نشریه تاریخ پزشکی
پیاپی 49 (بهار 1403)

 Farsnameh (horse letter) is books which examine the method of training and maintenance, health, types of horse diseases and methods of treatment of these diseases. The eye as one of the most vital organs of the horse is easily exposed to various diseases with internal or external origin. This article is a review of equine history with an emphasis on equine eye diseases in ancient veterinary history.

 This research was done based on library sources and descriptive method.

Ethical Considerations: 

In this research, honesty and trustworthiness have been observed in the use of historical sources.

 Horse eye diseases have always been of interest throughout the history of veterinary medicine and have been mentioned in historical texts, especially Farsnamehs. The importance of this research is that it lies in the fact that the authors, by emphasizing the ancient texts of the Islamic period, found diseases whose names are incomprehensible for many people today and perhaps one of the reasons for that are language changes in the field of history.

 The study of horse eye diseases in Farsnameh opens a window to the knowledge and methods of equine science throughout history. With remarkable advances in this field, studying ancient texts can help to gain a deeper understanding of the origins and evolution of equine knowledge.

 Pasteur Institute of Iran, as one of the oldest research and treatment centers in the country, plays an important role in controlling infectious diseases in Iran and the world. Dr. Sakineh Dora al-Sadat Tabatabaie Shahab (1914-2001), physician and specialist in laboratory science, was a prominent researcher at the institute who mainly focused on tuberculosis and other Infectious diseases. This article aims to highlight the services of this great Iranian scientist.

 Information about Dr.Tabatabaei Shahab and her activities in Pasteur Institute of Iran were collected from various sources including documents, articles and interviews with knowledgeable people.

Ethical Considerations:

 In all stages of the research, the principles of honesty and trustworthiness have been fully observed.

 This article reviews the life and valuable activities of Dr.Tabatabai Shahab in the field of tuberculosis by studying the available documents. Her continuous and unrelenting efforts and valuable services in Iran and the world are clearly evident during his life.

 Dr.Tabatabai Shahab achieved significant scientific honors not only in Iran but also in the international scene. Her precious services in Pasteur Institute of Iran will be a light for researchers, especially women, in serving the human society.

 The occupation of Iran by the Allies in Shahrivar 1320 AH faced the country with a great crisis. Considering the strategic and geographical location of Khouzestan, the Allies attacked this province and finally it was captured by them after the army's resistance was crushed. The occupation of Khouzestan brought harmful results, especially in the field of healthcare. The purpose of the current research is to investigate the healthcare status in Khouzestan during the Second World War in 1320-1324 AH.

 This descriptive-analytical article was written with the library method and using archival sources and documents and newspapers of that time.

Ethical Considerations: 

In this research, the principle of trustworthiness and honesty in citing library and archival sources, originality of sources and avoiding bias in texts and analyzes have been observed.

 The results indicate that with the Allies’ domination on Khouzestan, the disruption of social order and the reduction of the central government’s supervision on healthcare, many infectious diseases that had decreased in the first Pahlavi period reappeared and the organization of healthcare faced problems.

 Hunger, lack of health and medical facilities, increased transportation and lack of quarantine during the occupation of Khouzestan by the Allies led to the spread of infectious diseases such as malaria and typhus and increased casualties and continued until Allies’ departure. However, no effective measures were taken to improve health and increase medical services.

Background and Aim: 

Book illustration has played a significant role in popularizing ideas and making literary, scientific and historical texts more accessible. In other words, art has made science less complicated and easier to understand for the general reader. Examining therapy-themed literary books from the Islamic Age leads us to medicine as the origin of the medical writing they contain. Pictures in Islamic medical manuscripts depict subjects discussed in the text, such as human and animal dissection, therapeutic procedures, disease prevention and medicinal properties of herbs. It seems that dealing with the treatment methods of doctors and prescribing them in literary texts and its depiction in literary versions of the Islamic period has not been paid much attention by researchers. Among the cases of this research. Until now, there have been researches about the prescription of doctors, which mostly referred to treatment methods. However, there has not been a research that specifically evaluates the effect of medical texts and imagery, especially therapeutic writing in literary versions. As the evidence shows, only a handful of Persian doctors wrote on therapeutic procedures; the same doctors who were the most prolific in their field and produced comprehensive theories. Among these physicians were Abu Bakr al-Razi, Avicenna and Zayn al-Din Jorjani the three most influential figures of their day in medicine and in literary medical writing.

