ANCIENT Egyptians, prompted by their unique approach to death, investigated matters that other cultures preferred to leave well hidden. With ritual disembowelling, defleshing and brain extraction part of all upper-class funerals, the only surprise is that they did not develop a greater understanding of the human body.
Instead, Egyptian doctors, believing there to be a direct pathway from the vagina to the mouth, struggled to diagnose female infertility by inserting an onion into the vagina and then sniffing the patient’s breath. Nevertheless, their skill was recognised worldwide. When the sister of the Hittite king needed fertility treatment she turned to…
