Medicine

Medical History

	The Mirror of Health: Discovering Medicine in the Golden Age of Islam, 1 May to 25 October 2013
	By: Royal College of Physicians (RCP), Sat 04 May, 2013
	RCP Exhibition, London, UK - The Mirror of Health: Discovering Medicine in the Golden Age of Islam
	Experimental Medicine 1000 Years Ago
	By: Professor Rabie El-Said Abdel-Halim, Fri 23 November, 2012
	Professor Rabie El-Said Abdel-Halim Little is known about the state of experimentation in the field of medicine during the Medieval Islamic era. With few exceptions, most of the contemporary sources on history of medicine propagate the idea that the roots of experimental medicine in its modern form, including clinical trials and drug-potency studies, first started during the European Renaissance in the 16th to the 18th centuries. This study is part of an ongoing multidisciplinary primary-source investigation of the original Arabic works of 11 Islamic medical scholars who lived and practiced between the 9th and the 13th centuries. The study critically evaluated and documented their contributions to the development of the scientific method and experimental medicine during that medieval Islamic era in several areas including critical appraisal of previous knowledge, clinical observations and case reports, clinical therapeutic trials, drug potency trials, experimentation on animals, dissection and dissection experiments as well as postmortem examinations. In each of the above-mentioned areas, significant contributions were made during the Medieval Islamic era from as early as the ninth century CE.
	Pioneer Physicians
	By: David W. Tschanz, Mon 21 February, 2011
	David W. Tschanz During the classical Muslim civilisation, big scientific advances in medicine were made. Muslim doctors began by collecting all the medical observations and theories of their predecessors, especially Hippocrates and Galen, and built an original and influential tradition of medical knowledge. This article presents selected episodes from this tradition, thus proving its richness and wide scope. Beginning by briefly setting the historical context, the author then then to Al-Zahrawi, the "Father of Surgery", Ibn Zuhr, the Doctor of Seville, Ibn Rushd, Doctor and Philosopher, Ibn Maymun, a doctor in exile, and finally the discoverer of the "secrets of the heart", Ibn al-Nafis al-Dimashqi.
	Evolution of Attitudes Towards Human Experimentation in Ottoman Turkish Medicine
	By: Professor Nil Sari, Fri 27 August, 2010
	Professor Nil Sari Attitudes and expectations towards medical knowledge and medical practice standards influence and determine the position of health practitioners and the development of medicine. While describing the basic characteristics of the Ottoman Turkish medicine and medical practice through their scientific approach and standards, the following article by Professor Nil Sari aims at putting forth the priorities of the Ottoman Turkish medicine, by means of primary sources such as archive documents and medical manuscripts.
	Lady Montagu and the Introduction of Smallpox Inoculation to England
	By: FSTC Research Team, Tue 16 February, 2010
	FSTC Research Team The English aristocrat and writer Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689-1762) is today remembered particularly for her letters from Turkey, an early example of a secular work by a Western woman about the Muslim Orient. When Lady Mary was in the Ottoman Empire, she discovered the local practice of variolation, the inoculation against smallpox. Unlike Jenner's later vaccination, which used cowpox, variolation used a small measure of smallpox itself. Lady Mary, who had suffered from the disease, encouraged her own children to be inoculated while in Turkey. On her return to London, she enthusiastically promoted the procedure, but encountered a great deal of resistance. However, her example certainly popularized the practice of inoculation with smallpox in British high society. The numbers inoculated remained small, and medical effort throughout the 18th century was concentrated on reducing the risks and side-effects of the inoculation process.
	Ottoman Medical Practice and The Medical Science
	By: Professor Nil Sari, Sat 04 July, 2009
	Professor Nil Sari The Ottomans paid great attention to medical practice and they were also greatly interested in the education and practice of physicians, surgeons and oculists. Many of these practiced their art both in and outside the palace, specially in major cities; and as members of the guilds they belonged to the Palace. The medical staff of the Palace, the medical madrasa in Istanbul and the practicing physicians in hospitals were expected to follow developments in medical sciences and even promote them. This original article by Professor Nil Sari presents a study of Ottoman medical practice and science based on new materials such as archival documents and manuscripts.
	Women Dealing with Health during the Ottoman Reign
	By: Nil Sari, Sat 28 February, 2009
	In the history of Islamic civilization, many hospitals were founded by women, either as wives, daughters or mothers of sultans. All health personnel were male at these hospitals. In the Ottoman period, the female patients were treated either at their homes or at the residences of the medical practitioners until the 19th century. This feature somewhat explains the rich varieties of females practicing medicine both in and outside the Ottoman palace. In this article, Professor Nil Sari, provides information on the various medical practices dedicated to female patients under the Ottomans.
	The Paracelsian Influence on Ottoman Medicine in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries
	By: FSTC Limited, Wed 25 February, 2009
	Galen's concept of medicine which dominated the medical world almost nearly for fifteen centuries began to loose its importance in the 16th century. At that time, Paracelsus (1493-1541) introduced a new medical understanding based on chemical principles. The Paracelsian theory, which changed gradually medical practice, influenced modern Ottoman medicine to a great extent. Paracelsus, the Swiss doctor, was introduced in Ottoman medical writings as a German hakîm from Austria. In this artile, the multifaceted influence of his school on Turkish Ottoman medicine is describe by means of various examples.
	Circumcision Ceremonies at the Ottoman Palace
	By: Nil Sari et. al., Thu 12 February, 2009
	Circumcision is widely practiced in all Islamic countries. Festivities pertaining to circumcision vary according to the regions and civilizations. In this report, circumcision festivities at the Ottoman Palace and the socioeconomic importance of the tradition are presented. The Ottoman circumcision technique is discussed, as are the miniature paintings, in manuscripts, written on the occasion of the circumcision of the sons of the Sultans. Because these festivities involved the participation of all classes of the society and all professions, they contributed to social and technical progress and led to developments in art, music, sports, and ideas.
	The Medical History Museum of Istanbul University: Project, Challenges and Academic Questions
	By: Nil Sari, Sat 07 February, 2009
	This article is about the foundation of the Medical History Museum founded recently in Istanbul as part of the Istanbul University Cerrahpasa Medical School. The aim of this museum, founded by Professor Nil Sari in 1986, is to save old material from being lost, to be preserved for the following generations and to be used as a means of education for describing the evolution of medical knowledge and technology.