2024-01-12 02:36:22
The father of Pediatrics was the Iranian Al-Razis, who also refuted Galen’s theory of humors, as inaccurate; Al-Tasrif, a 30-volume encyclopedia written by Albucasis, is the surgeons’ Bible; and in the 11th century Al-Gafequi operated a cataract.
Jorge O. Güerrissi*
Thursday January 11, 2024
The Arabic medicinealso known as Islamic medicine, had considerable influence on the development of medicine. Western medicine in general and surgery in particular, especially that of the Islamic Renaissance period, which took place between the middle of the 8th and 13th centuries AD.
However, not only the Arabs but also several Eastern peoples contributed to the enormous development of culture and science in those regions and were later absorbed by Western civilizations.
The development of the medical works written in Arabic and translated into Latin and Greek around the 11th and 12th centuries have had a significant influence on the development of current medicine, generating an imprint on all today’s specialties, mainly in surgery.
The development of Arab medicine was so important that it demonstrated that the theory of the humors of Galenthe most important physician of Greek antiquity, was not correct and might not be accepted as valid.
Al-Razis. The Iranian physician refuted Galen’s theory of humors as incorrect and is considered the father of Pediatrics.
Al-Razis, born in Iran in the 10th century, was a great Islamic thinker who stood out as a doctor, philosopher and scientist. He wrote several works and is known as the father of Pediatricssince he wrote the first treatise on this specialty, but as a student of the works of Galenwas the one who concluded that the Galenic theory was erroneous.
Arabic medicine was the pillar of Western medicine
There are numerous Arab doctors or doctors from the Islamic world who generated great advances in all branches of medicine, but one of the most recognized is the so-called “father of modern surgery”, Abu’lQasim ibn Abbas al Zahrawi, better known as Albucasis born in the 9th century in the Medina Azahara a few kilometers from the city of Córdoba in the south of Spain and which today is in ruin.
Arabic medicine. The books regarding Albucasis They constituted reference texts in medieval Europe.
The city of Azahara was known as “the city of light and was the beacon of Andalusian development because with his luminosity of knowledge he guided the development of the medical sciences of that time, especially in surgery.
The Bible of Western doctors
Albucasis was so prolific in his activity that his 30-volume encyclopedia regarding medicine, call A-Tasrif, was translated first into Latin and later into other Western languages. His discoveries and treatment concepts are still used today, mainly in the field of surgery.
His writings on surgery were recognized worldwide and he not only developed innovative operations but also made public surgical instruments whose validity remains intact today, although with modern modifications appropriate to the time.
Books on medicine Albucasis They constituted referential texts in medieval Europe, until the Renaissance and the humanism of central Europe: for five centuries they were the “manual” guide to the actions of surgeons “practically in the entire known world at the time.”
In surgery, Albucasis expanded in many fields ranging from suturing wounds with the use of catgut y silk threads: (they are still used today), as well as the cauterization from the same. Many works of this “surgical genius” dealt with the invention of instruments, including cannulas and others for internal use, for the extraction of foreign bodies in the ear, urethra, etc.
Was the first to suture a wound of the trachea and larynxrecovering the patient and saving him from dying.
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On the other hand, there are scholars of the history of surgery who do not hesitate to recognize this “enormous” surgeon, as the father of neurosurgery: skull fractures, head injuries and hematomas subdurales They were successfully treated with their techniques and instruments. On the other hand, in his famous encyclopedia he describes, for the first time, the treatment of hydrocephalus through the evacuation of cerebrospinal fluid.
In the medina, now converted into ruins, of the city of Orange Blossomthe Arab doctor was born Albucasisa medical genius.
It is estimated that developed more than 150 instrumentswhich were widely used in the events surgical by European doctors for 5 centuries and who later continued to be useful with necessary modifications for the “modernization” of treatments; However, the original idea continued to show the genius of this Andalusian doctor.
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Aspects of his actions as a surgeon and doctor allow us to recognize him as a great defender of the need to know human anatomy precisely and this is demonstrated by a quote attributed to him: “Whoever neglects anatomy will make a mistake and kill his patient (…) I have seen an ignorant doctor cut the goiter in the neck, open the carotid arteries and cause such great hemorrhage that the patient died in his hands.”
In the city of Córdobathere is a street dedicated to this scientist and surgeon from Al-Andalus.
Arab ophthalmologists
Not only did Muslim-Arab doctors make contributions in the area of general surgery, but they also ventured into eye surgery, mainly in the treatment of cataracts.
Muhammad ibn Qassoum ibn Aslam Al-Gafequi was born in Belalcazar (Córdoba), formerly known as Gafeq (hence its name) and was born around the 11th century.
He was the most well-known and famous oculist in “that world” since he not only dedicated himself to cataract surgery but also to the treatment of numerous iridopathies and eye diseases.
His training as a doctor-surgeon was carried out in Córdoba and Bagdad, but his greatest activity and his fame as a great eye surgeon was acquired by his work in the capital of Córdoba.
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It is interesting to remember that this distinguished man of science, wrote a work of 6 chapters titled eye doctor’s guide, where he first described surgery for the treatment of waterfalls ocular, among other ophthalmological considerations. Even more interesting is knowing that there are two copies of this work and that they are currently in the Escorial Monastery and in Cairo.
Studying the works of Hippocrates and Avicenna, Al-Gafequi He realized that it was necessary to recreate all the knowledge of that time in a book that would serve as a guide for doctors working in ocular pathologies. Therefore, in six chapters he included ocular accidents, anatomy, use of eye medications and mainly cataract surgery and other surgical variants in vision diseases.
There is a legend that tries to explain that the word “glasses” It derives from the name of this eye surgeon Gafequi, but it is believed that it does not correspond to the truth and has only remained an idiomatic anecdote. In the Jewish quarter of the city of Córdobathere is a small square with a bust that commemorated the eighth centenary of his death.
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An influential and practical work was the Canon of Medicine written by Ali ibn Sina the Avicenna who was born in what is now Uzbekistan in the 10th century and in addition to being a doctor, he was a philosopher, poet, astronomer, musician, physicist, mathematician, chemist and writer.
The surgical methods he recommended were very natural and cauterization was almost the only one indicated for surgical treatments. However, his importance in medicine continues to be so strikingly attractive that his tomb in Hamadan (Iran) continues to converge as a pilgrimage point for Muslims who come in search of miraculous cures.
For centuries the advanced medicine (for the time) It was developed in Arabic and was run by Muslim doctors while Central Europe was illiterate and any attempt to progress science collided with the refusal imposed by religious fanaticism and theology.
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Meanwhile, the Muslim world extended from the Iberian Peninsula to Iran was experiencing a scientific and cultural splendor that allowed it to contribute great discoveries in many fields of science and mainly in medicine.
Without a doubt, ancient and modern Western medicine owes much to the intelligence, dedication and work of the Arab doctors who began the development of medicine that today is shaken by a great technological advance, preparing us for the application of digital technology and AI (IntelligenceA) in the treatment of many unsolved diseases until today.
*Doctor of medicine, Member of the Argentine Academy of Surgery, Authorized Professor of the UBA, International Member of the American Plastic Surgery Association.
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