Vulgar Medicine in the Naseri era of Iran

One of the important subjects in the cultural history of Iran during the Naseri era that hasnt been fully considered is the role and importance of Vulgar medicine in healthcare system. The health system in this era was fused fatalism accompanied with the lack and shortage of governmental care services. The people were also indifferent towards sanitary issues.In this situation the belief of people greatly affected the healthcare system and classified the system into three sub groups consisting of: Physicians, Magicians and charlatans, and lastly old females. The information source for the healthcare workers came from either their elders’ experience with diseases or the knowledge provided by vulgar medicine in terms of identifying and curing illnesses. Medicine of the Naseri era is also noteworthy because of the introduction of new Western medicine offering new methods of treatments which caused some controversies. The teaching of novel medicine in "Dar al-Funun" was a turning point in the history of medicine in Iran, but this didnt decrease the importance and attention that vulgarmedicine received. Actually at the end of this era, vulgar medicine stood alongside novel medicine and was used cooperatively. This paper will try to fully explain the reasons why the people were so interested in vulgar medicine, and why it remained intact during the Naseri era while modern medicine had been introduced during that time.