Methods:

 Conducted as descriptive-analytical research, the study explored the relationship between medicine and artworks found in medicine-related literary books, aiming to answer one specific question: To what extent was the medical writing in Islamic literary books influenced by theoretical medical discussions and clinical instructions.

Ethical Considerations:

 In this research, honesty and trustworthiness have been observed in the use of historical sources.

Results:

 This article looks exclusively at the therapeutic procedures prescribed by Islamic physicians, showing how medical illustrations and discussions of clinical treatment methods in literary works reflect their authors’ substantial familiarity with medicine.

Conclusion: 

The results of this study show that by depicting the scientific prescription, the prescriptions of doctors and treatment methods have made their way into the literature, have been removed from the circle of theoretical and practical medicine and have been found and published in the context of the illustrated prescription.

 The spread of epidemic diseases in Yazd has a long history. The approach of this research to epidemic diseases is based on the report of these diseases in Yazd, based on public and local sources from Timurid era to the end of Safavid era. A cursory look at the sources of these periods shows that the spread of epidemic diseases in Yazd, which had a direct impact on the social and economic life, especially the lower classes of the society, was mostly due to political factors. This research aims to answer the following questions: In the time frame of the present research, what factors have been effective in the spread of epidemic diseases in Yazd? Epidemic diseases have had a greater impact on which social classes from a sociological point of view and what factors have been effective in this impact?

 This research, with a descriptive and analytical approach and based on a library study by referring to first and second hand sources, tries to find out how and why the outbreak of epidemic diseases by examining the reports of these sources. Pay attention to these diseases in Yazd during these periods.

Ethical Considerations: 

In compiling this research, the principles of trustworthiness and honesty in citing the used texts, originality of the source and avoiding bias in referring to the texts or analyzes have been observed.

 The findings show that during the Timurid and later Safavid periods, the spread of epidemic diseases in Yazd had a direct relationship with the political, economic and social situation of that time. Therefore, whenever the internal and external political situation became tense, it played a significant role in the spread of epidemic diseases, and besides that, the members of the society in economic hardships such as famine and bruises or lack of food and Their needs were placed, it has been effective on the spread of epidemic diseases.

 The investigations show that epidemic diseases were more prevalent during the Timurid period in Yazd, which left many human and financial losses, mostly due to many battles and sieges or Due to widespread famines and droughts, it has spread. During this period, most of the lower classes of Yazd society were involved with this disease, but in the Safavid era, all classes of society were affected by this disease.

Single-method treatment is a method of treatment that often removes the disease from the body of patients with the help of an immaterial source and using only one method, regardless of the type of disease and it has not been studied so far. This article deals with one of the examples of this treatment method, namely ointment ordinance in the Catholic Church and its roots throughout history and other related issues.

In this research, religious and mythological sources in different religious, literary and historical fields, especially the holy texts of Christianity, were examined for comparison and analysis. Also, with the keywords of single-method treatments, tradition of anointing, anointing in Christianity, anointing with oil, anointing in Judaism and anointing in the Catholic Church, related articles in reliable citation databases such as Pubmed, Scopus, Google Scholar, SID and Magiran were reviewed and after Measuring the validity of their findings, some of them were cited.

Ethical Considerations: 

In the current research, the ethical aspects of library study, including the authenticity of texts, honesty and trustworthiness, have been observed.

In the Catholic Church, patients’ anointing is one of the seven traditional rites that are performed as a symbol of eternal life and health of soul and body. This ritual has been popular among other ancient tribes, but based on the special approach of Catholic Christians in terms of its religious position in the church and also the special conditions that were given to the performers of this ritual; its importance is distinguished from other tribes.

Single-method treatments, which are used in the treatment of diseases by connecting to a supernatural source, have been common among some tribes for a long time. The rite of anointing in the Catholic Church was not initially considered a one-way cure, but only a religious tradition, but it gradually evolved throughout history and evolved in the church and healing was achieved through it.

