Islamic medicine

In the history of medicine, Islamic medicine or Arabic medicine refers to medicine developed in the medieval Islamic civilisation and written in Arabic, the lingua franca of the Islamic civilization. Despite these names, a significant number of scientists during this period were not Arab. Some consider the label "Arab-Islamic" as historically inaccurate, arguing that this label does not appreciate the rich diversity of Eastern scholars who have contributed to science in this era.[1] Latin translations of Arabic medical works had a significant influence on the development of modern medicine.

The first encyclopedia of medicine in Arabic was Ali ibn Sahl Rabban al-Tabari's Firdous al-Hikmah ("Paradise of Wisdom"), written in seven parts, c. 860.

Razi (Rhazes) wrote the Comprehensive Book of Medicine in the 9th century. The Large Comprehensive was the most sought after of all his compositions, in which Rhazes recorded clinical cases of his own experience and provided very useful recordings of various diseases. The Comprehensive Book of Medicine, with its introduction of measles and smallpox, was very influential in Europe.

Ali ibn Abbas al-Majusi (Haly Abbas)'s Kitab Kamil as-sina'a at-tibbiyya ("Complete Book of the Medical Art"), c. 980, became better known as the Kitab al-Maliki ("Royal Book", Latin: Liber regalis) in honour of its royal patron 'Adud al-Dawla. In twenty sections, ten of theory and ten of practice, it was more systematic and concise than Razi's Hawi, but more practical than Avicenna's Canon, by which it was superseded. With many interpolations and substitutions, it served as the basis for the Pantegni (c. 1087) of Constantinus Africanus, the founding text of the Schola Medica Salernitana in Salerno.[12]

Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (Abulcasis), regarded as the father of modern surgery,[13] contributed greatly to the discipline of medical surgery with his Kitab al-Tasrif ("Book of Concessions"), a 30-volume medical encyclopedia published in 1000, which was later translated to Latin and used in European medical schools for centuries. He invented numerous surgical instruments and described them in his al-Tasrif.

Avicenna (Ibn Sina), a Hanbali and Mu'tazili philosopher and doctor in the early 11th century, was another influential figure. He is regarded as the father of modern medicine,[14] and one of the greatest thinkers and medical scholars in history. His medical encyclopedia, The Canon of Medicine (c. 1020), remained a standard textbook in Europe for centuries, up until the renewal of the Muslim tradition of scientific medicine. He also wrote The Book of Healing (actually a more general encyclopedia of science and philosophy), which became another popular textbook in Europe. Among other things, Avicenna's contributions to medicine include the introduction of systematic experimentation and quantification into the study of physiology,[15] the discovery of the contagious nature of infectious diseases, the introduction of quarantine to limit the spread of contagious diseases, the introduction of experimental medicine, evidence-based medicine, clinical trials,[16] randomized controlled trials,[17][18] efficacy tests,[19][20] clinical pharmacology,[21] risk factor analysis, and the idea of a syndrome in the diagnosis of specific diseases,[22] the first descriptions on bacteria and viral organisms,[23] the distinction of mediastinitis from pleurisy, the contagious nature of phthisis and tuberculosis, the distribution of diseases by water and soil, and the first careful descriptions of skin troubles, sexually transmitted diseases, perversions, and nervous ailments,[8] as well the use of ice to treat fevers, and the separation of medicine from pharmacology, which was important to the development of the pharmaceutical sciences.[24]

Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī's Kitab-al-Saidana was an extensive medical encyclopedia which synthesized Islamic medicine with Indian medicine. His medical investigations included one of the earliest descriptions on Siamese twins.[25]

Ibn al-Nafis (1213-1288) wrote Al-Shamil fi al-Tibb (The Comprehensive Book on Medicine), a voluminous medical encyclopedia that was originally planned to comprise 300 volumes, but he was only able to complete 80 volumes as a result of his death in 1288. However, even in its incomplete state, the book is one of the largest known medical encyclopedias in history, though only a small portion of The Comprehensive Book on Medicine has survived. During his lifetime, The Comprehensive Book on Medicine had eventually replaced Ibn Sina's The Canon of Medicine as a medical authority in the medieval Islamic world. Arabic biographers from the 13th onwards considered Ibn al-Nafis the greatest physician in history, some referring to him as "the second Ibn Sina", and others considering him even greater than Ibn Sina.[26]