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Reviewing western works on the history of Islamic Medicine, the Muslim scholar cant help feeling that it has not been rendered proper service. Some western authors are overtly hostile not only to Islamic Medicine but to Islam as a whole and to the Prophet Mohammad (P.B.U.H) at whom they look with a hating eye. Others tackle the subject without prejudice, but their non-belief in Islam as a God-sent religion denies them the proper appraisal of Islamic civilization, one aspect of which is Islamic Medicine. All parties, however, are unanimous that Islamic Medicine did successfully subserve two main functions:

1. The preserVation of Greek Medicine over a period of about ten centuries. Had it not been translated to Arabic it would have certainly been lost.

2. The growth of Medical art and knowledge by the efforts of the medical men of the Islamic Empire.

The fruits of both endeavours were reaped by Europe at the beginning of the Renaissance, and constituted the foundations upon which modern European science was built.

 ARABIAN OR ISLAMIC? ..OR WHAT ?

Many western authors emphasize the fact that a number of leading figures of Islamic Medicine were non-Arabs and/or non-Muslims, they comment on the term' Arabian Medicine' often used in the literature, by saying that it was neither Arabian nor Islamic. As a matter of fact the term ' Arabian Medicine' is used synonymously with 'Islamic Medicine' only to signify that it was written in the Arabic language. This language, being the language of the Qoran- God's book - and the Prophet Mohammad, became the language of the Muslim Nation: Arab or non-Arab. Many non-Muslirn westerners think -or-wish to think -that Islam is an Arabian religion, in which they are mistaken. None of them would describe Judaism as an Egyptian religion or Christianity as a Palestinian religion. Although the call of Islam started in Mecca, its first enemies were Arabs including some members of Quraish, Mohammad's own tribe, who bitterly fought Islam. Some of the earliest Muslims on the other hand were non-Arabs, including Bilal the Etheopean, Sohaib the Roman and Salman the Persian whom the Prophet described as: "Salman is one of us: the members of the House (of Mohammad)".

 Islam is indeed a universal message, addressing itself to mankind at large. In the Qoran God addresses his prophet by saying "We have sent you but mercy to the worlds" ..and "We have sent you to all peoples". From the outset the Prophet declared that "All people are as equal as the teeth of a comb". The question of Arab status in Islam was clearly dealt with in the words of Mohammad "There is no virtue toi an Arab over a non-Arab nor white over coloured except by the fear of God". The words of the Qoran say: "Behold ..all people.. We have created you from a male and a female and made you nations and tribes so that you may get to know one another ..Indeed the noblest of you before God is the best in conduct".

The Muslim State practically started in 622 A.D. through the Hijra (flight) of the Prophet from Mecca to Madina. In less than a century the Muslim Empire comprised more than half of the 'then' known world, and extended from the borders of China to Spain and the south of France. Those lands entered into Islam and poured into its mainstream whatever cultural heritage they possessed that was not opposed to the teachings of Islam. It was upon this substrate of knowledge derived from various origins-Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Indian, Persian and even Chinese etc. ..that the Muslim mind worked and developed to extensive magnitudes. We see no validity to the charge that Islamic science was based on other peoples' sciences.. for those same other people before Islam, themselves became the Muslims when they saw its light. And what nation or civilization on earth can claim that it built its knowledge on no foundations belonging to people who preceded them. Can we ever belittle the scientific rise of America because it evolved from European science?! And, has not scientific progress over' history been a continous process of growth and develop- ment? .And who in his senses would say that there is no American science on the grounds that its figures came from various European and other countries?

It should be clear, however, that no people or individual were converted to Islam by force. That would not have I complied with the Qoran "no compulsion in religion.. and -addressing the Prophe,t: "Had your God so wished all the people on earth would have been believers.. do you then, propose to compel people into becoming believers?".,
   

Indeed not. And by definition the Muslim society is not. strictly a society of Muslims. Some of its citizens would elect to remain Christian or Jew, and these are named The People of the Book".. referring to their belief in God's Bible and ij Torah. The legal principle applying to the Christian and , Jewish members of the Islamic scociety is "They have the same rights and owe the same duities (as we do)". Their freedom and places of worship are protected by Islamic law.  They have to pay a tax called "Jizia" in return to their exemption from military service (when Abu Ubaida vacated Horns he returned the Jizia to its people) , and it did not apply to the needy. On the other hand they did not have to pay the Zakat tax which Muslims paid, roughly 2.5 percent of hoarded capital annually. It was usually therefore more money saving not to be a Muslim, yet the majority chose to adopt Islam.

