Medicine in the medieval Islamic world

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financial support from the ruling elite of the Byzantine empire. The Greek texts of Galen were introduced by Christians and translated into Arabic for Islamic scholars and physicians to make commentaries. With the emerging combined civilizations, the caliphs of the Abbasid empire were eager to gain knowledge from the pre-existing societies. The Byzantine empire depicted a modernized society that engaged in medical and pharmacological pursuits. The less oppressive Islamic view of Greek secular knowledge promoted the cooperation between Nestorian Christians and the Islamic empire. The Abbasid caliph al-Ma’mun was credited for promoting the translation of Greek texts, which accelerated the solidification of medicine in the Islamicate empires. The cooperation from the Nestorian Christians was enabled by the lack of conflict associated with the subject of medicine. Christians and Muslims were able to collaborate without religious conflicts arising. Greek and Syriac texts were translated into Arabic as the Hellenic period of scientific pursuit transitioned into the Islamic empire. One of the most acclaimed translators of the Islamicate empires was a Nestorian Christian, Hunnayn b. Ishaq, who was well versed in Syriac, Greek, Arabic, and medical training. Hunnayn's translations were mainly works of the Greek physician Galen. Ultimately, Hunnayn is credited for establishing a successful systematic method of translation for scientific texts.

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those who come in contact with it. Much advice was given with respect to the proper diet to encourage female health and in particular fertility. For example: quince makes a woman's heart tender and better; incense will result in the woman giving birth to a male; the consumption of water melons while pregnant will increase the chance the child is of good character and countenance; dates should be eaten both before childbirth to encourage the bearing of sons and afterwards to aid the woman's recovery; parsley and the fruit of the palm tree stimulates sexual intercourse; asparagus eases the pain of labor; and eating the udder of an animal increases lactation in women. In addition to being viewed as a religiously significant activity, sexual activity was considered healthy in moderation for both men and women. However, the pain and medical risk associated with childbirth was so respected that women who died while giving birth could be viewed as martyrs. The use of prayers and invocations to God were also a part of religious belief surrounding women's health, the most notable being Muhammad's encounter with a slave-girl whose scabbed body he saw as evidence of her possession by the Evil Eye. He recommended that the girl and others possessed by the Eye use a specific invocation to God in order to rid themselves of its debilitating effects on their spiritual and physical health.

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performing procedures for a sick patient, for example by washing a patient before a procedure; similarly, following a procedure, the area was often cleaned with "wine, wine mixed with oil of roses, oil of roses alone, salt water, or vinegar water", which have antiseptic properties. Various herbs and resins including frankincense, myrrh, cassia, and members of the laurel family were also used to prevent infections, although it is impossible to know exactly how effective these treatments were in the prevention of sepsis. The pain-killing uses of opium had been known since ancient times; other drugs including "henbane, hemlock, soporific black nightshade, lettuce seeds" were also used by Islamic physicians to treat pain. Some of these drugs, especially opium, were known to cause drowsiness, and some modern scholars have argued that these drugs were used to cause a person to lose consciousness before an operation, as a modern-day anesthetic would. However, there is no clear reference to such a use before the 16th century.

