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Web-Based Generic Pharmacies and How Pharmacy Reviews May Help in the Choice to Get Medicine On the Web

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 00:54:31 +0000

Connectivity and telecommunications identifies this age group. Consumers now possess cellphones, laptops, computers and cable television. Nowadays, we use up info in a different way compared to 50 years back. The pharmaceutical industry knows that there’s a reputable channel ready for them in the design of the internet. Now web based generic pharmacies are getting millions and millions of dollars yearly. Rivalry is extreme. There will continually be a website that will offer much better prices and much better options which could very easily pull customers in. Online customer loyalty is a difficult endeavor since it is only very easy for someone to go over some other website and buy from their website instead of you.

Nonetheless, not most web pages claiming to be promoting authentic medicines are the real deal. You will find lots of problems in getting relief medication on the web. A rogue online pharmacy can fraud shoppers out of their funds and neglect their private details. There will invariably be a discourse concerning whether or not the risks of online pharmacies over-shadow the rewards. Customers must be very vigilant about the websites they take a look at and buy medicines from.

Pharmacy reviews are still the very best tools for ensuring that you’re getting from a web site you have not used prior. Privacy and security are the most crucial issues that you need to look after. That makes it important to educate yourself on whether the internet site has a secure payment system or not. Additional considerations include phishing websites where destructive sites will get accounts kept in your personal computer as well as credit card or bank information. Great pharmacy reviews don’t only say that the web site is exceptional or is great to work with. It ought to give information like transit time and payment security. It should answer questions like “Did the web site install any kind of software on my device?” and “What information did the web site require from me?”

Online generic pharmacies are a good solution for people who’re too busy to drive out to a normal pharmacy but it is still crucial that you examine your neighborhood pharmacy’s rates before you order on the internet. While it is correct that a lot of online pharmacies sell less expensive, high-quality meds, you will find a few internet websites that actually sell drugs at a increased cost. Rather than going in blind, make a short stop at your neighborhood pharmacy and ask them to present you the prices of your prescription meds. This way you will get a standard on the rates.

Pharmacy reviews are a good help to online medication consumers. While it’sreal that some websites are simply around to misuse individuals and their need to purchase meds, there are actually a whole lot of internet websites that could give you the best prices and the highest quality drugs. The key in finding a good website to purchase from is to be very careful. You should never purchase from a web site that requires you to present an excessive amount of details like your social security number or your credit card details even though you’re not yet purchasing. Search for payment security badges from organizations like VeriSign. If their secure payment system is driven by another provider, verify the provider’s web site before purchasing. Go through the privacy policies and their online reviews before placing an order to make sure that you are getting from a dependable site. Online generic pharmacies are great to purchase your meds from, but you should examine pharmacy reviews before purchasing from their website.

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Purchasing Medicine On the Web: Selecting the Best Drugstore Through Pharmacy Reviews

Sat, 10 Sep 2011 00:54:51 +0000

With the constant advancement of internet technology, we are consistently presented with new ways in which to be able to live our lives more conveniently like being able to purchase goods online. Now, along with other advantages of online retailing, we are now able to buy medication online.

These days, it’s tough enough to live, let alone live in good health. That’s exactly why online pharmacies are a nice add-on to traditional drugstores. With the rising costs of living these days, the expense of healthcare has risen so steeply that lots of consumers can’t even afford to acquire the very medicine that’s supposed to keep them alive. Pharmacy reviews can surely help in finding the most suitable, most inexpensive online pharmacies to acquire medication on the web from.

Online pharmacies deliver several various positive aspects intended for folks who need to buy medicine immediately. In getting medications at a hometown pharmacy, the cost of medicinal drugs isn’t one and only thing you’ll have to consider. You also have to look at the price of method of travel, the time you’ll need to take off from work to get there, and even the extra expenses you would be required to pay–for example, the amount of food you would have to obtain in the event you get hungry during the trip. That will require a considerable amount of cost which many people wouldn’t be ready or don’t have the cash to pay for.

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One good thing is, though, there are far more choices currently to help us. Generic drugs are available these days as opposed to more pricey labeled drugs, which costs more but can be just as effective. Drug producers also are researching for additional cost-effective means of developing and selling their drugs. Another new development is definitely the rise of online pharmacies, which allow a client to have the means to buy meds online, a concept that came about together with the innovation of web based retailing.

Currently, online pharmacies are mushrooming all around the web and offer buyers the capability of the ability to obtain medication via the internet. What’s so handy about it? Consider, first of all you take away the need to literally go to your area pharmacist to buy your drugs. You can actually log on from anywhere you want to at the moment. You can even use your cell phone to order the drugs you need. You don’t have to use time off from work or school just to go to your area pharmacy.

Another convenience is that individuals with weakening disorders, who may have good enough trouble waking up out of bed, are saved the effort by having their pills taken to their home. Add in every single one of components and you have an online business concept that not only seeks to make a profit, but also offers shoppers with a greater alternative.

However, with the multitude of online drugstores being constructed on the web, how do you know which one you can put your trust in? As with any other business enterprise, a shopper ought to make the right decision in picking the company he or she wishes to do business with. That’s where pharmacy reviews come in. To know if a certain online drugstore is actually a reliable one all a person needs to do is evaluate ideal pharmacy reviews via internet, which can tell a shopper about the past experience of a client with that specific drugstore. That, plus your good judgment, will tell you if a particular store deserves your business or not.

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Web Based Generic Pharmacies and The Way Pharmacy Reviews May Help in the Choice to Get Medicine Online

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 00:56:04 +0000

Online connectivity and interaction identifies this era. People now own cellphones, laptops, computers and cable television. These days, we take info diversely in comparison to 50 years before. The pharmaceutical business realizes that there’s a legitimate route ready for them in the shape of the online market place. Right now online generic pharmacies are pulling in millions and millions of dollars each year. Competition is harsh. There will continually be a web page that have better prices and better choices that will readily draw customers in. Internet customer loyalty is a tough business because it is only way too simple for somebody to go over a different website and buy from their website instead of you.

Yet, not most internet sites which claim to be marketing genuine prescription drugs are the real deal. There are lots of problems in buying medicine on the web. A fake online pharmacy can fraud shoppers out of their cash and abuse their personal info. There will usually be a discourse regarding if or not the threats of online pharmacies over-shadow the benefits. Shoppers need to be very aware about the internet sites they take a look at and buy drugs from.

Pharmacy reviews will always be the perfect resources for ensuring that you will be buying from an internet site you have never tested prior. Privacy and safety are the most crucial issues that you need to take care of. That makes it important to educate yourself on whether the web site has a protected payment system or not. Other factors involve phishing websites where destructive sites will get passwords kept in your personal computer plus credit card or bank data. Good pharmacy reviews do not only say that the internet site is outstanding or is pleasant to work with. It should supply information like transit time and payment stability. It should respond to issues like “Did the internet site set up any kind of software on my equipment?” and “What data did the internet site ask from me?”

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Online generic pharmacies are a great alternative for people who’re too busy to drive out to a standard pharmacy but it is still important that you examine your local pharmacy’s selling prices before you buy online. While it is correct that plenty of online pharmacies sell cheaper, high-quality medications, there are a few internet websites that really supply medicines at a higher cost. As opposed to going in blind, make a quick stop at your local pharmacy and ask them to provide you the rates of your prescription meds. That way you will get a benchmark on the prices.

Pharmacy reviews are a wonderful guide to online medication consumers. While it’sreal that some internet sites are simply in existence to abuse consumers and their need to get meds, there are really a lot of internet sites that may give you the top rates and the highest quality treatments. The solution in choosing a wonderful site to purchase from is to be mindful. You mustn’t purchase from a internet site that requires you to provide a lot of info like your social security number or your credit card info even when you aren’t yet purchasing. Search for payment security badges from businesses like VeriSign. If their secure payment system is run by another service provider, examine the provider’s internet site before purchasing. Examine the privacy guidelines and their online reviews before putting an order to ensure that you’re buying from a dependable site. Online generic pharmacies are great to purchase your meds from, but you should check pharmacy reviews before purchasing from their website.

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Buy Medicine Online

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 06:09:44 +0000

All houses have a high speed internet connection there was a basic necessity today. People book their tickets online study, and buy almost everything online, including wipes, toys, books and music itself. Banking and insurance are sold through online marketing.