The Islamic attitude towards non Muslim minorities is a great asset to Islam, and was certainly a major cause for the conversion of many, and for the unhampered role of those who did not, in contributing to their best to the rise and advancement of Islamic civilization.

As a religion Islam does not put itself in an attitude of conflict towards other God-sent religions. The word Islam literally means surrender (to God). God's guidance has been sent through a succession of prophets and messengers who are all revered by a Muslim who sees Islam as the last link in a chain. The Qoran reads: "Say (0' believers) we believe in God and in that which has been transmitted to us, and in that which has been transmitted to Abraham, Isma'il, Isaac, Jacob and the tribes; and that which was given to Moses and Jesus; and that which was given to the prophets from their Lord: we do not discriminate between them and to Him we do surrender".
                                                         
Muslims and the People of the Book can eat each lother's food, unless specifically prohibited, like pig and alcohol. A Muslim can take a Christian or Jewess for a wife, and she has the right to stick to her faith. Although equal to Muslims under Islamic law, their private affairs (marriage, divorce, inheritance, etc. .) are settled according to their own Teligion.   Equality is not only in the court room. .but those minorities also shared the benefits of the principles of social' security and "welfare state" laid down since the earliest Jays of Islam. One day the caliph "Umar' saw a blind old jew begging. He took him by the hand to his own house and gave him what he needed, and sent orders to his treasurer: "Look after people like him. It would not be fair to take from him (the Jizia) when he is young and neglect him when he is old". It was this tolerance of Islam that enabled all its subjects, Muslim or non-Muslim, to unfold their whole potential in the field of scientific progress. Without this virtue in the Islamic system those minds had to face either barrenness or immigration: neither was the case.

Muslim universities teamed with non-M uslim students.. a notable figur.e amongst whom was Gerbert d' Aurillac in the Xth century , who became the first French Pope under the title of Sylvester II; he spent three years studying in Toledo with Muslim scholars.

The very call of Islam entailed a cJIallenge to man to explore the mysteries of the universe. The first word of the Qoran addressed the Prophet: "Read!" ..and it includes such verses as: "We will show them our proofs in the horizons and in themselves..dont they see?".. and "Are those who know equal to those who do not? Or are darknesses the same as light?".. and: "Anlongst His worshippers, the learned fear Him most".. and: "Read.. in the name of your Lord who has created, created man from a sticky material. Read.. and your Lord the most gracious is Him who taught with the pen.. taught man what he did not know". 

The instructions of the prophet also stimulate the mind to pursue knowledge.. for in his words, "The pursuit of knowledge is a duty on every believer, man or woman".  Very impressing are the words of the prophet "Seek !, knowledge, even if you have to travel to China", and "The ink of scholars is equal to the blood of martyrs".

A main feature of Islam is the absence of clergy. Islam is equally shared by all Muslims and no one can claim a superior status or mediation between man and God. Men are equal whether they specialize in medicine or in jurisprudence. Whereas Albutt, the historian, has stated: "When Christianity became the state religion, it became narrower and harsher than paganism had been, and was used to stifle medicine and all the sciences", we find no such situation in Islam. In fact many of the Muslim scientists wrote also in theology and jurisprudence. Of course this is no fault of Christianity but of those who acquired the monopoly of being its sole custodians. Because Islam is a complete system of life, including law, government, economic and political principles as it does worship and character, the schism between state and church is not known to Islam.

It is therefore obvious that the coming of Islam was an uplift to scientific progress which was almost completely blocked in Europe.

A dramatic contrast was felt to the behaviour of ignorant Basilei emperors who destroyed Greek knowledge on the pretext of its paganism. It was Emperor Theodosius II who destroyed the North African schools and issued orders to destroy the famous library at Alexandria (and not the Muslim army as sometimes erroneously alledged). Emperor Zeno closed the Edessa school, and Justinian closed the Platonic school in Athens and several in Alexandria.

