Islamic%20Medicine%20Revision

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Islamic Medicine Revision

• www.educationforum.co.uk

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The Islamic Empire

• In the 7th century AD the new religion of Islam
  spread rapidly through the Middle East, North
  Africa and even into Spain and Portugal. Islamic
  territories united under one ruler or caliph
• Around 750 -1050AD was known as the golden age
  of this new Islamic empire
• At a time of regression for medicine in Christian
  Western Europe there was a period of
  considerable progress for medicine in the Islamic
  Empire

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Factors Leading to Progress

• RELIGION unlike Christianity the Islamic faith
  was less restrictive of medical practice the
  Koran encouraged the study of medicine and not
  all dissection was forbidden. The Koran also made
  care for the sick a religious duty
• GOVERNMENT the strength, wealth and power of
  the empire made progress likely. Islam was ruled
  by a single man, the caliph from the capital
  Baghdad
• EDUCATION the study of the ancient writings of
  Hippocrates and Galen was encouraged but was also
  critical. For instance Rhazes wrote a book called
  Doubts on Galen. Great libraries emerged across
  the empire but especially in Baghdad
• INDIVIDUALS there was a number of significant
  Islamic individuals contributing to medicine
  RHAZES, AVICENNA and ALBUCASIS were the three
  main ones
• WAR the Islamic empire captured the old eastern
  capital of the old Roman empire Byzantium 1453
  and began to laboriously translate the works of
  Hippocrates and Galen into Arabic at a time
  when many of the Ancient works had been destroyed
  or lost in the West.

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AVICENNA

• Compiled a full summary of all existing medical
  Knowledge The Canon of Medicine which included
  insights from the Ancients and from Islamic
  doctors
• It included chapters on eating disorders, obesity
  and thousands of drugs and herbs and their use
• He travelled around the Arab Empire and spent
  time teaching and practising medicine in Cordoba,
  Spain. He was the first surgeon to describe the
  different parts of the eye
• Avicennas book was translated into Latin used as
  a standard textbook across Europe right up to the
  Renaissance

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Rhazes

• Rhazes was a Persian doctor in a major hospital
  in Baghdad around 900AD
• He built on the work of Hippocrates on clinical
  observation making extensive notes on skin
  colour, rash, cough, temperature etc
• In his major work Al-Hawi Rhazes was the first
  doctor to note the difference between measles and
  smallpox

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Albucasis

• Worked in Islamic Spain in around 936AD as a
  surgeon
• Had great skills in amputations, removing bladder
  stones, dentistry (wooden dentures), how to set
  fractures and treat dislocations far in advance
  of western Christian surgery
• The Islamic faith taught that surgery was allowed
  to relieve pain and suffering in contrast to
  Christianity where nearly all dissection and
  surgery was banned

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Other Contributions

• Anatomy the doctor Ibn an-Nafis was able to
  study Galen critically and proved many of Galens
  conclusions were wrong long before Vesalius
• Chemistry the Arab doctors added many new
  drugs to general use such as laudanum (pain
  relief), senna (laxative), musk (anti
  inflammatory and anti histamine), benzoin (anti
  bacterial resin), and camphor (anti fungal agent)

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Pair Share Questions

• Describe the contributions of 3 Arab doctors in
  the Middle Ages
• Explain why Islamic medicine was superior to
  Christian medicine in the Middle Ages (use
  Factors)