1320: 2797:. The acclaimed Greek herbalist Dioscorides worked alongside Greek physician Galen to categorize pharmacological agents. The Andalusian physician Ibn Juljul systematized substances from India, Southeast Asia, or Indian Ocean lands. The categorizing of substances was further organized based on their transmission into the Islamicate empire. The origins consisted of Greek, Indian, or Iranian origination. The knowledge of the substances' medicinal properties were result of pre-Islamic Sasanian empire and the pyro-Persian culture that emphasized pharmacological pursuits. Islamicate pharmacy achieved the implementation of a systematic method of identifying substances based on their medicinal attributes. In addition, Sabur also wrote three other books 2428:, a form of bloodletting, was performed by making a slight incision in the skin and drawing blood by applying a heated cupping glass. The heat and suction from the glass caused the blood to rise to the surface of the skin to be drained. "Dry cupping", the placement of a heated cupping glass (without an incision) on a particular area of a patient's body to relieve pain, itching, and other common ailments, was also used. Though these procedures seem relatively easy for phlebotomists to perform, there were instances where they had to pay compensation for causing injury or death to a patient because of carelessness when making an incision. Both cupping and phlebotomy were considered helpful when a patient was sickly. 457: 1113:, because there is frequent reference to Indian names of herbal medicines and drugs which were unknown to the Greek medical tradition. Whilst Syrian physicians transmitted the medical knowledge of the ancient Greeks, most likely Persian physicians, probably from the Academy of Gondishapur, were the first intermediates between the Indian and the Arabic medicine Recent studies have shown that a number Ayurvedic texts were translated into Persian in South Asia from the 14th century until the Colonial period. From the 17th century onward, many Hindu physicians learnt Persian language and wrote Persian medical texts dealing with both Indian and Muslim medical materials (Speziale 2014, 2018, 2020). 2782:. Persians preserved Greek ideas that trickled down into Islamic pharmacology. Pharmacology in Islamic empires was characterized by all substances applied to the human body. Drugs, foods, beverages, cosmetics, and perfumes were all used for their medicinal properties. Drugs consisted of plant-derived substances that originated in various regions of Asia. Pharmacological agents were employed as treatments based on their effectiveness at maintaining the human body's equilibrium. The Greek physician Hippocrates is credited for categorizing sickness as an imbalance of the abstract qualities cold, hot, dry, and moist. A diet was proscribed as treatment for the imbalance to restore equilibrium. 2043: 43: 504: 2595:

beings that exists no matter what their religious background is or even what cultural background that they derived from. Due to this Adab literature is very universal and appeals to a wide variety of religion and cultural background out there. On the other hand, with the Islamic legal traditions, it can be traced back and grounded in the Islamic laws and the jurisprudence. The Islamic legal tradition is often brought in and used when there are certain ethical dilemmas that needs to be dealt with. These can be things such as biomedical issues and the Islamic legal traditions is closely connected to the Islamic medical ethics and laws.

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while more coldness in the woman leads to her having an "uglier" color, leading to her producing a female offspring. Al-Razi is critical of this point of view, stating that it is possible for a woman to be cold when she becomes pregnant with a female fetus, then for that woman to improve her condition and become warm again, leading to the woman possessing warmth but still having a female fetus. Al-Razi concludes that masculinity and femininity are not dependent on warmth as many of his fellow scholars have proclaimed, but instead dependent on the availability of one type of seed.

2372:, who according to the Arabs is the greatest botanist of antiquity, recommended hemp seeds to "quench geniture" and its juice for earaches. Ali al-Ruhawi believed that a physician must be a botanist and understand pharmacological characteristics of the various morphological parts. Beginning in 800 and lasting for over two centuries, poppy use was restricted to the therapeutic realm. However, the dosages often exceeded medical need and was used repeatedly despite what was originally recommended. Poppy was prescribed by Yuhanna b. Masawayh to relieve pain from attacks of 810: 1311: 2751:

fiqh. It was opened in Damascus on 12 January 1231 and is on record to have existed at least until 1417. This followed general trends of the institutionalization of all types of education. Even with the existence of the madrasah, pupils and teachers alike often engaged in some variety of all forms of education. Students would typically study on their own, listen to teachers in majlis, work under them in hospitals, and finally study in madrasah's upon their creation. This all eventually led to the standardization and vetting process of medical education.

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topics related to medical ethics. In the first chapter of his book, al-Ruhawi declared that the truth is more important for physicians who follow rational ethics and the medical injunctions. Al-Ruhawi regarded physicians as "guardians of souls and bodies", and insisted them to use proper medical etiquette for strong medical ethics and not to ignore theoretical overtones. In pre-Islamic times, there were problems of a lack of part of an element of struggle and conflict to resolve ethical diffculites. Al-Ruhawi helped bridge this gap.

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patients until they were fully recovered. Men and women were admitted to separate but equally equipped wards. The separate wards were further divided into mental disease, contagious disease, non-contagious disease, surgery, medicine, and eye disease. Patients were attended to by same sex nurses and staff. Each hospital contained a lecture hall, kitchen, pharmacy, library, mosque and occasionally a chapel for Christian patients. Recreational materials and musicians were often employed to comfort and cheer patients up.

