Excerebration is an ancient Egyptian mummification procedure of removal of the brain from corpses prior to actual embalming. Greek writer

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known for ...

, a frequent visitor to Egypt, wrote in the fifth century B.C. about the process, "Having agreed on a price, the bearers go away, and the workmen, left alone in their place, embalm the body. If they do this in a perfect way, they first draw out part of the brain through the nostrils with an iron hook, and inject certain drugs into the rest". An object more than 6.8 inches long, probably made from plants in the group

Monocotyledon Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, ( Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. They constitute one of ...

(including palm and bamboo), would have been used for liquefying and removing the brain. The instrument would be inserted through a hole punched into the

ethmoid bone The ethmoid bone (; from grc, ἡθμός, hēthmós, sieve) is an unpaired bone in the skull that separates the nasal cavity from the brain. It is located at the roof of the nose, between the two orbits. The cubical bone is lightweight due to a ...

near the nose via a chisel. Some parts of the brain would be wrapped around this stick and pulled out, and the other parts would be liquefied. In order to drain the remaining liquified brain and cerebral fluid the individual would be put on their abdomen or their head would be lifted.

Evolution of Excerebration

Excerebration can be traced all the way back to the

Old Kingdom In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning c. 2700–2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourt ...

through

Greco-Roman Egypt The history of Egypt has been long and wealthy, due to the flow of the Nile River with its fertile banks and delta, as well as the accomplishments of Egypt's native inhabitants and outside influence. Much of Egypt's ancient history was a myster ...

. The evidence of excerebration consists of primarily skull base perforations. During the Old and Middle Kingdom there was a low frequency of skull perforations. Leading many authors to provide an alternative entrance via the

foramen magnum The foramen magnum ( la, great hole) is a large, oval-shaped opening in the occipital bone of the skull. It is one of the several oval or circular openings (foramina) in the base of the skull. The spinal cord, an extension of the medulla oblonga ...

. Once we enter the New Kingdom it is apparent through past skulls that the primary entrance was through the base of the skull using a transnasal excerebration occurred. Over the millennia excerebration has changed. In the Old and Middle Kingdoms a transethmoidal excerebration was the normal form. With the assistance of modern technology and

CT scan A computed tomography scan (CT scan; formerly called computed axial tomography scan or CAT scan) is a medical imaging technique used to obtain detailed internal images of the body. The personnel that perform CT scans are called radiographers ...

ning more and more evidence has arisen as to where in the skull excerebration occurred. Through many CT scans and many skulls it has been determined that over time the transethmoidal approach was shifted towards a transsphenoidal approach. As more and more evidence has been compiled originally excerebration was done through a transnasal approach, which moved towards a transethmoidal approach, which finally a transsphenoidal approach. However, there is also evidence of a combined transethmoidal-transsphenoidal version of excerebration that could have been used in the

Third Intermediate Period The Third Intermediate Period of ancient Egypt began with the death of Pharaoh Ramesses XI in 1077 BC, which ended the New Kingdom, and was eventually followed by the Late Period. Various points are offered as the beginning for the latt ...

Religious Aspects of Excerebration

In order to extract all organs from the body embalmers would make an incision on the left side of the abdomen. Similar to this, excerebration was rarely ever seen through the right nostril and almost exclusively through the left nostril. Knowing that the body would have been laid with the head to the north all incisions and excerebration would have taken place on the eastern side of the body. For convenience and accessibility, it would have been more practical to make incisions on the western side of the body or the right side, however, everything was done on the left side, signifying some degree of symbolism or religion was involved. The notion that the right side was honored, while the left was inferior, is a notion common in ancient Egypt. Not only this, but resurrection was also seen as a journey from west to east. Therefore, one could infer that it was more honorable and respectful to the deceased if excerebration and the removal of other organs were performed via cuts made on the left or eastern side of the body.

Modern Comparisons

Many have said that Ancient Egyptians were the first to learn about the brain and document their findings. In fact they were, they have some of the oldest documentation on the spinal cord and the brain in the world. There are also many surgeries that take a very similar approach as excerebration did in the past. Specifically no
endoscopic skull base surgery
can be seen directly in excerebration with their shared approach transnasally. Excerebration was an important procedure in Ancient Egypt and even today a version of excerebration can be life saving for some.

References

''Huffington Post'': Mummy Brain - Gray Matter-Removal Tool Found In Ancient Egyptian Skull
{{Mummies Brain Mummification

Evolution of Excerebration

Religious Aspects of Excerebration

Modern Comparisons

See also

References