Acquainting with Iranian sages’ and thinkers’ opinions by correct reading their works, can not only be effective in improving our insight, deep thinking and personal identity acceptance as Iranian Muslims, but also it is very helpful in formulating and designing policies and macro-planning in accordance with our local, national and religious characteristics in various fields. Since achieving and promoting the health of man and society is one of the most important human goals throughout history, this article seeks to examine the approach of one of the greatest Iranian sages, Sheikh Ajl Saadi, regarding the mental and physical health, as well as the importance and connection between them.

This research has been written by collecting data in a document-library method based on Saadi's Golestan. Ethical Consideration:

During this research process, while referring to the mentioned context, not only has it been tried that the principle of fidelity and loyalty as well as originality of resources to be taken in account, but it also has been tried to avoid bias in referring to the texts or analyzes.

The present article has extracted narratives related to mental and physical health in Saadi's Golestan after the definition of health and has found 31 anecdotes related to this topic. In the area of physical health, these stories are related to the two issues of overeating and maintaining the moderation of human nature and in the area of mental health, to the two issues of mental health (worship, self-respect, trust, avoiding sin and thinking about God's blessings, consultation, gratitude for blessings and the afterlife) and the mental health of others (respecting others, generosity, benevolence, good-naturedness, forgiveness, prudence, modesty and covering up faults).

This research not only shows the link between physical and mental health from Saadi's point of view; rather, on the one hand, he believes in the superiority of mental health over physical health and on the other hand, he believes that improvement of the individual's mental health depends on the mental health of the society.

 Chronic kidney disease affects one out of ten people today. These diseases are generally irreversible, progressive and associated with cardiovascular risks. One of the most widely used plants in ethnomedicine for kidney diseases is Alhagi maurorum, which has not yet been reviewed by any scientific study on its renal effects. Therefore, the present systematic review was conducted in order to review the therapeutic effect of A.maurorum on kidney diseases.

 The Cochrane, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, MEDLINE, Google Scholar and ProQuest databases were searched using relevant MeSH keywords to identify relevant studies using PRISMA standards. All studies of A.maurorum and the role of its compounds in kidney diseases and their mechanism of action were included. Studies have shown that A.maurorum and its mann (commonly known as Manna of hedysarum or Toranjebin in farsi) have a diuretic effect and prevent kidney spasms.

Ethical Considerations:

 In the current research, the ethical aspects of Review studies, including the authenticity, honesty and trustworthiness, have been observed.

 The results showed that the hydrophilic extract of this plant reduces the concentration of urinary oxalate and the formation of urinary calcium oxalate stones and the flavonoid compounds of this plant have immediate oxidant effects that prevent damage to renal epithelial cells. Also, consumption of the plant reduces serum creatinine and improves kidney function. In addition, ethanolic extract of A. maurorum root has an antispasmodic and relaxing effect on the urethra and is effective in relieving pain caused by kidney stones (urethral contraction).

 Therefore, we conclude that this plant can be used to improve kidney function as well as treat kidney disease.

 One of the most prominent Qarabadin in medical education is Qarabadin-e Salehi. This research aims to extract and report Greek and Egyptian physicians’ identity from this book.

 In this study, which was conducted by a documentary method and based on lithography press of the Dar al-Sultaneh written in 1866, firstly, Greek and Egyptian physicians of Gharabadin-e Salehi were collected and then reported according to the historical sequence and the frequency of each persion in the book.

Ethical Considerations: 

All ethical principles, including the authenticity of Qarabadin Salehi's manuscript and the authors' intellectual rights, were considered.

 33 physicians in form of medical, historical, philosophical and scientific figures were found in Gharabadin-e Salehi. The highest frequencies belong to Galen (87 ones), Hippocrates (39 ones) and Aristotle (10 ones) respectively. In some cases, these characters find ritual and religious aspects; As Hermes is matched with Idris, Aghatazimon with Seth and Discoridos with Luqman.

 Considering the Personal identity and national and social affiliations mentioned in Gharabadin-e Salehi and their frequencies can help to better understand the medical records throughout history and their interpretation.

