Factors and Obstacles Affecting the Participation of European Physicians in Iran during Qajar Period

The presence of European physicians in Iran during the Qajar period had political and religious dimensions, in addition to its health aspects. Different segments of Iranian society had a very hard life due to the increasing epidemics and relative ineffectiveness of traditional medicine in the treatment of diseases. Being accomplished through an analytic-descriptive method, the present research is to explore the factors conducive to the presence of these physicians in Iranian community, to assess their activity obstacles, its typology and scope using documentaries and library sources. The research findings indicate that the modern medical science, as a part of West scientific procedure, played an important role in the process of European countries entrance in Eastern communities. In fact, one of the keys to understand how and why the process of Iran's political - economic extensive relations and European countries during Qajar period can be analyzed considering three political-economic social - religious and scientific general dimensions.