844: 8391: 1117: 2244:, developed a radically new concept of human vision. Ibn al-Haytham took a straightforward approach towards vision by explaining that the eye was an optical instrument. The description on the anatomy of the eye led him to form the basis for his theory of image formation, which is explained through the refraction of light rays passing between two media of different densities. Ibn al-Haytham developed this new theory on vision from experimental investigations. In the 12th century, his 3187: 1137:, focused on schedule, environment, and diet. As a result, medicine was very individualistic as every person who sought medical help would receive different advice dependent not only on their ailment, but also according to their lifestyle. There was still some connection between treatments however, as medicine was largely based on humoral theory which meant that each person needed to be treated according to whether or not their humors were hot, cold, melancholic, or choleric. 2539:, the first concept of ethics or "practical philosophy" in Islamic medicine. Al-Razi wrote his treatise "Kitab al-tibb al-ruhani" also known as "Book on Spritual Physick" on popular ethics. He felt that it was important not only for the physician to be an expert in his field, but also to be a role model. His ideas on medical ethics were divided into three concepts: the physician's responsibility to patients and to self, and also the patients’ responsibility to physicians. 1168: 2030:). The book was originally used as a textbook for instructors and students of medical sciences in the medical school of Avicenna. The book is divided into five volumes: The first volume is a compendium of medical principles, the second is a reference for individual drugs, the third contains organ-specific diseases, the fourth discusses systemic illnesses as well as a section of preventive health measures, and the fifth contains descriptions of compound medicines. The 8701: 1812:". The book contains a comprehensive encyclopedia of medicine in ten sections. The first six sections are dedicated to medical theory, and deal with anatomy, physiology and pathology, materia medica, health issues, dietetics, and cosmetics. The remaining four parts describe surgery, toxicology, and fever. The ninth section, a detailed discussion of medical pathologies arranged by body parts, circulated in autonomous Latin translations as the 2982:

whether connected to population control or personal reasons, it is clear that the Islamic culture not only incorporated, but brought about positive connotations in regards to women's reproductive health. During a period in which men dominated medicine, the almost immediate inclusion of women's reproductive health in medical texts, along with a variety of different techniques and contraceptive substances, long before the development of '

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pre-Islamic medical publishings was a fundamental building block for physicians and surgeons in order to expand the practice. Surgery was uncommonly practiced by physicians and other medical affiliates due to a very low success rate, even though earlier records provided favorable outcomes to certain operations. There were many different types of procedures performed in ancient Islam, especially in the area of ophthalmology.

2814: 1419:) was one of al-Razi's largest works, a collection of medical notes that he made throughout his life in the form of extracts from his reading and observations from his own medical experience. In its published form, it consists of 23 volumes. Al-Razi cites Greek, Syrian, Indian and earlier Arabic works, and also includes medical cases from his own experience. Each volume deals with specific parts or diseases of the body. 2859:. They described the womb as an independent creature inside the female body; and, when the womb was not fixed in place by pregnancy, the womb which craves moisture, was believed to move to moist body organs such as the liver, heart, and brain. The movement of the womb was assumed to cause many health conditions, most particularly that of menstruation was also considered essential for maintaining women's general health. 1932: 3159: 2968:' grew popular. This was the act of intentionally causing a miscarriage in the very early stages of pregnancy, though medical journals outlined a variety of methods, this was usually achieved through the consumption of plant derived substances. Medical journals and other literature from this time show an extensive and detailed list of a variety of different drugs and plant derived substances that supposedly have 1436:

physical topics, about the science of the elements, temperaments and humours, nor does he describe the structure of organs or the surgery. His book is without structure and logical consequence, and does not demonstrate the scientific method. In his description of every illness, their causes, symptoms and treatment he describes everything which is known to all ancient and modern physicians since

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There are a few instances of self-education like Ibn Sīnā, but students would have generally been taught by a physician knowledgeable on theory and practice. Pupils would typically find a teacher that was related, or unrelated, which generally came at the cost of a fee. Those who were apprenticed by their relatives sometimes led to famous genealogies of physicians. The