The avidity of the Arabs for the knowledge stored in the opened countries was extreme. It is documented that some translators were paid an equal weight of gold to their translated manuscripts. The prejudiced idea about the Arabs as conquering savages melted away when some defeated Christian princes would find "the right to collect Greetk writings" as one of the peace terms dictated by the Muslim leader, or an Arab caliph choosing some rare Greek book as the present of his choice from a European king.

The first to lead this Translation Movement was Prince Khalid Ibn Yazid Ibn Moaawya, who recruited scholars from Egypt to translate from Coptic and Greek. He himself was a chemist (the word al-chemy is derived from Arabic) and had writings on chemistry and astronomy.

Interest did not wane through the rule of the Abbassids whose capital was Baghdad, or the western Umayyads in Spain. In 830 A.D. Calif al-Mamun founded Bayt at Hikmah (House of Wisdom) in Baghdad, which is considered amongst the main events of the middle ages. Its main concern was foreign knowledge, and around it the Baghdad.

A dramatic contrast was felt to the behaviour of ignorant Basilei emperors who destroyed Greek knowledge on the pretext of its paganism. It was Emperor Theodosius II who destroyed the North African schools and issued orders to destroy the famous library at Alexandria ( and not the Muslim army as sometimes erroneously alledged). Emperor Zeno closed the Edessa school, and Justinian closed the Platonic school in Athens and several in Alexandria.

The avidity of the Arabs for the knowledge stored in the opened countries was extreme. It is documented that some translators were paid an equal weight of gold to their translated manuscripts. The prejudiced idea about the Arabs as conquering savages melted away when some defeated Christian princes would find "the right to collect Greetk writings" as one of the peace terms dictated by the Muslim leader, or an Arab caliph choosing some rare Greek book as the present of his choice from a European king.

The first to lead this Translation Movement was Prince Khalid Ibn Yazid Ibn Moaawya, who recruited scholars from Egypt to translate from Coptic and Greek. He himself was a chemist (the word al-chemy is derived from Arabic) and had writings on chemistry and astronomy.

Interest did not wane through the rule of the Abbassids whose capital was Baghdad, or the western Umayyads in Spain. In 830 A.D. Calif al-Mamun founded Bayt at Hikmah (House of Wisdom) in Baghdad, which is considered amongst the main events of the middle ages. Its main concern was foreign knowledge, and around it the Baghdad .

School evolved, which certainly restored the continuity of human knowledge, interrupted by the fall of Rome, and handed it over to the Europe of the renaissance.

Amongst the main translators and compilers were:

1. The Bakht Yishu family. .six generatations of Christian doctors of the Jundisapur school. Their first, Jirjis was summoned to treat the Abbassid Caliph Al-Mansur , while his grandson, Jibra'il served Harun AI Rasheed for 23 years. Jibra'il was very famous and very wealthy out of his profession.

2. Abu Yousofibn Ishaq Al Kindi (809- 873 A.D.): Born in Kufa he later came to be reputed as the first philospher of Islam. He was selected by Al-Mamun to translate Aristotle and other Greek works. He excelled in medicine, architecture, arithmatic, logic astronomy and music and compiled some 250 books in these branches. He wrote against the efforts to transform metals to gold which was the preoccupation of chemists in that era.

3. Hunayn ibn Ishaq (810- 873): Another physician who mastered the Syriac, Greek and Persian languages. A member of the Abad tribe from Hira, he felt insulted when his early teacher Yohanna ibn Massaweih rediculed him by saying: “What have the people of Hira got to do with medicine?”. Following which he embarked on self teaching and became the genius of his day. He was physician to three Abbassid caliphs, and it is said that for his translations Al-Mamun paid him their weight in gold.

4. The Qorrah family.. mainly Thabit ibn Qorrah (836 – 901) and his son Sinan. The latter is credited by organising medical services for prisoners and remote areas, as well as founding the Muqtadiri Hospital in Damascus.

5. bn Juljul of Cordova (976 – 1009) who translated Dioscorides’ works.

6. Ali ibn Rabban: Born in 808 and converted to Islam in 850. His famous book “Firdous al Hikmat” includes studies in philosophy, zoology, embroyology and psychology.

