Journal of Research on History of Medicine
Volume:11 Issue: 1, Feb 2022

An aqueduct is a unique watercourse structure and one of the most common ways of extracting groundwater which is used in Iran and other dry parts of the world. The present article investigates the aqueduct of Boyasfli village and its role in the life of the people of this village. The aqueduct reflects the efforts, intelligence and ingenuity of the hardworking people of this village in the past to provide water for agriculture and other uses in this arid region of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province. Employing a descriptive-analytical method and the interview method, the article seeks to find the role of the aqueduct of Boa village in the lives of the people of this village. The findings indicate that although the water of this aqueduct was not suitable for drinking, it affected the life quality and health of the people of this village. The destruction of this aqueduct caused the people of this village to migrate to neighboring cities.

Music is a scientific-cultural phenomenon that is related to medicine. The present study aims at reviewing the status of Iranian music in medical knowledge and its effectiveness on the brain and other organs of the body for treatment. This study with a descriptive-analytical ap- proach by the keywords of music therapy, songs, and music history has been done by reviewing papers, books, medical history sources, and valid databases. A content review of texts shows that Iranian musi- cians have been aware of the music’s effect on the quadruple tempera- ments as maintaining health and a therapeutic method for physical and mental illnesses. They believed in the connection between human na- ture and melodies. Today, researchers also believe that the metaphysi- cal power of music and its positive effects on human morality and behavior and emotional states can be viewed from two dimensions: general and specific. Music therapy is a complementary therapy that improves the healing process of patients by raising the threshold of beneficial stress and mitigating negative affections, regulating internal processes, creating a state of relaxation, and boosting safety strength. Music was played in religious ceremonies in ancient Iran and was a sub-branch of mathematical sciences. Philosophers, physicians, musi- cians, and even poets have expounded on the effect of music on the human psyche. Music stimulates motivation, energy, and emotional connection, and because of its cost-effectiveness, attractiveness, ease of use, non-invasiveness, and performance by non-specialists, the latter can be used as a particular therapeutic technique in medicine and standard therapies and rehabilitation.

The present article has put forward the idea that contemporary Persian realist stories and memoirs contain rare or sometimes unique information about the medical developments in Iran during the transition from traditional medicine to modern medicine, during the modernization of medicine in the Pahlavi era. The author believes that, in Iran, most research performed in the field of medical historiography is based on medical sources and, more recently, on documents whose information gaps can be compensated by information obtained from other fields, such as literature and memoirs. Accordingly, the author has first tried to prove the authenticity and validity of this data for being used in historical research by proposing some theoretical frameworks. Then, by adopting an interdisciplinary approach and analytical method, the researcher attempted to extract the most important topics related to Iranian medical history based on the selected sources.

Medicine, as one of the most important branches of science, developed significantly in the Abbasid era (656-132 AH). In addition to writing medical texts and treating patients, Muslim physicians also paid close attention to medical ethics, presenting the physician’s responsibilities, along with the treatment of the patient according to the teachings of the Holy Qur’an and the Prophet traditions. The medical ethics of this era, extracted from the works of physicians of the Abbasid era, comprised various components and principles. In this research, ethical components from the perspective of Tabari, Rahawi, and Razi are studied, compared, and analyzed.This study has been conducted by referring to the texts of the Abbasid era, with a special emphasis on medical texts. Having the objective of the present research in mind, the researchers employed the content analysis method in analyzing the collected data.The most important ethical components of physicians of this period comprise confidentiality, responsibility, and good morals. Components, such as confidentiality and responsibility, are almost on the same level of importance, the elements representing doctors’ commitment to the lives of the patients. That of good morals, however, although crucial in the first stages of treatment, has been less paid attention to by the physicians of this age.While writing the first independent medical work, Tabari heeded the ethical aspects of this profession. Razi also paid a lot of attention to ethics in the clinic and considered it necessary to regard the patients’ condition during the course of treatment. However, the first independent work in the field of medical ethics, taking a comprehensive view of the field, was written by Rahawi. Comparing the ethical components found in the works of the mentioned physicians shows that the frequency of the component confidentiality in Razi, Rahawi, and Tabari’s works is about 51%, 40%, and 9%, respectively. Regarding the component of responsibility, Razi and Tabari have paid more attention (59% and 32%) than Rahawi, with an average of 9%. However, regarding good morals, Rahawi with an average of 59% stands in the first place, Razi with 28%, and Tabari, with 13%, in the second and third place, respectively.

Afzaluddin Abu Hamed known as Afzal Kermani, in addition to his profession of historiography, has also had a prominent status in medical sciences. However, in works related to the history of medicine in Iran and Islam, his works and views have been neglected. In the present study, an attempt has been made to examine his views concerning his written works or those attributed to him, especially those left with an emphasis on the medical treatise. The research findings indicate that he was a competent and trusted doctor at that time and was appreciated by the people and local governors of Kerman and Yazd. In Kerman, he has also left a valuable contribution to medical science: in practical and theoretical medicine, especially in writing books. To the extent that he can be considered one of the pioneers of theorists and practice in the principles of personal and public health and preventive medicine.