordae tendineœ and
musculi papillares. As a rule, the organ is considerably damaged as the resuit, no doubt,
of unintentional hackings inflicted on it by the operator cutting through the roots of the
lungs and the œsophagus (Plate III, Figs. 2. 3.). The commonest injury to the heart is,
as is natural, a complète opening up of the left auricle, or often of both auricles; in many
cases, great gashes are found in one or both ventricles.
The cavities of the heart are in many subjects tightly stuffed with mud or a
mixture of mud and sawdust. How this material was introduced is doubtful.
The viscera, after having been removed from the sait bath, were thickly sprinkled
with coarse sawdust of various aromatic woods, and when still flexible, were moulded
usually of wax, but sometimes of bronze, bearing the conventional sign of the eye or
Uta. In some cases, the gaping wound was not protected by a plate of any sort ;
and in two cases examined by Prof. Elliot Smith, the edges were brought together and
kept in position by a running ligature.
In one mummy that I dissected, the wound was firmly closed by a linen plug
which must have been rammed in with considérable force, after the body had been well
fllled with earth.
Treatment The body cavity having thus been opened, the intestines, liver, spleen, kidneys,
tf organs and stomach, pelvic viscera and most of the vessels were completely removed. The dia-
body cavity.
phragm having been eut through, the lungs were freed by severing the bronchi, or, in
some cases, the lower end of the trachea.
The heart was left in the body but never exactly in the normal position. Gene-
rally it was pushed upwards into the upper part of the right side of the thorax; some-
times it was left in the middle line in front of the vertébral column, or again, it is found
in the left side of the chest.
In one mummy which I examined, the heart had been removed by the embalmer.
It had not been replaced in its proper position, however, for both kidneys filled the
pericardium. Behind the liver, there was a packet containing striped muscular fibre,
which was probably the heart.
Sometimes only the arch and a small part of the aorta were left behind, but in
one body, Prof. Elliot Smith found the whole aorta and iliac arteries. I also dissected
out the whole of the aorta (except the transverse part) together with the iliac arteries,
of one mummy.
After the viscera had been removed, both the body and the organs were put into
the saline bath, described by Herodotus. The various tissues of the body and the organs
contain saline material and the skin shows unmistakable signs of having been macerated
until ail the cuticle, together with the hair, except that of the head, had peeled off.
There are certainly exceptions to this rule, as in some cases I have found the epidermic
cells intact and even their nuclei stained well.
The heart left in the body cavity is always well preserved. In many cases,
the valves are intact and it is often possible to recognise the chordae tendineœ and
musculi papillares. As a rule, the organ is considerably damaged as the resuit, no doubt,
of unintentional hackings inflicted on it by the operator cutting through the roots of the
lungs and the œsophagus (Plate III, Figs. 2. 3.). The commonest injury to the heart is,
as is natural, a complète opening up of the left auricle, or often of both auricles; in many
cases, great gashes are found in one or both ventricles.
The cavities of the heart are in many subjects tightly stuffed with mud or a
mixture of mud and sawdust. How this material was introduced is doubtful.
The viscera, after having been removed from the sait bath, were thickly sprinkled
with coarse sawdust of various aromatic woods, and when still flexible, were moulded