Now you do not have to wander in search of things to buy for your dog. It’s simple, you can order online and have everything delivered to your door. You get the dog food, bones, medicine, syrup, shampoo and a flea collar, chain, including winter dog coats isolated Ware.

Check a prescription online pharmacy shops and counters medicines for all animals, and you will find that they are cheaper than what is sold in local pharmacy. There are special places that deal with veterinary drugs alone.

For those who buy regularly and in adequate amounts, shopping online will give you a better discount. If you wonder why they are cheaper and how they can afford to give discounts, and because they have to pay regular fees and rents to employees in a store and also because they buy directly from manufacturers to by higher.

Not all objects can be a different price from the local pharmacy. You can find some things can be taken at the same price as the merchandise. Well, then why not want to buy from online stores at all?

Most people prefer to buy medicine in stores online, but there is no price advantage because they have everything to gain in other ways. Save their valuable time, effort and is to save fuel too. With command line you can continue to buy more than once and have them delivered right to your door within 24 to 48 hours.

Making life easier and more convenient online ordering of all drugs. Everything you need your head in an attempt to control once and compare prices and then you go repeating orders every time, and have them delivered to all ports within a day.

MyCarePharmacy.com is not an online pharmacy but an escrow service that connects you with a licensed pharmacy in a safe and trustworthy environment. When you use our service, you can rest assure that you will always get what you paid for, and this is guaranteed. There is no risk being scammed or receiving inferior products. Our service gives you access to several fully licensed pharmacies that provide discount prescription drugs to Americans and customers all over the world. Patients can save an average of 40% and as high as 90% off their medications!

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Mycarepharmacy-Save Your Precious Time By Buy Medicine online

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 06:09:28 +0000

Medicine world had change radically from last few decades, whether it is any critical surgery, curing an epidemic disease, body transplantation, finding a cure for AIDS or Cancer etc. With the introduction of internet, the pace of change gone much faster. It is easy to consult a doctor online, fix an appointment and very important to be mentioned here to online.

Some people have to take medicines regularly or even daily. That is why they always need medicine, and they spend on it a lot of money and a lot of time on their purchase. But it may be much easier. Just find a decent and online.

Who runs these changes? Study at a pace of change is about 60%, so if someone went into a comma for more than two years, he might find a new Mercedes with bio fuel, a mobile with voice recognition or something like that. Did ever our ancestor think of an anesthesia? You might feel painful that 100′s of years ago there was no anesthesia. But now if you have a small tooth surgery Dentist never forget to inject a small dose of anesthesia so you can smile without feeling any pain.

mycarepharmacy is a well known selling medicine. Many People from here repetitively because of the trust we had created among our customers. If you ask our customer experience we can guarantee you that you will get a sound praise from them for us.

Trading is not our motto, our values ??are pleased our customers not only products but also the quality of service delivery is one of the best e-commerce sector, and even if a problem occurs, we have the courage to going to go the extra mile to ensure safe delivery to your home.

Some important points before buying online are the cost of shipping, delivery time, privacy policies of the website and security they provide for online transactions. Another additional benefit of is that sometimes people find embarrassment and discomfort when buying certain drugs and supplements from a conventional pharmacy store. Buying pharmacy online obviously requires giving your name and address but you can be assured it is used only to get your product to you, with no interest in the product you choose, it simply is a comfortable way to buy your pharmacy products.

The most important reason for shopping is the discounts that these websites offer. Direct helps you to save money and time with an additional benefit of buying in privacy in your own comfort zone and selecting the best products from a great number of choices

We provide support to our customers 24×7 through live support. Our customers can also reach us through Email, phone, fax. So that there queries get handled then and there. And they can order without any doubts left in their minds.

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Why Use of Online Pharmacy to Buy Medicine

Sat, 23 Jul 2011 06:10:00 +0000

Internet drug stores are now available almost everywhere and anywhere on the Internet. They helped keep the search engines, health sites, and sometimes even the official site of health care organizations. Some are sent to your blogs and e-mail on the other hand are more subtle. Find the simple line “” sentence immediately lead to tens of thousands of results.

Simpler, there are many online pharmacies today. This is because Internet companies and webmasters have seen the potential benefits of this activity. But before discussing we should know about first?

An is simply an online store, a site that sells drugs on the net. Available drugs would be different from one pharmacy to another. Some of the common drugs that these sites sell drugs are weight loss, hair loss drugs, drugs for sexual health, powerful antibiotics, antibacterial, vitamins and much more. The best online pharmacies have a variety of drugs, while some tend to specialize in just one type of drug.

When a customer visits the drug store on the Internet, he or she has put in an order for medicine. The order is then sent to the provider pharmacy pills and it is processed, packaged as shipped to the customer premises. It makes the whole process of easily. Instead of visiting your doctor, you can just sit on your laptop or desktop and online ordering. After a few days later, your package arrives at your door.

Another reason why many people prefer Internet drug store is the fact that some of these sites sell prescription drugs. They have an in-house doctor, the person wanted to talk to online. The user will also meet a test or questionnaire. Based on the interview and test results are in-house doctor can recommend the right drugs.

Also note that generic drugs are also easily accessible via Internet pharmacies as well. These cost less than their brand name counterparts. All in all, buying an Internet pharmacy is a way for people to save money on medicine and health.

However, there are Internet pharmacies in the event of fraud or scams. They provide pills or false or even produce nothing, when you pay. Pharmacy would be the next to try to convince the customer thanks to the support that the drug is coming, so you do not cancel your credit card company.

These sites should be avoided. This can be done simply by reading reviews online pharmacies. With the same feedback, you can check online pharmacies that are based on the majority of people, and that are known to have given their promise. Reviews , as BestPharmGuide.com, has developed almost as important as online pharmacies themselves. They provide a range of information to help you avoid the scammers and save money.

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Ancient Egypt’s Contribution to Medicine

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 06:17:38 +0000

The Ancient Greeks have, for millennia, been credited with laying the foundations of professional medical practice. In consideration of the fact that the Ancient Egyptian civilization not only predated that of the Greeks but by popular acclaim was, in its heyday, more advanced, archaeologists have often questioned whether the Greeks were, indeed, the fathers of medicine. As Pain (2007) explains, while “according to the textbooks, science-based medicine and effective pharmacy began with the Greeks … the Ancient Egyptians clearly practiced medicine long before the Greeks” (Pain, 2007, para 3). Both Egyptologists and medical practitioners have tended towards this view for quite some time. As reported by Pellegrino (1963), Egyptologists, archaeologists and medical practitioners have long argued that existing evidence of the scientific advances which the Ancient Egyptians had attained rendered the assumption that they had not made similar medical advancements nonsensical. Indeed, while not minimizing the role of the Ancient Greeks in the foundation of the medical profession, available evidence indicates that the Egyptians, not the Greeks, were the founders of the field and the profession. Translations of ancient Egyptian papyri establish that the Ancient Egyptians established the science of pharmacology, dentistry, surgery, orthopaedics and general medicine, among others, clearly supporting the contention that medicine was born in Ancient Egypt, not Greece.

Forensic investigations of Egyptian mummies have led to two important findings. The first is that the Ancient Egyptians lived well into their sixties, a remarkable feat for a civilization which predates Christ but almost four millennia. The second is that they suffered from countless severe ailments and medical conditions. These two findings are somewhat contradictory as they suggest that the Ancient Egyptians enjoyed longevity despite sufferance from medical ailments. The only way to reconcile these two apparently contradictory findings is to conclude that the Ancient Egyptians had arrived at a level of medical knowledge and advancement which allowed them to control, cure and treat disease (Pain, 2007). Indeed, according to Pain, the study of Ancient Egyptian medical texts, earlier assumed to have been little other than indecipherable papyri containing recipes for spells, has confirmed this. Recent translations of papyri found at the Temple of Amun in Karnak evidences the fact that the Ancient Egyptians had extensive pharmaceutical knowledge and had devised drug/herbal treatments for a wide array of diseases and ailments, from the common cough to pneumonia, from arterial diseases osteoarthritic ones (Pain, 2007). Indeed, the sheer width and breadth of the knowledge uncovered provides ample support for the claim that the Egyptians were the first to found the science of pharmacology and drug therapy.

