Journal of Research on History of Medicine
Volume:4 Issue: 1, Feb 2015

Abu al-Qasim Khalaf ibn al-Abbas al-Zahrawi, also known as Albucasis, is one of the greatest physicians and surgeons in Islamic world who is best remembered for his medical encyclopedia, Al-Tasrif li man ajaz an-il-talif (An Aid for Those Who Lack the Capacity to Read Big Books). Al-Tasrif li man ajaz an-il-talif (An Aid for Those Who Lack the Capacity to Read Big Books). Al-Tasrif was translated into Latin by Gerard of Cremona in 1497 and was considered as a reference book in European universities until the seventeenth century. The original Arabic text of the thirtieth treatise along with the English translation has been published by the university of California in 1973 under the title of “Albucasis on Surgery and Instruments”.This treatise has also been published in Iran. Al-Zahrawi has done a great work in medical sciences, particularly in dentistry, by introducing different surgical methods and instruments, but unfortunately most physicians are not familiar with his efforts and achievements. In this book, Al-Zahrawi presented dental diseases in five parts. In eachchapter, he illustrated different tools and instruments and represented clinical experiences and treatment methods step by step. In this article, we have reviewed innovations, instruments, diseases and patterns of clinical experiences in the field of dentistry which has been introduced by al-Zahrawi, and in addition to honoring the efforts of Islamic scientists and the role of traditional Islamic medicine, we have tried to bestow some of the inspirational experiences of our predecessors which may be used in modern medicine.

When cultures collide, through its major activities that emanate from the translation, they can flourish themselves. Intimacy and familiarity of the Islamic World with Greek medical heritage which happened to be in the golden age of the Abbasids in Baghdad, led to the enrichment and prosperity of Islamic medicine. This sort of familiarity and reproductivity grew among Nestorian Christians through their attendance in the court of Caliphs, translation of Greek medical works into Syriac and Arabic and writing some medical works as well. The present study, while introducing Nestorian physicians and their medical effects and valuable services, attempted to explore and analyze historical texts, and also tried to manifest the role of Nestorian minority in the transmission of Greek medicine to Islamic civilization in the Abbasid period which led to the emergence of prominent physicians and in turn the advent of some famous works in this civilization. A glance at the history of medical life shows to what extent the role of Nestorian Christian minority in the Abbasid era is indispensable and decisive in the transmission of Greek medicine to Islamic civilizatioOrjoozat fi al-Teb is one of the valid poetry collections in the context of Iranian traditional medicine education which has been versified in Arabic language in Hazaj rythem. Considering various versions of the book, it contains 1330 couplets. There is no exact information about when the book was compiled and who the versifier was. However, the common saying is that Avicenna provided the work as a summary of the book The Canon of Medicine to make it available as an educational text. Although the main text has been frequently copied in different eras, the main text remains roughly untouched. In some versions, poem and verse introductions and some chapters and categories have been added. This study discusses saying Orjooze(in Persian: OrjoozeSara) and its history and investigates poem introduction. It also provides readers a complete text of the book based on one of the valid copies.

From 1269 to 1339H (1852 to 1920 AD), three devastating earthquakes took place in Shiraz, causing numerous human casualties and destruction to the city. The most devastating earthquake, known as the great disaster, happened in 1269 (1825), bringing about the death of nearly a quarter of its inhabitants. In addition to houses, numerous strong and historical constructions, namely Shahcheragh, Madrese khan and the Armenian Church, were destroyed. The impact of important historical events on literature, especially on poetry has often found in Persian Literature. Hence, the 1269 earthquake in Shiraz was no exception. This event, in fact, coincided with the era of great poets and artists such as Vesal’s sons. Vesal’s sons showed the tragic event in their poetry. And Davari wrote these poems in calligraphy. The manuscripts of the Odes, describing the earthquake of Shiraz in 1269, are kept in the Library of Parliament This article aimed at exploring the social and demographic status of the era through analyzing the poems and comparing them with other available resources. This analysis provided us with valuable information scarcely found in the historical sources of the period.

Ibn Abi Sadiq Neishaboori was the Iranian philosopher and medical scientist in the fifth century AH. In addition to writing a number of books in traditional medicine, he wrote commentary explanations on important books of famous Greek and Roman physicians, Hippocrates and Galen. Because of this, he was called Hippocrates the Second. Ibn Abi Sadiq was the student of Avicenna and the teacher of Jorjani, connecting these two great Persian physicians together, one writing in Arabic and the other in Persian. Hence, he had an important role in the history of Persian and Islamic medicine. Despite the fame of his teacher and student, this scientist was left rather unknown and was not well introduced to the world. This article has attempted to explain his character and introduce his books.

Ghestas-ol-Atebba, written by Noureddin Mohammad ben Abdollah Shirazi, known as Noureddin Mohammad Shirazi, an Iranian physician, scholar and Persian author in the Indian subcontinent in the eleventh century A.H. He has some works such as Alfazol-Advieh, Tebbe-Darashekouhi, Ghestas-ol-Atebba and etc. His book, Ghestas-ol-Atebba, has a simple prose and belongs to the Saffavi period. This book includes medical terminologies, the name of physicians and medical words in Persian, Arabic, Greek and Hindi that has been written by Khanehzad Khan Ben Mahabat Khan, in India in (1040 LH). This article is an attempt to introduce the book and author of Ghestas-ol-Atebba. The importance of the above-mentioned book is being introduced as well.