7.  Amongst the main Arabic works in the history of medicine are “Tarikh al-Hukama” (History of Wise Men) by al-Qifti (1277) and Tabaqatul Atibba” (Classes of Physicians) by ibn-abi-Ussaybia (1242).

THE BODY OF ISLAMIC MEDICINE

Under this heading we will comment on the general features of Islamic Medicine, and then have a closer look at it through a brief study of a few imminent physicians and their main works.

GENERAL FEATURES OF ISLAMIC MEDICINE

1) The Islamic doctrine of harmony and balance made the Hippocratic and Galenic views on harmony and balance between humours and natures acceptable to Muslims. Derivations of the Arabic verb "wasana" with connotations meaning balancing, weighing and equilibrium appear in the Qoran in 23 sites. The easy integration of Hippocratic ( and Galenic) medicine in Islamic Medicine contrasts with the rejection of other Greek schools of thought such as the Epicurean or the Sophist that were contradictory to Islam and its doctrines expressed by Abraham and conveyed through Moses, Jesus and Mohammad.

The Islamic concept maintained that the Universe was the marcocosm and Man the microcosm. The "materia prima" of both comprised the four basic "elements" viz, fire, air, water and earth. These represent rather abstract concepts different from what we refer to through our usage of these words in our everyday life and to get them separately in this pure and absolute form is only a theoretical assumption. There are also four basic "natures" cold, hot, dry and humid. The four "humours" blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile are composed of the elements 'and natures and each is related to two elements and two natures. The humours forming the body of an individual and the way in which they are mixed together determines his individual "temperament" (See! diagram). Normal proportions give a "balanced" individual. Disturbance of normal balance gives various simple or -composite abnormalities in temperament. Dominance of fire leads to a hot temperament; of water to a cold one. Dominance of air and fire gives a "hot-wet" temperament and so on. It was the concern of the medical profession tocdiagnose these departures- from normal, the study their aetiology (e.g. food, drink, weather, occupation etc..) and the methods of restoring the.health back to normal by diet, medication or any other means endowed with contrary features.

2) Matters pertaining to health and hygiene were incorpo- rated in the religious instructions of Islam; and the challenge of the Qoran to look for signs (Ayat) of God's ability in the human being, gave Medicine a religious aura. It is no wonder that the physician was -and still is -referred to as "Hakeem" i.e. wise man. The physician rarely specialised in medicine alone. .but was versed in several aspects of science, which made the Hakeem a symbol of the unity of knowledge.

3) Teaching was mainly carried out in hospitals comprising schools. These the Muslims quoted from Persia (Jundisa- pur) and Byzantium. The Baghdad Hospital was established by Harun-al Rasheed (8th century) who recruited Jibra'il ibn Bakht- Yshu from Jundisapur to head it. This school remained the sun of knowledge for East and West for several centuries. Amongst later hospitals was the " Adudi" in Baghdad, "Rayy" Hospital (headed by al-Razi before coming to Baghdad)1 "Nuri" (after Nur-el- Din Zanji) in Damascus and Aleppo, "Nasiri Hospital" in Cairo by Salah el Din (Saladdin) and "Mansuri or Qala'unHospital" in Cairo. On the latter hospital we will give a descriptive report at the end of this chapter**.

Other hospitals of no less magnificence were founded in Spain, north Africa and the rest of the empire. "Marastan" in Spain is a derivation of the Persian word "bimaristan. "

4) An extensive materia medica was -and still is- a major contribution of Islamic Medicine, and represents a growth over the Persian, Indian and Graeco-Alexandrian heritages, on account of the knowledge of a richer fauna and  of the evolution of Islamic chemistry. Various preparations were known and given names. Control of new drugs was enforced by law, to make sure of their efficacy and safety. A druggist had to have an official permit to practise and pricing of medicines by the authorities was known especially in Andalusia. Some of the imminent druggists were also physicians. A paramedical druggist profession is represented by the " Attar" still known today, who dispenses simple drugs for minor ailments. Another paramedical institution was the public bath, that served the function sof massage and other forms of physiotherapy.

5) Anatomy and Physiology gained significance as they showed the sings (Ayat) of God in the creation of Man. Anatomy was mainly founded on translation of Galen and dissection of apes since Islamic law ensured the right of the dead to be properly buried.

