Wḫdw is a term for a particular kind of agent of decay and disease in ancient Egyptian medicine. [1]
According to Steuer, the Egyptians conceived of it as originating with the fecal matter within the bowels. [1] [2] From here, wḫdw was seen as being absorbed into the blood vessels ( mtw ) from the lower intestines ( pḥwj , literally 'rear'), from where it spread to other body parts, causing abscesses and other symptoms of disease in the bodies of the living; it was particularly associated with pus in the blood. [1] [3] Meanwhile, in the bodies of the dead, wḫdw instead manifested as decomposition. [1]
The similarity of this conception of disease and decay to the Ancient Greek concept of perittōma has suggested that this element of Ancient Greek medicine may be traceable to Egypt. [2] [3]
In searching for a convenient and concise translation of wḫdw into English, Steuer and Bertrand de Cusance Morant Saunders examine several possibilities: residues , a translation used by Jones for perittōma, fails to suggest the pathogenic nature of wḫdw; miasma , suggested by Jonckheere, misleadingly suggests transmission by air and an external origin; putrefaction or corruption , their own suggestion, is not entirely satisfactory to them, as wḫdw encompasses a conception greater than just the biological process of decay. [3]
The term wḫdw is attested in the Ebers Papyrus, Hearst papyrus, and Papyrus Berlin 3038, among other sources. [3]