 Before the Safavid era, the use of substances such as opium as a medicine was common. But in this era, all kinds of drugs for pleasure spread and different classes of people, soldiors, ministers and even the king himself turned to it and tried to use them to advance their political goals. So that it’s improper use, the society was caught in a problem called addiction. The literature of this period was not far from the effects of addiction and it was clearly reflected in the poets' poems. Accordingly, the present study seeks to address the issue of addiction through the lens of poetry of Safavid poets and to answer the question that from the poets' point of view, how did drug addiction spread and what was their reaction as a group of intellectuals in society to this issue?

 This research is descriptive-analytical and the method of collecting data is library and historical research.

Ethical Considerations:

 In this research, the ethical aspects of library study, including the authenticity of texts, honesty and trustworthiness have been observed.

 The findings indicate that people turned to drugs with the intention of stimulating taste, pleasure, sadness and happiness, stimulation of sexual desire and therapeutic use. But due to its destructive effects, they wanted to quit and while condemning the use of such substances, they also suggested gradual quitting them.

 In the poets’ works of the Safavid period, types of drugs were mentioned 85 times. Opium and tobacco are the most used and poppy and hemp are the least used. Many examples of terms related to drugs, how to prepare and use these drugs, condemning the sufferers and presenting various suggestions to get rid of addiction, in the poets’ poems of this period indicate the prevalence of drugs in those days.

 This research studies the health status and its dimensions in the Iranian society of the Naseri period from the perspective of two female orientalists who traveled to different cities during their stay in Iran and wrote about their experiences. It aims to get familiar with the health status, the design of its components and dependents, which will be a foundation for future researches on social studies of health.

 The research method is qualitative and based on the analysis of the travelogues of Dieulafoy and Bell as a document.

Ethical Considerations:

 In this research, honesty and trustworthiness in the use of historical sources have been fully respected.

 Introduction of fatal and epidemic diseases such as cholera, malaria, tuberculosis and typhoid and other common diseases such as digestive diseases, pinworm infection and skin diseases and paying attention to environmental health focusing on water pollution and sewage disposal are among the findings of the research. In addition, it also provides information on the eating habits, nutritional status and physical structure of Iranians of that period.

 Bell and Dieulafoy’s travelogues provide useful information about the general health status and the incidence of various diseases in certain groups (including children) and deepen the population trends in terms of the resulting mortality statistics. Certainly, the respective governments of these orientalists have paid attention to the health dimensions of Iranians in their political and economic evaluations in order to communicate with the Iranian government. Considering the place of public health in the Iranian lifestyle, it can be clearly seen that the lifestyle, including manners, customs, eating habits, clothing and etc. have acted as social components that determine the health of Iranians.

 Architecture, as a container of human life, is the science of creating environments. One of the important environments is the treatment centers, which play an important role in maintaining and improving people's health. Iranian traditional medicine has paid attention to human interaction with the environment through the senses for health and treatment. In such a way that in addition to paying attention to the sense of sight in understanding the environment, doctors have provided recommendations for the use of environmental sounds and scents, which must also be addressed. This research tries to examine useful medical recommendations, especially how to use sound and smell and their effect on health and treatment.

 The present qualitative research was written with descriptive-analytical method and using library sources.

Ethical Considerations: 

In this research, not only has it been tried that the principle of fidelity and loyalty as well as originality of resources to be taken into account, but it also has been tried to avoid bias in referring to the texts or analyses.

 Both sound and smell affect human emotional symptoms, but the scent also plays a role in the health and treatment of people by affecting the air quality.

 Smelling a pleasant aroma and hearing a pleasant sound are good for health. Therefore, architects due to the subtleties hidden in the design of the environment and doctors due to the effect of smell and sound have an important role in the health and treatment of various diseases. Based on this, creating separate and effective sound systems and music rooms in different parts of medical centers and paying attention to consumables due to the effect on the smell of the environment, air quality and the amount of sound absorption and reflection require special attention. Also, using the scent in the building's air conditioning system and creating green spaces suitable for each treatment department and installing water features and fountains to hear the sound of water, birds and the rustling of trees can help to create the desired sound and smell and thus speed up the treatment.

 Since the past, the use of medicinal plants in the treatment of many diseases has attracted people's attention. The outbreak of the Covid-19 disease since December 2019 may have led to stress and anxiety due to its unknown nature. The present study aims to investigat the recognition, amount of consumption, source of preparation and effectiveness of sedative medicinal plants in reducing stress caused by the spread of this disease from the perspective of the people of Khouzestan, Isfahan, Markazi and Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari provinces.