Apart from their pharmaceutical knowledge, although related and enabled to it, are the advances which the Ancient Egyptians made in the study of anaesthesiology. First of all, it is important to note that they did not invent the concept as there is ample evidence to suggest that “primitive man employed digital compression of the carotid arteries to produce anaesthesia” (Zorab, 2003, p. 826). Instead, the Ancient Egyptians advanced the science, using both hemp and poppy juice to induce drowsiness in patients and eventual loss of consciousness. Further to that, with the progression of time, the Ancient Egyptians developed a method for local anaesthesia, deemed necessary for the management of localised pain. As Zorab (2003) explains, they produced local anaesthesia through the subjection of patients to carbonic acid gas. This, in itself, evidences the extent to which Ancient Egyptian doctors engaged in experimentation in order to perfect techniques and advance existent knowledge. It is through experimentation and research that they developed a relatively advanced technique for both general and local anaesthesia.

As might have been deduced from their investiture of time and effort into the development and advancement of anaesthesiology, the Ancient Egyptians made remarkable progress in the study and field of surgery. Even though, according to Ritner (2007), less than 14 medical scrolls have survived in their entirety, recent breakthroughs in the translation of these scrolls have established that they Ancient Egyptians had advanced beyond minor surgeries, such as resetting of bones or appendectomies, to infinitely more complex ones. Both the forensic examination of mummies and the information from these scrolls establishes that the Ancient Egyptians had made tremendous advances in the fields of brain surgery, plastic/cosmetics surgery and, of course, limb amputations (Ritner, 2007). The sophistication with which these procedures are describes underscores, not only the medical advances attained by this civilization but, the degree to which medicine was regarded as a science and a profession. It was not treated as a skill which was passed down through observation and training but as an extensive science which had to be taught and studied over a lifetime.

Somewhat related to the types of surgeries they performed is the advancement which the Ancient Egyptians made in the field of artificial limbs. As noted, among the surgeries which Ancient Egyptian performed were amputations. Interestingly, archaeological discoveries revealed the presence of artificial limbs buried alongside mummies. Nerlick et al (2000) discus the discovery of a prosthetic toe found in a tomb. Careful study of both the mummy in question and the prosthetic limb indicate that it was neither for decorative or burial purposes but was extensively used during the lifetime of the individual in question. In other words, mummies which were revealed to have undergone intravital amputations were often found buried with the relevant prosthetic. At first it was assumed that these had been placed in tombs so that the dead person may enter his/her afterlife in his/her full form. Forensic examinations exposed this as an erroneous assumption (Nerlick et al., 2000). The condition in which these prosthetics were in were soon discovered to be a result, not of the passage of time but, of everyday usage. The implication here is, as Nerlick et al (2000) emphasize, that the Ancient Egyptians adopted a practical approach to the use of medicine; they developed and designed artificial limbs which were workable and not decorative.

The medical scrolls uncovered further reveal that the Ancient Egyptians made remarkable progress in the fields of both dentistry and periodontal studies, or gum diseases. As Leek (1967) notes, forensic examinations of Ancient Egyptian mummies gave rise to the suspicion that this civilization had a sound knowledge of dentistry. Quite unlike the case with ancient human remains, many of the mummies an above average number of intact teeth and their gums were in sounder condition that was to be reasonably expected (Leek, 1967). Available evidence further established that dental surgery was practiced in Ancient Egypt. Upon the successful translation of the medical scrolls, these suspicions were confirmed as it was, indeed, revealed that dental and periodontal sciences had attained remarkable levels of sophistication.

On the basis of the foregoing discussion of the facts, one can safely assert that the Ancient Egyptians, not the Greeks, founded professional medicine. This civilization had arrived at remarkable achievements in several areas of medicine and the available evidence strongly suggests that the Ancient Egyptian medical practitioners understood the importance of research and experimentation and, accordingly, embraced and engaged in it. Given the stated, the question which imposes itself upon us is why have the Greeks, rather than the Egyptians, been accredited with the foundation of this profession. Pain (2007) has a very logical response to this question. Ancient Greek texts and the knowledge they contained had been translated by the Arabs and accordingly, their science was transmitted to the world through a living language. This was not the case with the Ancient Egyptians – their language died and accordingly, for millennia, their scrolls and the knowledge they contained were a mystery. Over the past century, this language slowly began to reveal itself and, in so doing, the knowledge of the Ancient Egyptians was gradually uncovered. It was only then that their status as the fathers of medicine was established.

Bibliography

Leek, F. (1967) The practice of dentistry in Ancient Egypt. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 53, 51-58.

Nerlich, A. et al. (2000) Ancient Egyptian prosthesis of the big toe. Lancet, 356(9248).

Pain, S. (2007) The world’s first pharmacists. New Scientist, 196(2634).

Pellegrino, E.D. (1963) Medicine, history and the idea of man. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 346, 9-20.

Ritner, R.K. (2000) Innovations and adaptations in Ancient Egyptian medicine. Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 59(2), 107-117.

Zorab, J. (2003) History of anaesthesia. Anaesthesia, 58, 826-827.

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The Online Pharmacy – How to Safely Buy Medicine Online

Sat, 16 Jul 2011 06:09:04 +0000

Security concerns about buying prescription drugs online pharmacy revolves around questions about your personal health, the legality of transactions and the protection of your personal information. Online pharmacy provide convenience and other advantages such as privacy and in some cases cheaper prices compared to the traditional brick and mortar pharmacy, but without due diligence the buying of prescription medication online can be fraught with a number of deleterious pitfalls.

In today’s world, more than 20 million US & 2 million UK citizens buy medicine from online pharmacy, because the World Wide Web has made it as easy as ABC. Pharmacy online are everywhere on the web & they are 40% to 90% cheaper.

Internet is the biggest source of information of today’s world. Whether it is information, product or service, we look it on internet first. Searching online is easy and comfortable and it saves us a lot of time. Internet coupled with e-commerce, is the perfect concoction for shoppers. Online pharmacy is exactly what online shoppers need when it comes to buy pharmaceuticals, prescription medicines, and other care products.

To ensure the safety of prescription drugs by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires that drugs go through clinical trials, safety, and that the benefits outweigh the risks of a drug before it be approved for marketing and sales in the United States. Unfortunately pharmacists outside the United States that dispense drugs manufactured outside of the United States are not bound by federal regulations.

Health risk to those who choose to buy from them. Because some pharmacies, even within the United States, importation and distribution FDA-approved drugs manufactured abroad, it is important to ensure that the online pharmacy do not choose to dispense FDA-approved prescription drugs.

The main concerns about purchasing prescription medication from rogue online pharmacies that dispense drugs not approved by the FDA approved are, the drugs you receive might be counterfeit, contaminated, sub-potent, super potent or the wrong drug, all of which could jeopardize your health. In the worst-case scenario, you may not receive any medication at all despite paying for it. Therefore, it is important to make sure that the online pharmacy is licensed and based in the United States and if not that it is accredited and dispenses drugs approved by its government.

Steps to Consider While buy medicine from Online Pharmacy.

At the first instance, check an authorization of a pharmacy from where you are about to purchase your drugs. You can check the legitimacy of drugs store that weather is approved through its website. According to the law, an online pharmacy requires to acquire a license. You should not prefer those pharmacies which are not authorized.

At the second instance, make sure that the drugs store that you have chosen contains all the prescription drugs that you are looking for as there may be some pharmacies that may not have medicines that your physician has prescribed you. They therefore may require obtaining them from another pharmacy.

If all the medicines that your physician has prescribed are available at the online store, you can check about dosage and other details of each product. The team of a leading pharmacy is well experienced with ways to keep and store several medicines. If you want, you can tell the online team about any allergies you have or any queries about these prescriptions or medicines.

One you are satisfied with your pharmacy, you can place an order by just filling the required personal details such as your name, the address where you want your medicines to be delivered and the quantity that you require to purchase. Check the information available again and the quantity of medical products ordered to not to meet with any error.

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Islamic Medicine History and Current Practice

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 06:09:09 +0000

Husain F.Nagamia MD, FRCS (Eng & Edin)

Chairman International Institute of Islamic Medicine

Past President of Islamic Medical Association

Past Editor in Chief of Journal of Islamic Medical Association

Clinical Assistant Prof. Of Surgery,

University of South Florida Medical School, Tampa, Florida.