1356:(Latinized: Rhazes) (born 865) was one of the most versatile scientists of the Islamic Golden Age. A Persian-born physician, alchemist and philosopher, he is most famous for his medical works, but he also wrote botanical and zoological works, as well as books on physics and mathematics. His work was highly respected by the 10th/11th century physicians and scientists 2765:" or further more known as the hospitals, they were very well developed with how efficient they were along with how advance their systems were. These hospitals served the public with no charge and no discrimination also, they were advanced with how they operated from separating males and females along with having different wards for different types of diseases. 3104:. It included a medical school and hospital (bimaristan), a pharmacology laboratory, a translation house, a library and an observatory. Indian doctors also contributed to the school at Gundeshapur, most notably the medical researcher Mankah. Later after Islamic invasion, the writings of Mankah and of the Indian doctor Sustura were translated into Arabic at 2933:

be ejected very easily and is akin to an "unripe fruit". In later stages of pregnancy, the fetus is more similar to a "ripe fruit" where it is not easily ejected by simple environmental factors such as wind. Some of the physical and psychological factors that can lead a woman to miscarry are damage to the breast, severe shock, exhaustion, and

1193:. It was regarded at his time as an important work of literature in the science of medicine, and the most precious medical treatise from the point of view of Muslimic religious tradition. It is honoured by the title "the golden treatise" as Ma'mun had ordered it to be written in gold ink. In his work, Al-Ridha is influenced by the concept of 2758:. Even though the city was taken over, most of the hospitals and universities that existed were left intact to be used later on. The Islamic medical schools were later on built to the patterns that previously existed and medical education was taken very seriously regarding the cirriculum and the clinical training that has existed. 2958:. The topic of contraceptives and abortion had been very controversial throughout the western world; however, in the Islamic culture, due to the ties between women's reproductive health and one's overall well-being, medieval Muslim physicians devoted time and research into recording and testing different theories in this field. 2978:

this research made its way into the previously mentioned medical journals, already containing a list of abortifacients, providing a great variety of drugs and other prescribed substances for use as a contraceptive. The lists of drugs and other substances in these journals became widely accessible to be utilized by the public.

1133:. Fruits and vegetables were related to health and well-being, although they were seen as having different properties than what modern medicine says now. The use of the humoral theory is also a large part of medicine in this period, shaping the diagnosis and treatments for patients. This kind of medicine was largely 2883:

There was consensus among Arabic medical scholars that an excess of heat, cold, dryness or moisture in the woman's uterus would lead to the death of the fetus. The Hippocratics believed more warmth in the woman leads to the woman having a "better" color and leads to the production of a male offspring

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with a male. Among both healthy and sick women, it was generally believed that sexual intercourse and giving birth to children were means of keeping women from getting sick. One of the conditions that lack of sexual intercourse was considered to lead to is uterine suffocation in which it was believed

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became famous throughout Damascus for his majlises and was eventually oversaw all of the physicians in Egypt and Syria. He would go on to become the first to establish what would be described as a "medical school" in that its teaching focused solely on medicine, unlike other schools who mainly taught

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in the 2nd century, blood reached the left ventricle through invisible passages in the septum. By some means, Ibn al-Nafis, a 13th-century Syrian physician, found the previous statement on blood flow from the right ventricle to the left to be false. Ibn al-Nafis discovered that the ventricular septum

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can be caused by physical or psychological experiences that causes a woman to behave in a way that causes the bumping of the embryo, sometimes leading to its death depending on what stage of pregnancy the woman is currently in. He believed that during the beginning stages of pregnancy, the fetus can

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states that "pharmacy became independent from medicine as language and syntax are separate from composition, the knowledge of prosody from poetry, and logic from philosophy, for it is an aid rather than a servant". Sabur Ibn Sahl was a physician (d. 869) who wrote the first text on pharmacy in his

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Medieval Islamic cultures had different avenues for teaching medicine prior to having regulated standardized institutes. Like learning in other fields at the time, many aspiring physicians learnt from family and apprenticeship until majlises, hospital training, and eventually, madrasahs became used.

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and the classic Islamic legal tradition. With Adab literature, its main course of action is to mainly promote the universal virtues and morals that exists. Its main goal is to promote the importance of ethical behaviors, good manners, and social etiquette that can then intern be applied to all human

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was al-Ruhawi's introductory comment to elevate the practice of medicine in order to aid the ill and enlist the help of God in his support. He quotes Hippocrates that the medical arts involve three factors: the illness, the patient, and the physician. The book consisted of twenty chapters on various

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with a lancet and a probe was then inserted and used to depress the lens, pushing it to one side of the eye. After the procedure was complete, the eye was then washed with salt water and then bandaged with cotton wool soaked in oil of roses and egg whites. After the operation, there was concern that