 The present research is an applied cross-sectional-analytical type that was conducted at one point in time (Spring 2019). The research tool was a researcher-made online questionnaire with 10 general items, 23 specialized items and 12 items regarding the names of commonly used plants. Questionnaires were randomly distributed in four selected provinces. Data was analysed by SPSS 22 software.

Ethical Considerations:

 In this study, criteria concerned with moral principles as confidentiality, personal satisfaction and freedom of participants in cooperation or non-cooperation during the study process have been observed.

The findings of one-sample t-test showed that the most effective factor in the use of sedative medicinal plants was the preference for the use and therir effectiveness compared to chemical drugs. The results showed that the residence province had a significant effect on the item"sedative medicinal plants had a significant effect in reducing the stress of the corona crisis in me" and the people of the Markazi province had the highest average. Ginger (3.61), thyme (3.43) and cinnamon (3.42) were the most consumed herbs among the people, which seems that in addition to the goal of reducing anxiety, increasing the immune system was also one of the reasons for using them which is also consistent to the results of t -test. Also, the findings showed that people considered Attari as the main source of supply.

 People in different provinces had different knowledge of sedative plants and used them to reduce the stress of this disease.

 Malaria and plague were among the most important diseases that spread based on environmental conditions and characteristics. The purpose of this research is to investigate the causes and areas of prevalence, ways of prevention and treatment of these two deadly diseases in Iran (1304-1344) based on the of European tourists’ reports.

 This research has been written in a descriptive-analytical way by referring to texts and library sources and historical editions.

Ethical Considerations:

 In referring to documents and sources, the principles of trustworthiness, honesty and inference from historical data have been observed.

 Infectious diseases such as malaria and plague appeared and spread due to the lack of sanitary facilities and personal and environmental health. But the role of individual and group attitudes of different layers of society in the causes of disease and their treatment methods should be considered. The penetration of folk beliefs among a large part of the society, unwillingness and lack of trust in modern treatment methods - with the arrival of modern medicine in Iran - had a great impact on the spread of infectious diseases and mortality.

 The results show that following the use of modern treatment methods, the death from infectious diseases of malaria and plague decreased from the end of the Qajar and during the Pahlavi - especially Pahlavi II. The absence and weakness of health and treatment facilities and equipment, climatic-environmental conditions and social communication, as well as adherence to traditional medicine and negative attitude to modern treatment methods, caused the emergence and spread of infectious diseases of malaria and plague in Iran.

 Newspaper is one of the tools of knowledge transfer, the result of modernity and one of the constitutional achievements. Golgoun as one of the published local newspapers in Hamedan played a significant role in increasing the knowledge of all citizens during the first Pahlavi period. Health and medical issues were the focus of this newspaper. The purpose of this article is to review the health and medical news and reports published in this newspaper to know the situation in Hamedan at that time.

 This research analyzed the data and explained the findings in a library and descriptive-analytical way. Its main source is Golgoun newspaper and its news and reports. Other sources that are related to this research and the health status of Hamedan in the first Pahlavi period have also been used.

Ethical Considerations: 

In this study, the principles of trustworthiness and honesty have been observed.

 Among the health and medical content Published in Golgoun newspaper are the advice to follow health considerations, introducing diseases and their treatment methods and knowing the types of medicines and famous doctors of Hamedan. The fight against superstitions and illegal usage was considered as the most important mission of this newspaper, which was successful to some extent.

 When the lack of health and medical facilities was felt not only in Hamedan, but in the whole country, Golgoun was able to inform the readers about the importance of health in improving nations and the problems of not paying attention to it by publishing numerous articles and provide valuable information to the audiences. The publication of these materials was its operators’ sensitivity and concern towards the health and medicine and in line of the commitment to the principle of "prevention is better than cure".

 Indian laburnum (Cassia Fistula) is a noteworthy medicinal plant in Iran and the other Islamic world territories. Scholars of the Islamic period called it khīyār(-i) shanbar/ khīyār(-i) chanbar and called its fruit fulūs. They have pointed out its morphology and medicinal properties. In contemporary traditional medicine, various medicinal properties of different parts of this plant especially its leaf and fruit, have been noted. In these days, C. Fistula is known as fulūs and khīyār(-i) chanbar belongs to another specie and genus with the scientific name of Cucumis melo var. flexuosus (snake/serpent cucumber).