Chief, Division of Cardio-vascular and Thoracic Surgery, Tampa General Hospital, Tampa, Florida, USA

Attending Cardio-Vascular Surgeon, Cardiac Institute of Florida

Introduction:

Considerable confusion exists in literature regarding the definition of ‘Islamic Medicine’. This is mainly because each author that writes about ‘Islamic Medicine’ is actually writing about an aspect of Islamic Medicine. Thus the definition can vary depending upon the perspective. The context can be historical, cultural, scientific, pharmacological, therapeutic, religious or even a geo-political. In this monograph we shall be examining this body of knowledge mainly from its historical, scientific, therapeutic and application viewpoints

The main source of all inspirational knowledge in Islam is ‘The Holy Qur’an’ . This book is considered by Muslims or followers of Islam to be the word of Allah or God, revealed by Him to the Prophet of Islam: Mohammed. A secondary source of a Muslims’ inspiration is the ‘Hadith or Sunnah’, which are the recorded and authenticated sayings and traditions of the Prophet of Islam: Mohammed.

As such not much medicine is mentioned in the Qur’an except for beneficial effects of some natural foods viz. honey and abstinence from intake of alcohol or other intoxicants proscribed on every Muslim, yet the Qur’an is the guiding spirit that every Muslim has to follow, including the physicians in treating their patient and the patients in handling their illness. However very early in the Islamic era, the Hadith literature had accumulated a number of sayings and traditions of the Prophet under a collection called the ‘Prophetic Medicine’. These edicts expounded on virtues of diet, natural remedies, and management of simple ailments like headache, fever, sore throat, conjunctivitis, etc. More importantly however injunctions were prescribed against contact with persons having a contagious disease for instance leprosy or entering or leaving an area of an epidemic or plague, thus helping to limit the disease. In addition a large number of traditions were collected under the title of ‘Spiritual Medicine’. These were a collection of the verses of the Qur’an or prayers to the Almighty, which invoked blessings and which had to be recited when affliction was to be expurgated.

Prophetic Medicine:

‘Prophetic Medicine’ although popular amongst the masses of Muslims because of its doctrinal and theological contents was considered by most Muslim historians and physicians as distinct from scientific and analytical Islamic Medicine. Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406 AD) a well known medieval Muslim jurist, historian, statesman in his ‘Muqaddimah’ states:

‘The Bedouins in their culture, have a kind of medicine which they base primarily on experience restricted to a few patients only, and which they have inherited from their tribal leaders and old women. In some cases it is correct, but it is not founded on natural laws, nor is it tested against (scientific accounts) natural constitution (of peoples). Now the Arabs had a great deal of this type of Medicine before the advent of Islam and there were among them well known doctors like al-Harith ibn Kalada and others. Their Medicine that has been transmitted in the Islamic religious works (as opposed to those works which were considered scientific works) belong to this genre. It is definitely no part of divine revelation (to the Prophet: Mohammed) but was something customarily practiced by the Arabs. This type of Medicine thus is included in his biographies, just as are other multitudinous of matters of sociological importance like the natural life and customs of the Arabs, but forms no part of religion of Islam to be practiced in the same way.’

Definition:

Islamic Medicine in its true context, can thus be defined as a body of knowledge of Medicine that was inherited by the Muslims in the early phase of Islamic History (40-247 AH/661 -861 AD) from mostly Greek sources, but to which became added medical knowledge from, Persia, Syria, India and Byzantine. This knowledge was not only to become translated into Arabic, the literary and scientific lingua franca of the time, but was to be expounded, assimilated, exhaustively added to and subsequently codified, and ‘islamicized’. The Physicians of the times both Muslim and Non-Muslim were then to add to this, their own observations and experimentation and convert it into a flourishing and practical science, thus helping in not only in curing the ailments of the masses, but increasing their standards of health. The effects of its domineering influence extending not only in the vast stretches of the Islamic lands, but also in all adjoining nations including Europe, Asia, China, and the Far East. The span was measurable not only for few centuries, but also perhaps for an entire millennium, 610 to 1610 AD. During which time, Europe and rest of the extant civilized nations of the world were in grips of the ‘dark ages’. It also to set the standards of hygiene, and preventative medicine and thus was responsible for the improvement of the general health of the masses. It was to hold sway until decadence finally set in, concomitant with the political decline of the Islamic nation. With the advent of Renaissance in Europe, at the beginning of the 17th Century AD, it was finally challenged by the new and emerging science of modern medicine, which was to finally replace it in most of the countries, including the countries of its birth!

Historical Background:

In order to understand the milieu in which Islamic medicine was born, one has to understand the salient events in the advent of Islam and a few events just preceding the Islamic era. Arabia which was a large area covered mostly by an arid desert that was roamed by nomadic tribes of Bedouins. Certain communities had been established where the trade routes intersected and water was available. Mecca was along the Yaman- Damascus trade route. It was considered a holy city and a sanctuary. The Kaaba or house of worship was replete with idols of different gods each representing a tribe or community. These Bedouins had their own tribal moral or ethical codes of conduct and idolatry was in practice. Blood feuds were common and attacking caravans along trade routes was a way of life. Sacrifices were often offered to appease the gods and burying of live female children was common practice. Family feuds were common and settling scores in order to uphold tribal honour led to frequent bloody encounters in which many people were killed. Women and children were treated as ‘chattels’ or private possessions and became the property of the winner. This era of Arabia is frequently referred by Muslims as ‘Jahilliya’ or age of ignorance. Islam was not only to bring dramatic changes in the religious practices of these warring nomadic tribes but also unite them into an unprecedented social and cultural nation that very quickly was to develop into a strong political entity, with its own system of administration, justice, and military power, all under one leadership. The first leader of the Islamic State was no doubt the Prophet of Islam, Mohammed but then his four successors called the ‘Pious Caliphs’ were to quickly consolidated and expand the nation. Within one hundred years of coming into existence, the Islamic empire had spread from Spain in the west, to China in the east, and encompassed in its midst, the whole of northern Africa ,Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Transjordan ,Central Asia and parts of western India. Later it was to be even carried further by the Muslim merchants to the shores of the far east including the Malaysian peninsula, the islands of the East Indies and Indonesia. In its early era and for several centuries, the Islamic empire was centrally governed by a leader or ‘Caliph’ and administered by provincial governors. The first four Caliphs were elected democratically but the later the Caliphate became dynastic. Later still a western Caliphate was established in Spain. In later history the Islamic Nation was to break up into various kingdoms, as the provincial rulers become more autonomous and independent of the centre and was ultimately to be overrun by the Sejluk Turks who were the forerunners of the Ottoman empire.

It was during the early Caliphates of the ‘Ummayads’ and the ‘Abbasids’ that the maximum development of Islamic Medicine took place. It was also during this time and under the patronage of these Caliphs that the great physicians both muslim and non-muslim thrived, accumulated the wealth of medical knowledge and cultivated a system of medicine that was to be later called ‘Islamic Medicine’.

The early era of Islamic Medicine and the School of medicine at Jundishapur:

Jundishapur or ‘Gondeshapur’ was a city in Khuzistan founded by a Sasnid emperor Shapur I (241-272 AD) before the advent of ISLAM.It was to settle Greek prisoners, hence the name ‘Wandew Shapur’ or ‘acquired by Shapur.’ In present day western Persia the site is marked by the ruins of Shahbad near the city of Ahwaz. The town was taken by Muslims during the caliphate of Hadrat Umar, by Abu Musa Al-Ashari in (17 AH/738 AD ). At this time it already had a well established Hospital and Medical school.

Many Syrians took refuge in the city when Antioch was captured by Shapur I. In fact the latter nicknamed the city ‘Vehaz-Andevi Shapur’ or ‘Shapur is better than Antioch.’ The closing of the Nestorian School of Edessa by Emperor Zeno in 489 AD led to the Nestorians fleeing from there and seeking refuge in Jundishapur under patronage of Shapur II, which got an academic boost as a result. The Greek influence was already predominant in Jundishapur when the closing of the Athenian school in 529 AD by order of the Byzantine emperor Justinian drove many learned Greek physicians to this town. A University with a medical school and a hospital were established by Khusraw Anushirwan the wise (531-579 AD) where the Greeco-Syriac medicine blossomed. To this was added medical knowledge from India brought by the physician vizier of Anushirwan called ‘Burzuyah.’ On his return the latter brought back from India the famous ‘Fables of Bidpai’, several Indian Physicians, details of Indian Medical Texts and a Pahlavi translation of the ‘Kalila and Dimma.’ Khusraw was even presented a translation of Aristotleian Logic and philosophy. Thus at the time of the Islamic invasion the school of Jundishapur was well established and had become renowned as a medical center of Greek, Syriac and Indian learning. This knowledge had intermingled to create a highly acclaimed and state of the art Medical school and hospital. After the advent of Islamic rule the University continued to thrive. In fact the first recorded Muslim Physician Harith bin Kalada, who was a contemporary of the Prophet acquired his medical knowledge at medical school and hospital at Jundishapur.

