Gallery: Scanning Mummies for Heart Disease

Scanning Hatiay

Mummy scan

(Image credit: Dr. Michael Miyamoto)

Egyptologist Gomaa Abdel-maksoud prepares a mummy for a CT scan. The researchers were looking for evidence of arterial disease in the mummies. This mummy, Hatiay, who lived between 1550 and 1295 BC, had extensive vascular disease.

Hatiey scan

Mummy scan

(Image credit: Dr. Michael Miyamoto)

Researchers prepare the mummy Hatiey for a CT scan.

Maiherpri scan

Mummy scan

(Image credit: Dr. Michael Miyamoto)

The mummy Maiherpri undergoes scanning.

Maiherpri in sarcophagus

Mummy scan

(Image credit: Dr. Michael Miyamoto)

The mummy Maiherpri returned to the sarcophagus after scanning. All of the mummies reside at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Maiherpri's feet

Mummy scan

(Image credit: Dr. Michael Miyamoto)

The individually wrapped toes of the mummy Maiherpri. Maiherpri lived between 1550 and 1295 BC.

Unknown mummy

Mummy scan

(Image credit: Dr. Michael Miyamoto)

An unknown mummy is prepped for the scanner.

Mummy hand

Mummy scan

(Image credit: Dr. Michael Miyamoto)

The hand and legs of an unknown mummy.

Mummy Djeher

Mummy scan

(Image credit: Dr. Michael Miyamoto)

Some mummies, like Djeher, who lived between 304 BC and 30 BC, were scanned still in their coffins.

Djeher's scan

Mummy scan

(Image credit: Dr. Michael Miyamoto)

The ancient Egyptian mummy Djeher as imaged with a CT scanner. Djeher was found to have heart artery and other vascular disease. Djeher lived between 304 and 30 BC. Another mummy with coronary artery disease, Princess Ahmose-Meryet-Amon, lived between 1580 and 1550 BC and is the oldest known case of human heart disease.

Stephanie Pappas
Live Science Contributor

Stephanie Pappas is a contributing writer for Live Science, covering topics ranging from geoscience to archaeology to the human brain and behavior. She was previously a senior writer for Live Science but is now a freelancer based in Denver, Colorado, and regularly contributes to Scientific American and The Monitor, the monthly magazine of the American Psychological Association. Stephanie received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of South Carolina and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.