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also had a lasting impact on Middle Eastern medicine. Intellectual thirst, open-mindness, and vigor were at an all-time high in this era. During the Golden Age of Islam, classical learning was sought out, systematised and improved upon by scientists and scholars with such diligence that Arab science

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as an independent, well-defined profession was established in the early ninth century by Muslim scholars. Islamic pharmacological tradition was a result of Mesopotamian intellectual centers that supported the exchange of ideas. Indian and far east influences made their way into Mesopotamia by trade

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The current medical education system tends to ignore and neglect certain periods of medicine where one of which is the history of Islamic medicine. The international institute of Islamic medicine has been created to spread the history and awareness of Islamic medicine across North America. Reviving

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Al-Baghdadi's discovery did not gain much attention from his contemporaries, because the information is rather hidden within the detailed account of the geography, botany, monuments of Egypt, as well as of the famine and its consequences. He never published his anatomical observations in a separate

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All anatomists agree upon that the bone of the lower jaw consists of two parts joined together at the chin. The inspection of this part of the corpses convinced me that the bone of the lower jaw is all one, with no joint nor suture. I have repeated the observation a great number of times, in over

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was a Persian polymath and physician of the tenth and eleventh centuries. He was known for his scientific works, but especially his writing on medicine. He has been described as the "Father of Early Modern Medicine". Ibn Sina is credited with many varied medical observations and discoveries such as

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uses only a few Persian medical terms, especially when mentioning specific diseases, but a large number of drugs and medicinal herbs are mentioned using their Persian names, which have also entered the medical language of Islamic medicine. As well as al-Tabari, Rhazes rarely uses Persian terms, and

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Within medieval Islamic medicine, Hunayn ibn Ishāq and his younger contemporary Tabit ben-Qurra play an important role as translators and commentators of Galen's work. They also tried to compile and summarize a consistent medical system from these works, and add this to the medical science of their

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You'll have to know that the origin of all maladies goes back to nutrition, as the Prophet – God bless him! – says with regard to the entire medical tradition, as commonly known by all physicians, even if this is contested by the religious scholars. These are his words: "The stomach is the House of

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The adoption by the newly forming Islamic society of the medical knowledge of the surrounding, or newly conquered, "heathen" civilizations had to be justified as being in accordance with the beliefs of Islam. Early on, the study and practice of medicine was understood as an act of piety, founded on

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and medieval physicians of the time agreed on the importance of contraceptive alternatives due to the legal rights of women. This was due to the belief that "early withdrawal impinged upon rights ... to enjoy full satisfaction." Commencing more research into possible contraceptives. The data from

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Many beliefs regarding women's bodies and their health in the Islamic context can be found in the religious literature known as "medicine of the prophet". These texts suggested that men stay away from women during their menstrual periods, "for this blood is corrupt blood", and could actually harm

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he refers to everything which is important for a physician to maintain health, and treat illness by means of medications and diet. He describes the signs of illness and does not omit anything which would be necessary for anyone who wants to learn the art of healing. However, he does not talk about

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refers to some of Galen's works. The titles of the books he mentions differ from those chosen by Hunayn ibn Ishāq for his own translations, thus suggesting earlier translations must have existed. Hunayn frequently mentions in his comments on works which he had translated that he considered earlier

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were techniques widely used in ancient Islamic society by physicians, as a therapy to treat patients. These two techniques were commonly practiced because of the wide variety of illnesses they treated. Cauterization, a procedure used to burn the skin or flesh of a wound, was performed to prevent

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When food enters the stomach, especially when it is plentiful, the stomach dilates and its layers get stretched...onlookers thought the stomach was rather small, so I proceeded to pour jug after jug in its throat…the inner layer of the distended stomach became as smooth as the external peritoneal

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The authority of the great physicians and scientists of the Islamic Golden age has influenced the art and science of medicine for many centuries. Their concepts and ideas about medical ethics are still discussed today, especially in the Islamic parts of our world. Their ideas about the conduct of

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translated various works by Hippocrates and Galen, of whom parts 6–8 of a pharmacological book, and fragments of two other books have been preserved. Hunayn ibn Ishāq has translated these works into Arabic. Another work, still existing today, by an unknown Syrian author, likely has influenced the