It is likely that the medical teaching at Jundishapur was modelled after the teaching at Alexandria with some influence from Antioch but it is important to note that ‘the treatment was based entirely on scientific analysis, in true Hippocratic tradition’, rather than a mix-up with superstition and rituals as was the case in Greek ‘asclepieia’ and Byzantine ‘nosocomia’. This hospital and Medical Centre was to become the model on which all later Islamic Medical Scools and Hospitals were to be built .The School none the less thrived during the Ummayid caliphate and Sergius of Rasul‘ayn translated medical and philosophical works of both Hippocrates and Galen into Syriac. These were later to be translated into Arabic casting an everlasting imprint onto all the future of Islamic Medicine.

It was during the Abbasid Caliphate that Caliph al-Mansur the founder of the city of Baghdad invited the then head of the Jundishapur School to treat him. This physician was Jirjis Bukhtyishu, a Christian whose name meant ‘Jesus has saved’. He treated the Caliph successfully and got appointed to the court. He however did not stay permanently in Baghdad returning to Jundishapur before his death, but the migration to Baghdad had begun. Thus his son Jibrail Bukhtishu established practice in the city and became a prominent physician. Another family that migrated from Jundishapur to Baghdad was the family of Masawayh who went at the invitation of Caliph Harun-ul-Rashid and became a famous Ophthalmologist. Most famous amongst his three sons who were physicians was Yuhanna ibn Masawayh (Mesue Senior). He wrote prolifically and 42 works are attributed to him. By this time second half of 2nd century after hijra (8th century AD) the fame of Baghdad began to rise as also the political power of the caliphate. Many hospitals and medical centers were established and tremendous intellectual activity was recorded. This culminated into the period of Islamic Renaissance and the golden era of Islamic Medicine of which description is given under a separate section.

The resources for development of Islamic Medicine: The Bait-ul-Hikma or ‘The House of Wisdom’:

‘Bait-ul-Hikma’ or House of Wisdom was founded in 214 AH 830 AD by the Caliph Al-Mamun an Abbasid Caliph. Ibn Al Nadim, who was the son of a bookseller and whose famous catalogue of books ‘Firhist of Nadim’ tells us of many of the Books of his time, relates this story of the Caliph: Aristotle appeared in the dream of the learned Caliph and told him that there was no conflict between reason and revelation. The Caliph thus set about searching for books and manuscripts of the ancient Greek philosophers and scientists. He sent an emissary to the Byzantine Emperor to get all the scientific manuscripts that were apparently stored in an old and dilapidated building. After initially turning him down the emperor granted him his request. Among the emissaries sent to select the works was the first director of the house of wisdom Salman, who was the one that led the delegation .Others in it were al Hajjaj Ibn Matar, Ibn al Batrik.They brought back with them many Greek scientific works and manuscripts. Translations of all of these was immediately started.However the translation of the medical works of the Greeks had started earlier during the reign of Caliph Harun al Rashid, with the building of the first hospital under the Caliph’s patronage.

Ibn Nadim lists 57 Translators associated with he House of Wisdom. The one’s who formed the first delegation to the Byzantine King have already been named. Other famous ones are as follows:

1. al Hajjaj ibn Yusuf ibn Matar completed translation of Euclid’s elements. Other Greek authors including Aristotle, Archimedes, Pythogras, Theodesius, Jerash, Apollonius, Theon and Menelaus all were translated.

2. Muhammad ibn Mujsa al-Khwarizimi born in Khiva systematically explored arithmetic and al-gebra. The latter derived its name from his discourse: ‘Kitab al-Jabr wa al-Muqabla.’ Algebra was derived from the second letter and meant ‘bone setting’ a graphic description of operations on solving quadrantic equations.

3. The knowledge of geometry flourished and with it architecture and design. Ibn Khaldun was later to describe geometry as a science that ‘enlightens the intelligence of man and cultivates rational thinking.’

4. Mamun’s court astronomer was Musa ibn Shakir. His three sons Muhammad, Ahmad and al-Hassan devoted their lives to the search of knowledge. They exemplified the Prophetic traditions and dicta: ‘Seek learning even if it be in China.’ ‘The search for knowledge is obligatory on every Muslim.’ ‘The ink of scholars is worth more than the blood of martyrs.’

5. The works of these learned men or ‘Sons of Musa” were exceptionally creative. They wrote on: celestial mechanics, the atom, the origins of earth, Ptolemic universe, the properties of the ellipse, Planes and spheres, The knowledge of geometry served in practice to create canals, bridges and architectural designs.

6. Muhammad ibn Musa on one of his travels met Thabit ibn Qurra. The latter was master in three languages. Greek, Syraic and Arabic and soon got appointed to become the court astrologer to Caliph al-Mutadid. He was invaluable addition to the House of Wisdom. In 70 original works he wrote on every conceivable subject including mathematics, astronomy astrology, ethics, mechanics, physics, philosophy, and published commentaries on Euclid, Ptolemy, and other Greek thinkers and philosophers.

7. The two sons of Thabit ibn Qurra also became famous. Sinan was a famous physician in Baghdad. He was director of several hospitals and was court physician to three successive caliphs. His son Ibrahim also became a prominent scientist. He invented sundials and wrote a special treatise on this subject on this subject.

8. The greatest medical mind in the House of Wisdom was Hunain ibn Ishaq. Born in Hira Hunain was the son of an apothecary. He soon translated entire collection of Greek medical works including Galen, Hippocrates. Hunain was an extremely gifted and talented translator. From being just a literal translator he tended to be more scientific and duly interpreted the original text by cross reference, annotation and citing glossaries. His original contributions included 10 works on ophthalmology which were extremely systematic. He rose to the highest honour by being appointed the director of the House of Wisdom by Caliph al Mutawakkil.

9. Qusta ibn Luqa was another accomplished translator and scholar. He has 40 original contributions to his credit. He wrote on diverse subjects such as ‘mirrors, hairs, fans, winds, logic, geometry and astronomy to name a few.

10. Yuhanna ibn Masawaih (Mesuse senior) was an early director of the House of Wisdom. He served under four caliphs. Al Mamun, al-Mutassim, al-Wathik and al-Mutawakkil. He wrote about medical especially gynecological problems.

11. The effect of the House of wisdom was tremendous. Islamic Science, philosophy, art and architecture all felt its effects. Agriculture, Government, prosperity and economic wealth were the benefactors. It ultimately was responsible to produce figures like Al-Kindi, Al-Farabi, some of the greatest thinkers, scientists and philosophers of Islam. Also some of the greatest Islamic Physicians had available to them all the knowledge of ancient Greece, Syria, India and Persia available to them and in turn they contributed by their astute observation and originality. The giants of Islamic Medicine and their achievements are described elsewhere.

Hospitals during the Islamic era:

The idea of a hospital as an institutional place for the caring of the sick has not been recorded in antiquity. There were sanatoria and ‘travel lodges’ that were attached to temples where the sick were attended to by attendant priests. Most of the therapy in these sanatoria consisted of prayers and sacrifices to the gods of healing especially to Aaescalapius. Cures that occurred were thought to result from divine interventions.

A large number of hospitals were developed early during the Islamic era. They were to be called ‘Bimaristan’ or ‘Maristan’. The idea of a hospital as a place where sick could get attention was totally adopted by the early Caliphs. The first hospital is credited to Caliph Al-Walid I an Ummayad Caliph (86-96 AH 705-715 AD), by some it was however considered no more than a leprosoria because it allowed the segregation of lepers from others. It did have on staff ‘salaried doctors’ to attend the sick.

