Abstract
IN a recent paper (Proc. Roy. Soc. Med., 32, 1527; 1939) on this subject, Dr. H. P. Bayon showed that the existing translations of Egyptian papyri revealed directions for the performance of several tests for pregnancy; some of the tests seemed superstitious, others were based on signs and symptoms, and a few could be described in modern terminology as “hormonal germination tests made with pregnancy urine”. Similar tests for pregnancy, fertility and prognostication of sex are to be found in the Hippocratic writings, their survival for more than a thousand years indicating that there was some connexion between Egyptian and Greek medicine. These tests can also be traced in various medieval authors, such as Moseius, Trotula, Michel Scot, and Albertus Magnus, though they were modified in substance and method. At the end of the sixteenth century they began to be distrusted, though their practice has been recommended even in recent popular works. Dr. Bayon maintains that the original Egyptian test for pregnancy and its modifications, though seemingly absurd in theory and certainly erroneous in practice, represent the first diagnostic tests on record, while their employment throughout the Middle Ages and later indicates a persistent effort to apply biological experimentation to the needs of medicine. The Egyptian test was also a striking example of instinctive anticipation, which proved that in the development of medicine, intuition preceded practice, and was followed by understanding, which culminated in reasoned and demonstrable knowledge.
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Ancient Tests for Pregnancy. Nature 144, 826–827 (1939). https://doi.org/10.1038/144826c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/144826c0