There is clear evidence, however, that dissection was carried out in the appropriate privacy of teaching institutions. Ishaq ibn Hunayn, talking about a certain muscle at the back of the eye in animals, commented "and it is not found in the human eye." Some works carry the notion that dissection proves this or disproves that. The descriptions. Ishaq ibn Hunayn, talking about a certain muscle at the back of the eye in animals. commented "and it is not found in the human eye." Some works carry the notion that dissection proves this or disproves that. The description by Ibn-al Nafis of the pulmonary circulation was unprecedented (erroneously ascribed to William Harvey) and constitutes a major departure from Galenic anatomy.

6) Infectious diseases. The basis of isolation and quarantine were known. Selling the clothes of the patient was prohibited. AI-Tabari described the scabies bug and stated that it was infective. Vaccination against small pox using scabs from the lesion was quoted from China. and it was through Lady Montague the wife of the British Ambassador to Turkey that the idea was conveyed to England before Jenner built his fame.

7) Mental illnesses were treated in special institutions. patients were given care and comfort. with perfect attention to their cleanliness and nutrition. Music therapy was used in treatment. Hibatu Allah ibn Jamaa and al-Hassan-ibn-al-Haitham each wrote a book on the therapeutic value of music.

8) Medicine. Muslim doctors developed excellence of clinic- al observation of signs and symptoms. complexion. pulse. urine examination and lengthy books were written on each of these. The self healing power of the body was well recognised. but helped when necessary with drugs. blood letting. nutrition. climate etc. Treatment by suggestion was practised

9) Surgery entailed the most important progress made by- Muslim doctors. Anaesthesia was known in the form of a drug made from a plant called "darnel" given until the patient lost consciousness. Numerous surgical instruments were designed that survived over the ages with only minor modifications. The richest source is the book called "Kitab 'al-Tasrif' by the legendary surgeon Abul Oassim 'AI-Zahrawi (Albucassis) of Andalusia. Complex operations were designed ranging from Caesarean section to catarct extraction. Bone setting and manipulation was an advanced art, much of which still remains. Dentistry included the carving of false teeth from bones of animals. Although surgery had been looked upon as inferior to medicine, it was its rise under Zahrawi and others that made it a recognised and respected speciality.

10) Opthalmology became an important speciality and the opthalmologist was known as "al-Kahhal.o, "Tadhkirat al Kahhalin" by Ali-ibn-Issa, and "Nur-al-Ayn" by Jurjani elucidated the proper anatomy and physiology of the eye. and were not outdated till the 19th century. The first operation for cataract by suction of the lens was carried out in 1256 by Al-Mahusin.

The very call of Islam entailed a challenge to man to explore the mysteries of the universe. The first word of the Qoran addressed the Prophet: ""Read! and it includes such verses as: We will show them our proofs in the horizons and in themselves. .dont they see? and Are those who know equal to those who do not? Or are darknesses the same as light? and Amongst His worshippers, the learned fear Him most and: Read. .in the name of your Lord who has created, careated man from a sticky material. Read.. and your Lord the most gracious is Him who taught with the pen.. taught man what he did not know. "

The following quotation from ., A History of Medicine ..by R. Major. Vol. I. 1954. published by C. Thomas is quite illustrative of the high standard of Islamic medicine and its institutions:

"For five centuries. the Islamic Empire had enjoyed the highest civilization and culture in the world. During an age when Europe was floundering in ignorance and barbarism.

when the mass of the people was unlettered and untaught except for a gesture by Alfred the Great in England and by Charlemagne on the Continent. we find the Islamic ruler establishing schools and libraries on a munificient scale. Many patrons of science had libraries with 100.000 volumes or more. The medical library of the Mansuri Hospital in' Cairo was so large that it employed six librarians. There were immense collections of books at Baghdad, Bokhara, Cairo and Cordoba....

"Of all the striking examples of a high culture, none were more striking than the hospitals which Islam founded Bllghdad, Dllmascus, Bokhara, Cairo, Cordoba and Seville (Eshbelia) all had not one hospital, but many hospitals each which utterly amazed occasional European visitors. ...