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The cooperation that occurred during the Abbasid empire in 750 A.D rested on the engagement between Nestorian Christians from the Byzantine empire and the Abbasid ruling elite. Nestorian Christians from the Byzantine empire escaped persecution and opposition to scientific advancements to receive

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theological and medical university. These scholars made their way to Gundeshapur in 529 following the closing of the academy by Emperor Justinian. They were engaged in medical sciences and initiated the first translation projects of medical texts. The arrival of these medical practitioners from

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There are examples male guardians consenting to the treatment of women by male physicians as well as examples of women seeking the care of a male physician or surgeon independently. Women would also seek the care of other women, and the role of women as practitioners appears in a number of works

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Before the turn of the millennium, hospitals became a popular center for medical education, where students would be trained directly under a practicing physician. Outside of the hospital, physicians would teach students in lectures, or "majlises", at mosques, palaces, or public gathering places.

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documents stated nobody was ever to be turned away. The ultimate goal of all physicians and hospital staff was to work together to help the well-being of their patients. There was no time limit a patient could spend as an inpatient; the Waqf documents stated the hospital was required to keep all

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The development and growth of hospitals in ancient Islamic society expanded the medical practice to what is currently known as surgery. Surgical procedures were known to physicians during the medieval period because of earlier texts that included descriptions of the procedures. Translation from

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Medieval Islam's receptiveness to new ideas and heritages helped it make major advances in medicine during this time, adding to earlier medical ideas and techniques, expanding the development of the health sciences and corresponding institutions, and advancing medical knowledge in areas such as

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The great availability and accessibility of these medical texts and the depth of research shown by the data shows that contraceptives and abortions, surgical or not, were frequently sought after by women of this time. While there may be a variety of reasons women would require these resources,

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Medicine was a central part of medieval Islamic culture. This period was called the Golden Age of Islam and lasted from the eighth century to the fourteenth century. The economic and social standing of the patient determined to a large extent the type of care sought and the expectations of the

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qualities. Many of these substances were later laboratory tested and found to be correctly identified in their ability to induce a miscarriage. While some of these early texts did recommend a woman get an abortion during early stages, it was clear that it was a dangerous and potentially fatal

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school. Rhazes considered the influence of the climate and the season on health and well-being, he took care that there was always clean air and an appropriate temperature in the patients' rooms, and recognized the value of prevention as well as the need for a careful diagnosis and prognosis.

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Responding to circumstances of time and place/location, Islamic physicians and scholars created an extensive and complex medical literature exploring, analyzing, and synthesizing the theory and practice of medicine Islamic medicine was initially built on tradition, chiefly the theoretical and

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The hospital was not just a place to treat patients: it also served as a medical school to educate and train students. Basic science preparation was learned through private tutors, self-study and lectures. Islamic hospitals were the first to keep written records of patients and their medical

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The treatment for infertility by Arab medical experts often depends on the type of conception theory they follow. The two-seed theory states that female sexual pleasure needs to be maximized in order to ensure the secretion of more seeds and thus maximize the chances of conception. Ibn Sina

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are important aspects of surgery. Before the development of anesthesia and antisepsis, surgery was limited to fractures, dislocations, traumatic injuries resulting in amputation, and urinary disorders or other common infections. Ancient Islamic physicians attempted to prevent infection when

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The movement of blood through the human body was thought to be known due to the work of the Greek physicians. However, there was the question of how the blood flowed from the right ventricle of the heart to the left ventricle, before the blood is pumped to the rest of the body. According to

1289:. Considered one of the great classical works of Islamic medicine, it was free of magical and astrological ideas and thought to represent Galenism of Arabic medicine in the purest form. This book was translated by Constantine and was used as a textbook of surgery in schools across Europe. 447:

650–1500) and had a major impact on humans along with setting the foundation for future medicine including the current modern Western Medicine. This tradition had a lasting impact in that it contributed to the European medicine along with continuing to influence medical practices today.

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was considered the earliest monograph on these infectious diseases. His careful description of the initial symptoms and clinical course of the two diseases, as well as the treatments he suggests based on the observation of the symptoms, is considered a masterpiece of Islamic medicine.

