Sahar Saleem is a professor of radiology at

Cairo University Cairo University () is Egypt's premier public university. Its main campus is in Giza, immediately across the Nile from Cairo. It was founded on 21 December 1908;"Brief history and development of Cairo University." Cairo University Faculty of En ...

where she specialises in paleoradiology, the use of radiology to study mummies. She discovered the knife wound in the throat of

Ramesses III Usermaatre Meryamun Ramesses III was the second Pharaoh of the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt, Twentieth Dynasty in Ancient Egypt. Some scholars date his reign from 26 March 1186 to 15 April 1155 BC, and he is considered the last pharaoh of the New K ...

, which was most likely the cause of his death.

Early life and career

Sahar Saleem received her degree in medicine from

Qasr El Eyni Hospital Qasr El Eyni Hospital () is a research and teaching hospital in Cairo, Egypt. This hospital is affiliated with the Cairo University Faculty of Medicine. The hospital was founded on March 11, 1827. History In 1827, a medical school was establishe ...

, Cairo. Subsequently, she went on to receive both her master's and medical doctorate in

radiology Radiology ( ) is the medical specialty that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide treatment within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiation), but tod ...

from Cairo University. She moved to Canada to do a postdoctoral fellowship in

neuroradiology Neuroradiology is a subspecialty of radiology focusing on the diagnosis and characterization of abnormalities of the central and peripheral nervous system, spine, and head and neck using neuroimaging techniques. Medical issues utilizing neurorad ...

and a fellowship in radiology education at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

, before returning to Cairo University, where she is currently a professor of radiology.

Research

Saleem uses

medical imaging Medical imaging is the technique and process of imaging the interior of a body for clinical analysis and medical intervention, as well as visual representation of the function of some organs or tissues (physiology). Medical imaging seeks to revea ...

, in particular

CT scan A computed tomography scan (CT scan), formerly called computed axial tomography scan (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 or ...

s, to study mummies. This enables her to look through the wrappings, providing more detail than

X-ray An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...

s. She is part of the Egyptian Mummy Project and she has scanned several of the royal mummies, including

Hatshepsut Hatshepsut ( ; BC) was the sixth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, Egypt, ruling first as regent, then as queen regnant from until (Low Chronology) and the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Thutmose II. She was Egypt's second c ...

Thutmose III Thutmose III (variously also spelt Tuthmosis or Thothmes), sometimes called Thutmose the Great, (1479–1425 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt. He is regarded as one of the greatest warriors, military commanders, and milita ...

and

Seti I Menmaatre Seti I (or Sethos I in Greek language, Greek) was the second pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt during the New Kingdom of Egypt, New Kingdom period, ruling or 1290 BC to 1279 BC. He was the son of Ramesses I and Sitre, and th ...

, from the

Egyptian Museum The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, commonly known as the Egyptian Museum (, Egyptian Arabic: ) (also called the Cairo Museum), located in Cairo, Egypt, houses the largest collection of Ancient Egypt, Egyptian antiquities in the world. It hou ...

in Cairo. These mummies have been described in her book ''Scanning the Pharaohs: CT Imaging of the New Kingdom Royal Mummie''s, which she co-authored with

Zahi Hawass Zahi Abass Hawass (; born May 28, 1947) is an Egyptians, Egyptian archaeology, archaeologist, Egyptology, Egyptologist, and former Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (Egypt), Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, a position he held twice. He has ...

. In 2017, the book was a recipient of the PROSE Award in Popular Science. By using CT scans on the mummy of Tutankhamun, Saleem and Hawass determined that he was around 19 years old when he was mummified. They also hypothesised that the cause of death was not

head trauma A head injury is any injury that results in trauma to the skull or brain. The terms ''traumatic brain injury'' and ''head injury'' are often used interchangeably in the medical literature. Because head injuries cover such a broad scope of inj ...

, as previously thought, but a knee fracture on a background of

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

. They also scanned

, a pharaoh who was thought to be the victim of a harem conspiracy. Scans performed by Saleem revealed that Ramesses throat was cut and his left toe was cut off, providing supporting evidence that he was likely killed in that conspiracy, as the injuries pointed to there being more than one attacker.

Selected publications

* Hawass, Z., Ismail, S., Selim, A., Saleem, S. N., Fathalla, D., Wasef, S., ... & Gostner, P. (2012). Revisiting the harem conspiracy and death of Ramesses III: anthropological, forensic, radiological, and genetic study. ''

British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a fortnightly peer-reviewed medical journal, published by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, which in turn is wholly-owned by the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world ...

'', ''345'', e8268. * Saleem, S. N., Said, A. H. M., & Lee, D. H. (2007). Lesions of the hypothalamus: MR imaging diagnostic features. ''Radiographics'', ''27''(4), 1087–1108. * Saleem, S. N. (2014). Fetal MRI: An approach to practice: A review. ''Journal of advanced research'', ''5''(5), 507–523.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saleem, Sahar Living people Egyptian expatriates in Canada Egyptian radiologists Academic staff of Cairo University Women radiologists Cairo University alumni Egyptian women scientists Year of birth missing (living people)