The first true Islamic hospital was built during the reign of Caliph Harun-ul-Rashid (170-193 AH 786-809 AD). Having heard of the famous medical institution at Jundishapur already described above the Caliph invited the son of the chief physician, Jibrail Bakhtishu to come to Baghdad and head the new ‘bimaristan’ which he did. It rapidly achieved fame and led quickly to developments of other hospitals in Baghdad. One of these the ‘Audidi’ hospital was to be built under the instructions of the great Islamic Physician Al-Razi. It is said that in order to select the best site for the hospital he had pieces of meat hung in various quarters of the city and watched their putrefaction and advised the Caliph to site the hospital where the putrefaction was the slowest and the least ! At its inception it had 24 physicians on staff including specialists categorized as Physiologists, oculists, surgeons and bonesetters. When Djubair visited Baghdad in 580 AH/ 1184 AD he recorded that this hospital was ‘like a great castle’ with water supply from the tigris and all appurtenances of Royal Palaces.

One of the largest hospitals ever built was the Mansuri Hospital in Cairo it was completed in 1248 by the orders of the Mameluke ruler of Egypt, Mansur Qalaun. It was most elaborate. It had a total capacity of 8000 people ! The annual income from endowments alone was One million dirhams. Men and women were admitted to separate wards. Irrespective of race religion and creed or citizenship (as specifically stated in the Waqf documents) nobody was ever turned away .There was no limit to the time the patient was treated as an inpatient ! ( what a contrast from present HMO’s !) . There were separate wards for men and women and medicine, surgery, fevers and eye diseases had separate wards. It had its own pharmacy, library and lecture halls. It had a mosque for Muslim patients as well a chapel for Christian patients !

The Waqf document specifically stated: ‘The hospital shall keep all patients, men and women until they are completely recovered. All costs are to be borne by the hospital whether the people come from afar or near, whether they are residents or foreigners, strong or weak, low or high, rich or poor, employed or unemployed, blind or sigted, physically or mentally ill, learned or illiterate. There are no conditions of consideration and payment; none is objected to or even indirectly hinted at for non-payment. The entire service is through the magnificence of Allah, the generous one.’

As to the physical conditions of these hospitals especially those established by princes, rulers and viziers it can be stated that some of these were luxurious and were actual palaces that had been converted to hospitals. Even contemporary Europe could not boast of a single hospital that came close to the facilities that were provided in these intitutions. Some of them especially in Baghdad, Egypt and Syria had furnishings were similar to those in the palaces. Most of these being under the patronage of the viziers, sultans and caliphs were no doubt inspired by the Islamic teaching of the welfare of the poor and needy. The Qur’an tells us: ‘You shall not attend to virtue unless you spend for the welfare of the poor from the choicest part of your wealth’ (3,92) and again: ‘O you who believe spend (for the poor) from the worthiest part of what you have earned and what your crop yields, and do not give away from its unworthy parts- such that you yourselves will not take until you examine the quality minutely- and know that Allah is not in your need and all praise belongs to Him.’ (2,267).

As to the salaries of Physicians here is some information from authentic sources. The annual income of Jibrail ibn Bakitshu who was the Chief of Staff at a Baghdad hospital during the reign of Mamun ArRashid (d c.e 833/218 A.H.) as recorded by his own secretary was 4.9 million dirhams. His son also a doctor lived in a house in Baghdad that was air-conditioned by ice in summer and heated by charcoal in winter ! A resident by comparison who was supposed to be on duty for two days and two nights a week, was paid 300 dirhams a month. (Remind you of Denton Cooley and his fellows ?).

The great physicians of Islamic Medicine:

The era of Islamic Medicine produced some very famous and notable physicians. These physicians were not only responsible to get all the existing information on Medicine of the time together but add to this knowledge by their own astute observations, experimentation and skills. Many of them were skilled in medical writing and produced encyclopaedic works which became standard texts and reference works for centuries. With the coming of European Rennaicanse they formed the basis on which the European authors gained insight into the medicine of the ‘ancients’ or early Greek authors whose works were only preserved in Arabic. In addition many re-discoveries took place which had already been recorded by the Islamic physicians but hitherto had been unknown until recently uncovered. The classical example of the discovery of Pulmonary circulation originally given to Servetus was found to have been succinctly described by Ibn Nafis an Islamic Physician who lived centuries earlier. Ibn Nafis repudiated the earlier concepts held by Galen and described the lesser circulation so succinctly that nothing more could be added until Malphigi could describe the alveoli and the pulmonary capillaries with the advent of the microscope discovered by Anthony Von Luwenheek in mid 19th Century. Some of them form the basis of instruction of students of Tibb and Hikma the traditional Islamic Medicine practiced in the subcontinent of India and Pakistan, even today under the banner of Tibb or Unani Medicine.! It would be out of scope for us in this chapter to describe the accomplishments of each of these physicians, however we will proceed with giving you the salient accomplishments of some of the most notable amongst them. For sake of classification the historic periods of the Islamic Physicians can be divided into three parts: 1. The period of Islamic Renaissance: From the beginning of Islam to the end of the Abbasid dynasty. 2. The period of Islamic Epoch: When all sciences including Medicine reached the pinnacle of development under the Islamic patronage. 3. The period of decline: during which the knowledge of Islamic Medicine was translated into European languages and became the basis of further development and discoveries and ultimately led to basis for the development of Modern Medicine.

The Period of Islamic Renaissance:

The notable physicians during this period were as follows:

Bukhtishu family of Physicians. The oldest amongst these was Jibrail Bukhtishu who was the Chief Physician at the Hospital in Jundishapur. He came from a Christain family and was summoned to the court of Caliph Mamun (148AH/765 AD) when the latter fell ill. After having treated him successfully he was invited to stay in Baghdad and head a hospital there but he declined and returned to his native Jundishapur.(152 AH/769 AD) It was his son Jurjis Bukhtishu who was later invited by Caliph Harun-ul-Rashid to come to Baghdad to treat him (171AH/787 AD) and then offered to be the Chief Physician and head a hospital in Baghdad which he did till he died in 185 AH/801 AD).

Masawaih is another family of physicians associated with early Islamic History.During the reign of Caliph Harun-ul-Rashid the elder of the family migrated from Jundishapur t Baghdad and become a celebrated Ophthalmologist. He wrote the first Arabic treatise on ophthalmology. His son known to the west as Mesue Senior with real name of Yuhanna ibn Masawayh wrote several medical works in Arabic while translating other works from Greek. He is known for somewhat of a sarcastic temperament none the less commanded great respect because of his medical expertise.

Hunayn ibn Ishaq who was a student of ibn Masawayh became the greatest translator of Greek and Syriac medical texts during the 3rd century AH/9th century AD. He was responsible for masterly translations of Galen, Hippocrates, Aristotle into Arabic. He also improved the Arabic Medical lexicon giving it a rich technical medical language to express medical terminology and thus laid the foundations of the rich medical expression in Arabic language far superseding the later translations from Arabic to Latin. He was himself an astute physician and wrote two original works on ophthalmology.

The credit of the first systematic work on medicine during this era goes to a Muslim physician Ali ibn Rabban al-Tabbari hailing from Persia but settling in Baghdad in the first half of the 3rd century AH/9th century AD. His work called ‘Firdaws a–Hikma’ or ‘Paradise of Wisdom’ contained extensive information from all extant sources including Greek, Syriac, Persian and Indian and contained an extensive treatment of Anatomy.

The Period of Islamic Epoch:

The most famous and notable physican of this time and perhaps of the entire early Islamic era is no doubt Muhammad ibn Zakariyya al-Razi(born 251 AH/865 AD; died 312 AH/925 AD) called Rhazes by his Latinized name. Born in Rayy in northern Persia not much is known about his early life or his medical education. His fame starts with the establishment of a hospital in Baghdad of which he was the chief. The story of how he picked the site of the Hospital when asked to select one, has become one of the classical legends of Islamic Medicine. He had pieces of meat hung in various quarters of the city and had them examined for putrefaction and recommended the site where the meat had decayed the least as the most suitable site thus making him the first physician to infer indirectly the bacteriologic putrefaction of meat, and suggesting the environmental role that contaminated air plays in the spread of infection, predating by centuries the modern concept of air borne infection.

But besides this astute observation Al-Razi is known for numerous other original contributions to the Art and Science of Medicine. Although not the first to describe the diffeences between Small Pox and Chicken Pox and give an in-depth description of measles in his famous work Kitab al Jadari wa’l-hsbah (Tretise on Small Pox and Measles) his was the one that became well known in the west because of frequent translations. He described allergy to roses in one of his classical cases. The famous Islamic historian and scientist al-Biruni has listed 56 medical works of al-Razi the most famous being al-Hawi or the Continents which is an Encyclopaedia of medical knowledge based on his personal observations and experiences. A scribed copy of this book was recently exhibited by the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland USA celebrating 900th Anniversary of its completion by an unknown scribe., and recorded as the third oldest Medical manuscript preserved in the world today. A shorter medical textbook was dedicated to al-Mansur and hence called Kitab al-Mansuri.