 In this research, medicinal properties of this plant have been assessed using 15 medicinal and plant-pharmacological sources of Islamic period in the east and the west of the Islamic world from 3th to 12th century AH. For Abdāl, in addition to these sources, Kitāb Al-Abdāl and Kitāb Al-Ṣaydanah fi l-ṭṭib, also have been researched.

Ethical Considerations: 

In this research, honesty and trust worthiness have been fully observed in using historical sources and catalogs.

 Scientists of the Islamic period have considered medicinal properties for different parts of khīyār(-i) shanbar including its root, leaf and fulūs. Some sources have newer contents than the previous ones, and in some others, the content is completely duplicated. Also, this case is in Abdāl of this plant.

 Within the sources used for this research, Persian ones have mentioned various properties compared to Arabic sources. In most of these sources the names of scientists whose books were used, have not been mentioned. Properties that are mentioned in Al-Eʿtimād fi l- Adwīya l- Mufradat from Ibn Al-Jazzār and in translation and writing of Kitāb al-Ṣaydanat fi l-ṭṭib by Kāsānī are completely similar to the previous sources. Kitāb Tadhkirat ulil-albāb wa l-jāmiʿ li’l-ʿajāb al-ʿojāb from Anṭākī have new contents regarding the properties of this plant, compared to the other Arabic sources that have been researched in this article. In the Persian sources, Kitāb al-abnīya ʿan ḥaqāyiq al-adwīat and Makhzan al-adwīyat have more information about Abdāl compared to their previous sources.

 Among the important achievements of Islamic civilization is medicine in the form of teachings known as Islamic medicine. Medicine in the Islamic civilization, especially in the Abbasid era (132-656 AH), enjoyed great progress and brought great and remarkable achievements. At the same timewestern world, in many ways, pursued the efficiency of these achievements seriously. In current research, the explanation and analysis of the progress of medical science in the Abbasid era and the ways of its transmission to the west have been studied based on the "diffusion theory" as a theoretical framework.

 In this research, the library method was used to collect data and the historical method based on descriptive-analytical approach was used.

Ethical Considerations: 

In this research, the principles of trustworthiness and honesty of citing the used texts, originality of sources and avoiding bias in referring to texts or analyzes have been observed.

 The findings show that medical knowledge was one of the first sciences that the Islamic world learned based on the medical data of Iran, India and Greece and then developed it in the best possible way and transferred it to other societies.

 According to the "diffusion theory", the Islamic world was the influential source in the field of medical knowledge in the Abbasid era and the influential destination was Europe and the western world and the ways and channels of transmission were mentioned along with its obstacles. The process of transferring these achievements to the west could be done through wars, geographic transfer, or access to Islamic texts and their translation.

 The migration of Iranian labor to the South Caucasus experienced a growing trend during the last years of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, with hundreds of thousands of Iranians travelling to these areas every year in search of work. Many of these immigrants were employed in factories, mines, oil industries, wharves and agricultural lands in Baku, Ganja, Tbilisi, Erevan and Batum. Some were engaged in peddling, construction, etc. and lived in the workplace or on the outskirts of cities. The aspects of health and safety in these two locations significantly influenced the lives of these workers.

 This article employs an approach of "history from below" and relies on library and archival sources to investigate the conditions in which the Iranian immigrant workers lived in terms of their health status and the effects it had on their physical health.

Ethical Considerations: 

In this research, honesty and trustworthiness have been observed in the use of historical sources.

 The social life experienced by Iranian workers in the Caucasus was accompanied by a high rate of physical injuries and even deaths compared with workers of other nationalities. Consequently, some of them lost their lives and some suffered from diseases such as cholera, plague, malaria, shortness of breath, or physical disabilities.

 Iranian emigrant workers in the Caucasus undertook the most difficult jobs due to lack of material capital, production tools, knowledge and skills as well as living in huts and sheds or workplaces. These two places were dangerous and inappropriate in terms of health and hygiene, leading to a high incidence of physical injuries and even fatalities among Iranian workers.