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was impenetrable, lacking any type of invisible passages, showing Galen's assumptions to be false. Ibn al-Nafis discovered that the blood in the right ventricle of the heart is instead carried to the left by way of the lungs. This discovery was one of the first descriptions of the

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procedure for the mother, causing a greater reliance on the safer alternative techniques and substances these texts also provided. Further development in this field led to the introduction of contraceptives that would prevent one's need to induce a miscarriage. Many religious

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Through the establishment and development of hospitals, ancient Islamic physicians were able to provide more intrinsic operations to cure patients, such as in the area of ophthalmology. This allowed for medical practices to be expanded and developed for future reference.

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With regard to the great and extraordinary Galen, he has written numerous works, each of which only comprises a section of the science. There are lengthy passages, and redundancies of thoughts and proofs, throughout his works. None of them I'm able to regard as being

419:. The caliph abused his knowledge in order to get rid of some of his enemies by way of poisoning. Likewise, Abu l-Ḥakam, who was responsible for the preparation of drugs, was employed by Muawiah. His son, grandson, and great-grandson were also serving the Umayyad and 1364:, who recorded biographical information about al-Razi, and compiled lists of, and provided commentaries on, his writings. Many of his books were translated into Latin, and he remained one of the undisputed authorities in European medicine well into the 17th century. 1262:, an antidote for poisons. His works, many of which no longer survive, are cited by later physicians. Taking what was known at the time by the classical Greek writers, Al-Tamimi expanded on their knowledge of the properties of plants and minerals, becoming 793:(The Medicine of Hippocrates), and his contemporary Hunayn ibn Ishāq then translated Galens commentary on Hippocrates. Rhazes is the first Arabic-writing physician who makes thorough use of Hippocrates's writings in order to set up his own medical system. 2895:

was viewed as an illness, one that could be cured if the proper steps were taken. Unlike the easement of pain, infertility was not an issue that relied on the patient's subjective feeling. A successful treatment for infertility could be observed with the

2643:, the Persian and Arabic words meaning "house of the sick" and "house of curing", respectively. The idea of a hospital being a place for the care of sick people was taken from the early Caliphs. The bimaristan is seen as early as the time of 784:

started his translations, because the historian Al-Yaʾqūbī compiled a list of the works known to him in 872. Fortunately, his list also supplies a summary of the content, quotations, or even the entire text of the single works. The philosopher

2473:. This procedure was done by "employing an instrument for keeping the eye open during surgery, a number of very small hooks for lifting, and a very thin scalpel for excision." A similar technique in treating complications of trachoma, called 2842:

were commonly referred to by Muslim clinicians when discussing female diseases. The Hippocratic authors associated women's general and reproductive health and organs and functions that were believed to have no counterparts in the male body.

1881:). This book covers the treatments and cures of diseases and ailments, through dieting. It is thought to have been written for the noble class who were known for their gluttonous behavior and who frequently became ill with stomach diseases. 2481:

onto the cornea. This was done by lifting the growth with small hooks and then cut with a small lancet. Both of these surgical techniques were extremely painful for the patient and intricate for the physician or his assistants to perform.

3027:(al-tibba alnabawi), otherwise known as "medicine of the prophet" (tibb al-nabi), which provided the argument that men can treat women, and women men, even if this means they must expose the patient's genitals in necessary circumstances. 1834:

In his book entitled "Kitab al-Mansuri", al-Razi summarizes everything which concerns the art of medicine, and does never neglect any issue which he mentions. However, everything is much abbreviated, according to the goal he has set

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remained an authoritative textbook on medicine in most European universities, regarded until the seventeenth century as the most comprehensive work ever written by a medical scientist. It was first translated into Latin in 1279 by

2117:. It emphasized the benefits of regular attention to the personal physical and mental well-being. The continued popularity and publication of his book into the sixteenth century is thought to be demonstration of the influence that 2833:

During the medieval time period Hippocratic treatises became used widespread by medieval physicians, due to the treatises practical form as well as their accessibility for medieval practicing physicians. Hippocratic treatises of

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methods are some of the first steps in evaluating a drug. These processes uses animal models and they have been developed in a way that will come to mimic human conditions to see what the effects of the herbal drugs really are.

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infection and stop profuse bleeding. To perform this procedure, physicians heated a metal rod and used it to burn the flesh or skin of a wound. This would cause the blood from the wound to clot and eventually heal the wound.

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The use of plants in medicine was quite common in this era with most plants being used in medicine being associated with both some benefits and consequences for use as well as certain situations in which they should be used.