Besides these and other original contributions of which most have all been published and some survive to this day al-Razi devoted a lot of his time to teaching, bedside medicine and attending to the royalty and court. The impact of these publications on Islamic Medicine was tremendous. His books became an invaluable addition to the armamentarium of a medical student of the time and remained standard texts until the appearance much later of texts by al-Majusi (see below) and by ibn Sina :’Qanun fil Tibb’‘The Canon of Medicine’ of which description will be given later.

In the 4th century of Hijra, 10th century AD another Islamic physician gained prominence in Baghdad. His name al-Majusi or Haly Abbas to the west (d 384 AH/994 AD). He became the director of the Adud-dawlah Hospital .It was to its founder that al-Majusi dedicated his medical work entitled Kitab Kamil al Sina al-Tibbiyah’ or ‘ The complete book of the Medical Art ‘ also called ‘al-Kitab al-Maliki’ or ‘The Royal Book’. This book (of which again a copy is preserved in the NLM at Bathesda) is very well systematized and organized. Divided into two basic volumes one covers theory and the other practical aspects. Each of these has 10 Chapters. The first volume deals with historical sources, anatomy, faculties, six primeval functions, classification and causation of disease, symptoms and diagnosis, urine, sputum, saliva and pulse as an aid to diagnosis, external or visible manifestations of disease and internal diseases like fever, headache epilepsy and warning signs of death or recovery. The second volume deals with hygiene, dietics, cosmetics. Therapy with simple drugs. Therapy for fevers and diseases of organs viz of respiration, digestion, reproduction etc. There is a chapter on surgery, orthopaedics, and finally treatment by compound medicaments.

About the 2nd century AH/ 8th century AD a great centre of knowledge learning and culture had been developing in the western part of the Islamic empire. This was in Spain or ‘Andalusia’as it was called by the Arabs. Spain had been invaded and conquered by the Muslims in 93 AH/714 AD. When the Ummayad dynasty ended in Baghdad the last of Ummayad princes had escaped to Spain where they established a great dynasty called the Western Caliphate. The rulers of this dynasty laid the foundation of the muslim rule of Spain that was to last for seven centuries. The epoch of this period was to come during the reign of Amir Abdar-Rahman Al-Dakhil in 138 AH/756 AD. During his reign Cordoba also called ‘Qurtuba’ became a great centre of International learning. A great library containing more than a million volumes was established. Sciences flourished and great men of learning and physicians worked under the Royal patronage. Later this centre was to shift to Granada, under the patronage of the great Ummayad ruler Abd al-Rahman III al-Nasir (300-350 AH/912-961 AD). Perhaps the most famous physician and surgeon of the era was ‘Abu al-Qasim Khalaf ibn al-Abbas Al-Zahrawi’ known to the west as Albucasis (318 AH/930 AD to 403 AH/1013 AD). He gained great fame as a physician. He wrote a major compendium of extant medical knowledge called ‘Tasrif’. It comprised of thirty volumes. The initial volumes dealt with general principles, elements and physiology of humours and the rest deal with systematic treatment of diseases from head to foot. The last volume is perhaps the most important in that it deals with all aspects of Surgery. It was the first textbook of Surgery with illustration of instruments used in Surgery to be ever published. It gained such great fame that it became the standard textbook of surgery in prestigious universities in the west and was most widely read. He emphasised that knowledge of Anatomy and physiology was essential prior to undertaking any surgery: ‘Before practicing surgery one should gain knowledge of anatomy and the function of organs so that he will understand their shape, connections and borders. He should become thoroughly familiar with nerves muscles bones arteries and veins. If one does not comprehend the anatomy and physiology one can commit a mistake which will result in the death of the patient. I have seen someone incise into a swelling in the neck thinking it was an abscess, when it was an aneurysm and the patient dying on the spot.’ Some operations described by him are carried out even today in the manner he described them almost 1000 years ago!. These would include operations on varicose veins, reduction of skull fractures, dental extractions , forceps delivery for a dead foetus to mention just a few. Surgery was raised to a high level of science by him, at a time when the Council of Tours in Europe declared in 1163 AD:’Surgery is to be abandoned by all schools of medicine and by all decent physicians’

However the greatest physician of the Islamic era was Avicenna or Ibn Sina his full name being:’ Abu Ali al-Husayn ibn Abdallah ibn Sina’. Some historians of medicine acclaim him to be the greatest physician that has ever lived . That is because ibn Sina was not only a physician par excellence but his knowledge and wisdom extended to many other branches of science and culture including philosophy, metaphysics, logic, and religion. As a result of his great wisdom, he has been awarded the titles: al-Shaykh al-Rais (The chief master) and al-Muallim al-Thani (the second philosopher after Aristotle)..

Ibn Sina was indeed a prodigy. At the age of 10 he had memorized the whole Quran.By age of 16 he had mastered all extant sciences that appealed to him including mathematics, geometry, Islamic law, logic, philosophy and metaphysicist. By age 18 he taught himself all that was to learn in medicine. Born in city of Bokhara in what is now central Asia in the year 370 AH/980 AD he rapidly rose in ranks and became the vizier (prime minister) and court physician of the Samanid ruler of Bukhara Prince Nuh ibn-Mansur.The Royal Library was opened to him and this enlarged the knowledge of Avicenna to new dimensions. He began writing his first book at age 21. In all, in the short span of 30 years of writing this man had written over a 100 books of which 16 were on medicine. His magnum opus is one of the classics of medicine ever written. The Canon of medicine as it became known in the west was written with the title of ‘Kitab al-Qanun fi al-Tibb’. This voluminous compendium of medical knowledge rivalled one written earlier by al-Razi and al-Majusi and indeed surpassed both of these in the content and originality.It was composed of five volumes: Volume I contained the general principles Volume II Simple drugs Volume III Sytematic description of diseses from head to foot Volume IV general maladies viz fevers and Volume V Compound drugs. The Canon was translated into Latin by Gerard of Cremora and Andrea Alpago and remained the standard textbook of medicine in Louvain and Montpellier until the 17th Century. A complete copy is in the archives of National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland.. The effects of the systematic collection of hitherto unorganised Greco-Roman medicine and adding to it by personal observation and experimentation of these physician brought medicine to a new pinnacles of practice.

Writes Prof Emile Savasge Smith, professor of history at the Welcome Library of Medicine in a monograph that accompanied an exhibition of the oldest Arabic manuscripts in collection at the National Library of Medicine: ‘The medicine of the day was so brilliantly clarified by these compendia (especially those of Ibn sina and al-Majusi) and such order and consistency was brought to it that a sense of perfection and hence stultifying authority resulted.’

The Basic Sciences in Islamic Medicine:

Contarary to popular belief, basic Sciences were were highly developed in Islamic Sciences. For instance Oriental historians of Medicine have erroneously emphasised that science of anatomy, during the Islamic era was rudimentary ,and did not progress much further than the discoveries already made and described by the Greeks or ‘the ancients’. It was popularly held that the Islamic physicians did not challenge the anatomic concepts of the ‘ancients’. Secondary to the religious proscription of dissection and thus lacking in their own observations they relied heavily on observations of Galen, Aristotle, Paul of Agaeia and other Greek sources. However after recent discoveries of manuscripts by an Egyptian Physician Mohiuddin al-Tatawi, that had been hetherto unsrutinized, it has become evident that Islamic Physicians not only possesed excellent knowlege of anatomy but they added some challenging new concepts that were revolutionary to the then understanding of anatomical concepts laid down by the ‘ancients’. The example that has now become well known is that of the discovery of the lesser or pulmonary circulation by Ibn Nafis( d 687 AH/1288 AD) Until then the credit of the discovery of the lesser circulation was given to Servetus and Colombo, who described it in much similar terms as Ibn Nafis only two hundred years later. The description given of the pulmonary circulation by Ibn Nafis challenged the fundamental concept held by Galen. In fact it suggested that there existed a pulmonary capillary bed where the blood was ‘purified ‘ before being brought back to the heart by the pulmonary artery, thus predating the discovery of pulmonary capillaries long afterwards, following the discovery of the microscope by Anthony Von Luwenheek.. It has to be noted that it has been documented that Ibn Masawaih or ‘Masseuse Senior’ his Latinised name had with the special permission of the Caliph built a house on there banks of the river Tigris where he dissected apes, to learn their anatomy and extrapolated the information to human anatomy. That the knowledge of anatomy was pre-requisite for the surgeon has been emphasized by Al-Zahrawi in the surgical section of his book ‘Tasrif’ where he writes in the introduction:

‘Now this is the reason why there is no skilful operator in our day: the art of medicine is long and it is necessary for its exponent, before he exercises it , to be trained in anatomy as Galen has described it, so that he may be fully acquainted with the uses, forms, temperament of the limbs; also how they are jointed, and how they may be separated, that he should understand fully also the bones, tendons and muscles, their numbers and their attachments; and also the blood vessels both the arteries and the veins, with their relations. And so Hippocrates said: ‘ Though many are doctors in name, few in reality, particularly on the surgical side.’

