Johannitius (809-873 AD), a medieval physician, translator and author

Emigration of Greek Knowledge to the Arab World

The period described in this chapter reflects activity prior to the establishment of surgical centers in Europe in the twelfth century. It is a kind of prologue to the reintroduction of high-quality surgical practice. Religious squabbles within Christianity led to European medicine and surgery, the principles of which were written in Greek, being transported eastwards into the region newly dominated by Islam. There the works were translated into Arabic and during three to four hundred years, the works were not only retained but were enriched by contributions from within Arab culture. This evolution naturally enough came to affect what happened next. However, one thing is clear and was even commented on as early as by Albucasis. The surgeon's respect and distinction within society had depreciated during the sojourn of medical science in the Islamic world, with physicians being regarded as distinctly superior beings. With regard to specific details related to opening the head there was broad consistency between the various authors all of whom seem to have been greatly influenced by Paul of Ægina. Thus, there is no mention of the crown trepan. Opening the skull was performed with the non-perforating trepans making small holes which were connected with chisels or lenticulars. The indication to do this was separation of the dura from the bone. Whether or not the sutures should be avoided when trepanning is not a topic mentioned in these writings. There was also no recommendation for prophylactic trepanation.

Mansur ibn Ilyas Shirazi (1380-1422 AD), a pioneer of neuroanatomy

History of anatomy is as long as the history of medicine itself. Development of this basic science was not possible without the dedicative effort of those physicians and scholars who were committed to discover the mysteries of human anatomy. In this regard, Iranian scholars played an important role in the development of the anatomical sciences despite the religious limitations in their societies. Mansur ibn Ilyas Shirazi is an Iranian physician of fourteenth century who wrote the first color illustrated anatomical book, Mansur's Anatomy. A considerable portion of the book has been dedicated to the central and peripheral nervous system so that he could be considered as one of the pioneers of neuroanatomy.

The contribution of scholars to the anatomy of the eye and adnexa in islamic geography

From the early period of Islam, Muslim scholars have translated the ancient Greek medical works, and they reached a much more advanced level. Blindness was a major cause of disability in all Islamic geography, so physicians from Islamic territory, particularly Yuhanna ibn Masawayh, Hunain Ibn Ishaq, Rhazes, Ali bin Isa, Ibn-i Sina, and Ibn Al-Haitam, were particularly focused on the anatomy of the eye and diagnosis and treatment of eye diseases. In this study, we aimed to report the contributions of the Muslim scholar on the anatomy of the eye and adnexa for the first time in the literature.

Al-Masā'il fī al-tibb: Ḥunain ibn Isḥāq's historic medical text with a distinctive style of Islamic medical education

The golden age of Islamic medicine (800 to 1300 CE) is a notable period in medical history. Medical education in this period of time was significant and systematic in Islamic territory. In the early Golden Age of Islamic Medicine, Abū Zayd Ḥunain ibn Isḥāq al-'Ibādī, an exceptional scholar and translator, emerged. He was known as Johannitius in medieval Europe. Al-Masā'il fī al-tibb lil-Mutāllimīn (Questions on Medicine for Students) was written by Hunain ibn Isḥāq. This book remains a definitive text on Islamic medicine and has been printed and published widely in Europe. Al-Masā'il fī al-tibb is written in the style of questions and answers which is distinct from the conventional writing style of medical books on Islamic medicine. The current article reviews Al-Masā'il fī al-tibb and its distinguishing style, the question and answer format. Today, the question-and-answer method is a popular method of medical education, and clinical teachers tend to use it in medical education because of the advantages it offers. The use of this method in Al-Masā'il fī al-tibb for education and examination of medical students by Ḥunain ibn Isḥāq reflects a great improvisation in medical education and introduces him as the leading developer of the question-and-answer method in Islamic medical education.

Abu-Sahl al-Masihi (died circa 1010 AD): The Persian physician in the early medieval era

In the early medieval era, in the time which is called the Islamic Golden Age, medicine flourished through the practice of Persian physicians (9th to 12th century AD). Abu-Sahl al-Masihi (died circa 1010 AD) was one of the physicians in that period who had great influence on the progress of medicine by his own writings as well as his influence on great scholars like Biruni and Avicenna as their teacher. He was a polymath and had many writings in various fields of science, in particular medical sciences. Some of his manuscripts in medicine were Al-Mia fil-Tibb (Book of the Hundred), Kitab al-Teb al-Koli (The General Medicine), Ezhar al-Hekmat Allah Ta'ala fi Khalgh al-Ensan (God's Mystery on the Creation of Man), Resalat al-Adwiya (Treatise of Drugs), Osool Elm Nabz (the Principles of Pulse), and Resala f ī Taḥqiq Amral-Waba' (On the determination of the matter of infectious diseases). As a sign of his impact in Persian medicine, many later physicians (until 19th century) referred to and cited his works in their manuscripts several times.

A brief history of topographical anatomy

This brief history of topographical anatomy begins with Egyptian medical papyri and the works known collectively as the Greco-Arabian canon, the time line then moves on to the excitement of discovery that characterised the Renaissance, the increasing regulatory and legislative frameworks introduced in the 18th and 19th centuries, and ends with a consideration of the impact of technology that epitomises the period from the late 19th century to the present day. This paper is based on a lecture I gave at the Winter Meeting of the Anatomical Society in Cambridge in December 2015, when I was awarded the Anatomical Society Medal.