• Facade of al Mansouri Hospital (built by Sultan Qalaoun al Mansour -Cairo, 1284)

"The greatest and most magnificent of all was the famous Mansouri Hospital in Cairo. completed in 1284 A.D.. which WllS endowed with an income of $100,000 a year contained fou great courts each with its fountain in the center, separate wards for each disease, lecture rooms, an outpatient department with arrlmgements to visit patients in their homes, a mosque where 50 readers recited the Qoran day and night, musicians and storytellers to entertain and comfort the sick.  Each convalescent patient received the equivalent of 12 dollars on his dismissal from the hospital.

We will now propose to introduce some of the main figures in Islamic medicine. It is difficult in this space to write in detail, or to give a more complete account of all the physicians of excellence in Islamic history.

AL/RAZI (Rhazes )

• Latin edition of al-Raz's CONTINENS - Vienna. 1529.

Abu Bakr Mohammad ibn Zakariyya. born in Rayy about 865 and grew up mainly concerned with music. physics and chemistry until he was over 30 years 'of age. A visit to Baghdad Hospital won him to medicine. in which he excelled and became director to Rayy Hospital before being sum- moned to head the Adudi Hospital in Baghdad and be court physician. Consulted on the selection of the site to build that hospital on, Razi ordered pieces of meat put in various places in the town and chose the site where the meat was least decomposed after' a given ,time. AI Razi' became famous as, practitioner, teacher, :scholar and ;helper of the poor. His writings revealed genius and originality. He is supposed to have written 237 books, practically on all sciences, but his main interest was medicine. Although described as the Galen of the Arabs, he was quite independent and notorious for his detailed and exact case descriptions.

Among his contributions were the introduction of mercury compounds as purgatives (having tried them on monkeys). lead ointment, ligature with suture made from animal gut; he was the first to observ'e and record the reaction of the pupil to light, and emphasized that the treatment of fever should aim at treating its cause. Amongst his chemical discoveries were sulphuric acid and alcohol (an Arabic word).

The Chief works of Razi are:

1) AI Hawi (Continens): with his other book. Al Mansuri, they remained the most highly esteemed medical books for several hundred years: It was one of the nine volumes constituting the whole library of the Paris Faculty of Medicine in 1395. It is a large encyclopaedia where his lucid case descriptions and ability to deduce the diagnosis and treatment are well illustrated.

2) His monogram on small pox and measles is famous, and Neuburger commented on it by saying: "On every hand and with justice it is regarded as an ornament to the medical literature of the Arabs. It ranks high in importance in the history of epidemiology as the earliest monogram on small pox, and shows us Rhazes as a conscientious practitioner, almost free from dogmatic prejudices, following in the footsteps of Hippocrates."

3) A monogram on "the 'stone of kidney and bladder and the use of a lead catheter on account of its flexibility.

4) A monogram on "the illness that comes in spring upon smelling of roses" ..which alludes to allergy.

5) At Mansuri ..written in Rayy and dedicated to Mansur ibn Ishaq the governor of Khurasan.

6) A book on quacks and their methods.

7) A book on spiritual medicine.

ALl IBN AL-ABBAS Al Majusi (Hali Abbas )

A contemporary of Al Razi. His famous book called '.Kamil al Sina'aa fi al Tibb'. (The Perfectly Accomplished in Medicine) was dedicated to Prince Adud al Dawla. He declared to have written it on account of the extreme conciseness of Hippocrates. lengthyness of Galen and high price of Razi's al Hawi. It is a perfectly systematised book including all aspects of medical knowledge, with perfect description of operations for tuberculous glands tonsillectomy aneurysm etc. .He was the first to write on a capillary network joining arteries and veins, and the effect of the lung movement in delaying the healing of tuberculosis. He also emphasized the ethical aspects of medicine. His description of the treatment of the fractured mandible is a masterpiece. About the pulse he said .'the silent caller and the truthful messenger. As the heart and arteries have one beat. the movement of the heart is examined through that of the artery".

