Hello,

I have completed the wiki assignment. I have added two new sections to the “history of medicine page” in the Arabic and Persian Medicine section. Here is the link to it

History of medicine. (2010, March 8). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 00:05, March 9, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_medicine&oldid=348635794

and post the whole thing here along with my references

Prophetic Medicine “Tibb al Nabawi”

Muslim scientists have been always influenced by the words and practices of the Prophet. Not only did the prophet of Islam Muhammad (PBUH) deal with the religious aspect of the religion, but also he dealt with various topics and aspects of the Muslim-everyday life. Prophetic Medicine refers to the actions and words of the prophet in regards to diseases, treatment of diseases, and caring of patients. He recommended many  supplication for the sick. In the medical Islamic science, an effort has been put to save the exact words of the Prophet’s advice regarding the practice of medicine. His sayings dealt with sickness, health, hygiene, and some references to specific diseases such as ophthalmia, pleurisy, and leprosy. His recommendations included the use of honey, milks of camels, and other natural substances. Not only these recommendations were often practiced by physicians, but also they are currently subject of contemporary research topics. After the prophet’s death, it is not very surprising that many scholars have been influenced and decided to take medicine as a path of life. One of the most important works is “Al Tibb al Nabawi” of Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya. In his book, he points out to specific remedies recommended by the Prophet. Jawziyya also deals with pharmacological studies on the use of various herbs and natural substances. Jawziyya also elaborates on the relation between medicine and religion. Finally, it is worth to mention that some of these practices are being adopted by modern medicine and are being tested out in many researches centers around the world.

Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. and Iqbal, Muzaffar,  Islam, science, Muslims and technology / Seyyed Hossein Nasr in conversation with Muzaffar Iqbal Al-Qalam Pub., Sherwood Park, Alta. :  2007 p 54.

The Father of Surgery

Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi –known to Europeans as Albucasis- is the father of surgery in the Islamic Middle East during the middle ages. He lived form 936 to 1013AD. Along with Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariya’ al-Razi (Rhazes), Ali ibn al-‘Abbas al-Majus”i (Haly Abbas), and Ibn Sina (Avicenna), al-Zahrawi devoted his entire life to the advancement of medicine as a whole and surgery in particular. (1) He wrote to Cordoba an encyclopaedia called Kitab al Tasrif composed of thirty books discussing different medical topics and procedures including childish, dentistry, and patient-doctor relationship. This 1000 year old encyclopaedia also includes anatomical descriptions and classifications of diseases.(1) The last chapter in the treatise was entirely devoted to surgery. He introduced the history of surgical literature and illustrated a collection of various instruments. The illustrations were circulated in both Arabic language, Hebrew, Turkish, and Latin translation as manuscripts separated form the rest of the encyclopaedia.(2) His work described to what is known nowadays as neurosurgical diagnosis, surgical treatment of head injuries, skull fractures, headaches, spinal injuries and many other medical processes. In his life, he also contributed to ophthalmology, pharmacology and nutrition. Cautery (Kayi in Arabic) was a technique often used by Zahrawi.(3) In facts, he preferred it over the use of knife. Zahrawi was on of the first to discover and expand on this procedure which is used wildly in our world till nowadays.

(1)Emilie Savage-Smith, “The Practice of Surgery in Islamic Lands: Myth and Reality.”  Social History of Medicine 2000 13(2):307-321. . http://www.jstor.org.

(2) Emilie Savage-Smith.  “Albucasis on Surgery and Instruments.”  M. S. Spink, G. L. Lewis. Isis, Vol. 68, No. 2. Jun., 1977. p. 319-321. The University of Chicago Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/230098

(3) Surg Neurol. “Al-Zahrawi and Arabian neurosurgery, 936-1013 AD.” 1986 Jul;26(1):92-5.

Al-Rodhan NR, Fox JL. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3520907

Posted: 03|8|10 at 4:10 pm. Filed under: Uncategorized.
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