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In medieval Islamic literature, cataracts were thought to have been caused by a membrane or opaque fluid that rested between the lens and the pupil. The method for treating cataracts in medieval Islam (known in English as

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medicine through direct contact with physicians who were practicing in the newly conquered regions rather than by reading the original or translated works. The translation of the capital of the emerging Islamic world to

2805:. Although his works was not enforced by the government authorities, they were widely accepted in the medical circles. The branch of pharmacology was a result of continuity and expansion of pre-existing civilizations. 426:

These sources testify to the fact that the physicians of the emerging Islamic society were familiar with the classical medical traditions already at the times of the Umayyads. The medical knowledge likely arrived from

1380:

In the beginning of an illness, chose remedies which do not weaken the strength. Whenever a change of nutrition is sufficient, do not use medication, and whenever single drugs are sufficient, do not use composite

1448:

and all those who lived in-between, leaving nothing out of all that every one of them has ever written, carefully noting down all of this in his book, so that finally all medical works are contained within his own

3144:, provided a lasting impact on Muslim medicine. Through their compilation of knowledge into medical books they each had a major influence on the education and filtration of medical knowledge in Islamic culture. 2701:

As hospitals developed during the Islamic civilization, specific characteristics were attained. Bimaristans were secular. They served all people regardless of their race, religion, citizenship, or gender. The

585:, translated into the Arabic language; the influence of the Persian medical tradition seems to be limited to the materia medica, although the Persian physicians were familiar with the Greek sources as well. 2212:, but whether this was discovered via human dissection is doubtful because "al-Nafis tells us that he avoided the practice of dissection because of the shari'a and his own 'compassion' for the human body". 2945:

While the belief that carrying children and childbirth was very important and healing part of the Islamic culture, many medical scholars also recognize the importance of family planning, primarily through

885:

period. However, starting already with Jabir ibn Hayyan in the 8th century, and even more pronounced in Rhazes's treatise on vision, criticism of Galen's ideas took on. in the 10th century, the physician

881:

translations as insufficient, and had provided completely new translations. Early translations might have been available before the 8th century; most likely they were translated from Syrian or Persian.

2348:

Medical contributions made by medieval Islam included the use of plants as a type of remedy or medicine. Medieval Islamic physicians used natural substances as a source of medicinal drugs—including

942:

of the scholar Ahron (who himself had translated it from the Greek), which was translated into the Arabian by Māsarĝawai al-Basrĩ in the 7th century. physicians also played an important role at the

2655:), Muhammad came across wounded soldiers and he ordered a tent be assembled to provide medical care. Over time, Caliphs and rulers expanded traveling bimaristans to include doctors and pharmacists. 1371:, but his particular attention to the individual case, stressing that each patient must be treated individually, and his emphasis on hygiene and diet reflect the ideas and concepts of the empirical 4906:

Ar-Razi. In: Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums Bd. III: Medizin – Pharmazie – Zoologie – Tierheilkunde = History of the Arabic literature Vol. III: Medicine – Pharmacology – Veterinary Medicine

4841: 4801: 4760:

4482:

1297:

throughout the Middle Ages and into modern time. One of the greatest contributions Haly Abbas made to medical science was his description of the capillary circulation found within the Royal Book.

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Zur Frage über die ältesten Übersetzungen indischer und persischer medizinischer Werke ins Arabische. = On the question of the oldest translations of Indian and Persian medical texts into Arabic.

2729:

to examine and prevent doctors from practicing until they passed an examination. From this time on, licensing exams were required and only qualified physicians were allowed to practice medicine.

7100: 7074: 3047: 2916:

and the role of the woman's body is purely for nourishment of the embryo. Treatments used by followers of this method often include treating infertile women with substances that are similar to

772:

and were aware of the fact that his biography was in part a legend. Also they knew that several persons lived who were called Hippocrates, and their works were compiled under one single name:

2666:

in 707 AD. The bimaristan had a staff of salaried physicians and a well equipped dispensary. It treated the blind, lepers and other disabled people, and also separated those patients with

3904:

M. Meyerhof: Autobiographische Bruchstücke Galens aus arabischen Quellen = Fragments of Galen's autobiography from Arabic sources. Archiv für Geschichte der Medizin 22 (1929), pp. 72–86

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