IBN SINA (Avicenna 980-1037)

It is difficult to write on ibn Sina with fairness in such a limited space, for he was a man of genius in several fieids at a time; He won himself many titles:

“Al Sheikh Al Ra’is,” (The Chief) “The Second Teacher” (Aristotle being the first) and “The Prince of Doctors”. Born in Bukhara, he learnt the Qoran by heart before the age of ten, and at eighteen he was so famous in medicine as to be appointed court physician, which fortunately gave him free access to the royal library. Although born Persian. he became an authority on Arabic language and literature, and is considered amongst the renowned Arab poets. His reputation as philosopher is no less than that as physician. He also excelled in mathematics and physics. After extensive travelling and reading at an early age, he then made such original contributions to medical knowledge as to dominate medical teaching for several centuries. As a practitioner he emphasized that every disease must have a cause. He pointed out the role of dust and water in spreading illness, and was the first to describe philariasis. He described cerebral apoplexy and menmgltls, differentiated central from peripheral fascial palsy, specified the diagnostic signs of pleurisy as we know them today and differentiated epileptic from hysterical fits. He elucidated infertility due to incompatibility, described false pregnancy and wrote on baby care. He was very interested in psychosomatic illness, and his story is famous, of observing the pulse of a young patient and noting the changes as he named the various districts of the city, the various streets in a certain district and the various houses in a certain street: to conclude that the underlying factor in his patient was. love to a particular girl in that household.

Al Qanun

• Hibrew Editiio of Ibn Sina's QANUN - Bologne University

This is the most famous work of ibn Sina, in five volumes dealing respectively with physiology, hygiene, pathology, therapeutics and materia medica. For six centuries (12th to 17th) it was the basis of medical studies in French and Italian Universities. The Qanun was translated to 30 languages. Fifteen editions in Latin and one in Hibrew appeared in the fifteenth century and reprints kept appearing until the early nineteenth century. Needless to say it held the same esteem in the Muslim world, and reviewing the literature we could count 13 books whose subject was al Qanun, apart from several works on summarising it.

 Ibn Sina has many other famous works e.g. Tibb AI-Qulub (Medicine of the Heart) and AI-Urjuzah fi AI- Tibb (Medical Poem) which used to be memorized by medical students.

IBN AL-HAITHAM (965-1038)

Born and educated in Basra. he moved to Cairo at the age of 30 years where he stayed for the rest of his life. He also was a man of many talents in medicine, architecture, physics, mathematics and theology. His fame derives from his pioneer work in optics. His book. AI-Manazer illustrated the defraction of light in the atmosphere and in magnifying lenses. He detailed the anatomy and physiology of the eye and the terminology he put is that still in use. He described converging and diverging lenses, laying the foundation to the use of eye glasses and microscopy. The components of white colour he demonstrated by his famous experiment: the fast rotating disc bearing cones ,' of the component colours. He is also considered the father of modem methodical scientific research.

AL ZAHRAWI (1030 -1106)

Some instruments of al-Zahrawi (ALBUCASSIS)

Abul Qassim At Zahrawi (Albucassis) of Andalusia is considered the highest ranking Islamic surgeon, and was so famous that his portrait with those of Razi and Ibn Sina decorated the Cathedral of Milano.

IBN AL-NAFIS (1200 -1288)

Born in Damascus. he settled in Cairo to be director of Al-Mansuri Hospital and Dean to its medical school. A great philosopher. theologian and physician. he was called 'The second ibn Sina.

Although celebrated since his death in 1288, it was onlv in 1924 that it was discovered that ibn al Nafis had been the first to discover the pulmonary circulation. This was one of the great discoveries in the history of medicine because it at once made Ibn AI Nafis be recognised by the West as the real predecessor of William Harvey rather than Servetus and Colombo who described the pulmonary circulation three centuries after Ibn al Nafis. and who P!obably found the views of ibn al Nafis through the translations of Andrea Alpago.

Some famous books of Ibn al Nafis

1) Al Shamil fil Sina'at Tibbiyya (The Comprehensive Work in the Art of Medicine)

2) Al Mujaz fil Qanun (Summary of al Qanun) and Tashrih al Qanun (Anatomy of al Qanun) ..two books involved with ibn Sina's famous work. described the minor circulation.

• The minor ciruculation of the blood according Ibn Al-Nafis

Ibn al Nafis was of such calibre as to afford to depart from the Galenic views of ebb and flow of the blood, and to criticise Hippocrates and ibn Sina on some topics. It is of interest to relate that when Servetus published the views of ibn al Nafis about the pulmonary circulation and relating them to himself, the Church accused him of heresy for opposing the teachings of Galen, and Servetus was -with his book -burnt on the stake.