As regards the physiological concepts embodied in the Islamic Medicine they were based on the

Hippocratic and Galenic concepts of elements natures and humours. The theory expounded being that harmony in the body prevails when all the humours are in proper balance and it is their imbalance that creates disease. Under this principle then, disease is a state of imbalance of humours and needs the restoration of balance, to bring the organism back to its normal healthy state. Under modern medicine such a concept would be unacceptable or at least untenable; because in modern medicine causation of disease is related to etiological agents or factors. However it was Claud Bernard’s concept of the ‘milleu interior’ which can in modern terms be compared to the Jabirean concept of innate harmony as expanded by Islamic medicine. In order to further exemplify the factors affecting this balance the theory of Islamic Medicine expounds the concept of elements and temperaments. Basic elements are broken into: earth , fire, air and water and each of these is given a temperament: viz earth is dry and cold; water is humid and cold; fire hot and dry heat, air is humid and hot. Even further each of the four essential body fluids like blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile are assigned a respective temperament. Each dietary food, medicine or climatic environment can thus then modify or temper the humours of the body and it is an interplay of these that can restore health from sickness or cause the sickness to worsen.

Such a theory was understandably ill understood and even laughed at and ridiculed by the scientists of the west. Yet the same scientists have now begun to look at the human organism from different insights. To give an example: until recently the theoretical basis of Acupuncture would not have been acceptable to any physician trained by principles of western or modern medicine and yet today this is being looked at with new insight and accepted because the application have shown practical results which would otherwise be unexplainable by modern principles of anatomy and physiology. For a further exposition of the theories of Islamic Medicine the reader is directed to read an exposition by O.C. Gruner and a dissertation on the subject by Hakim Mohammed Said.

More importantly however it was the fundamental belief of a Muslim Physician that the organic body alone cannot manifest life being innate and devoid of a life force. That it was the instillation of this life force or ‘Ruh’ which give its vibrance and vitality of spirit. Thus without the ‘ruh’ no function of the body is possible. It is the ‘Ruh’ which descends from the Almighty to mix with the anatomic and physiologic body to make a complete human being. It is thus essential when treating a diseased state to take into consideration the ‘Ruh’ or the Soul, a concept totally alien to the followers of Modern Medicine.

Pharmacy, Pharmacognosy, Materia Medica and Therapeutics:

One of the greatest sciences that had a great impetus on Islamic medicine was the development of pharmacy and phamacognosy. Chemistry or ‘Alchemia’ had been studied by most Islamic Physicians and scholars. This study was furthered by concomitant development of techniques to refine drugs, medications and extracts by process of distillation, sublimation, crystallization. Druggists or Attarin became commonplace in Islamic lands and their proliferation ultimately required the institution of licensing of pharmacists and druggists.

Pharmacological drugs were classified into simple and compound drugs, ‘the mufraddat and the murakkabat’. The effects of these were detailed and documented. The earliest Islamic works on pharmacognosy were written before translation of the Greek works of Dioscorides. Titles such as ‘Treatise on the power of drugs their beneficial and their ill effects’ and then again The Power of simple drugs’ were written in the third and fourth century AH/ ninth century AD. Most medical texts contained chapters on the use of both these types of remedies, thus Razi’s al-Hawi mentions 829 drugs.

Materia Medica and texts containing compendia of drugs their effects appears frequently during the era of Islamic Medicine. Notable amongst these is the contribution of Abu Bakr ibn Samghun of Cardoba on ‘The Comprehensive book on views of the Ancients as well as the Moderns on Simple Drugs’ Ibn Juljul made a commentary of drugs and plants described by Dioscordes and added a number of newer ones. Al-Zahrawi’s Tasrif mentioned earlier in reference to its surgical volume also had a section on plants and drugs. The second book of the Canon is devoted to the discussion of simple drugs and the powers and qualities being listed in charts. One of the most authoritative book on drugs was written by famous scholar and philosopher al-Biruni entitled ‘The Book on drugs’ which contains a huge compendium of drugs, their actions and their equivalent names in several languages.

Even today perhaps the most extensive pharmacotherapy especially as related to plant medicinal and herbal preparations can be attributed to modern day Islamic or Tibbi Medicine and finds great favour in the Indian subcontinent often being as popular as western or synthetic medicine. In fact western pharmaceutical companies have often ‘invaded’ into this domain, the classical example being of the extract of ‘Ruwalfia Serpentina’ a root that yielded a potent anti-hypertensive which was a very popular remedy for hypertension in the sixties and which had been known to the Hakims for several centuries before being exploited by the west. No doubt in this pharmacopoeia there are other drugs equally effective in other diseases that need to be scientifically analysed by random studies and double blind clinical trials for their effectiveness!

CONTEMPORARY PRACTICE OF ISLAMIC MEDICINE:

Islamic Medicine continues to be practiced in many of the Islamic countries today. However western traditional modern medicine has replaced the core of the health care systems in most of these countries. The only countries where it has to some degree enjoyed an official status is the Indian Subcontinent. The three main countries of the Indian subcontinent are India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Thus in India there have been established medical schools where ‘Tibb or Unani’ medicine (translated as Natural medicine or Greek medicine) continues to be taught. These schools give their students a formal diploma in ‘Tibb or Unani’ medicine; which enables their students to be licensed practitioner of ‘Tibb or Unani’ medicine. These students are instructed in ‘Unani’ concepts of medicine. They then utilize this knowledge and therapeutics in their practice. Their certification, licensing and supervision is controlled by the Indian Medical Council. In India both in rural and urban communities one finds practitioners of ‘Unani or Tibbi’ medicine. In Pakistan in the middle sixties the government under the then President Muhammed Ayub Khan ordered the official registration and licensing of the traditional Hakims (much to the chagrin of practitioners of modern medicine)! Tibb also enjoys favour of public popularity in other countries including Afghanistan, Malaysia and countries in the Middle East. In the latter it has recently had a resurgence in practitioners.

CONCLUSION:

The greatest challenge of Islamic Medicine is not in its practice, therapeutics or application but in adaptation to modern day needs. Thus it is my belief that the fundamental challenge is not the way in which Islamic Medicine is practiced but the way in which it is defined. Somewhere in the late 16th century and 17th century a dichotomy developed between Islamic medicine and Modern or western medicine. This dichotomy was mainly related to the development of one civilization and concomitant decline of another, a cycle that is an ongoing fact of history. This upsurge of one, and slide of another civilization is no doubt an ongoing phenomena that has its effect on the great cultures of mankind. To say that one system of medicine is superior to another is akin to committing the folly of labelling one antibiotic superior to another. Although one of them may have been discovered earlier and one later each antibiotic continues to play its role in a given ailment. The challenge then would be to study and define the interrelationships between these and precisely define when one is more useful than another. Exactly the same would apply to these two different systems of medicine. The roles of each of these needs to be defined, each needs to be studied in depth and in the light of each others progress, and each needs to be supplemented so that humanity can benefit from the good of each.

Islmedin.doc 4/30/95, Revised 10/1/98

* This article is copyright of the International Institute of Islamic Medicine (IIIM) and may not be reproduced by any means whether electronic, digital, photographic or facsimile without prior permission of the author. Quotations can be made at any time if the source is identified. If you need additional Information please write to the author : Dr Husain Nagamia, Chairman, IIIM PO Box 160, Brandon FL 33509-0160 USA or email at hnagamia@pol.net.

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Sun, 03 Jul 2011 00:55:00 +0000

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