JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON HISTORY OF MEDICINE
Year:2019 | Volume:8 | Issue:3|Papers Count:8

Dr. Mahmoud Khodadoust, physician (MD) and PhD of traditional Persian Medicine (PM) (Figure1), works as assistant professor of PM in Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (SBUMS). In 2012, deputy of traditional medicine was established in Iranian ministry of health to promote, regulate and integrate PM in public health and treatment system of the country. ...

Medicine is a manifestation of social life and intellectual infrastructure in every society at any time in history. As a technic focusing on needs, its existential roots can be found in any place in different eras. Although in pre-historic period medicine was at myths’ service which was enriched by imaginary necessities, partial and iconographic approach, it is not possible to strip off the aspects accordant with reality. In fact, the myths gave meaning to minor instances of mythology in human life in order to bring an answer worthy of human understanding to needs and proportions of the mysterious life in this world. This answer, certainly has roots in reality and affects one’ s individual and social life. In ancient Greece, the mythical thoughts gave meaning to people’ s lives. In fact, understanding life was in the same direction with existential understanding of myths. Continual needs of mortal human linked to solid thoughts, which resulted in deep beliefs inclined to reality. In Greek mythology, healing God, Asclepius, had a great role in medicine. Disease and health depended on the interaction between people, and the temple and the priests, and of course, the most prominent of all, on deep beliefs. Although the therapy factors were more spiritual and supernatural, gradually experimental behavior continued and, as a result, it was a beginning for the emergence of scientific experimental medicine. The idea that visualized tangible factors for each occurrence finally resulted in a mental synchronization. Eventually, the whole concept became generalizable and paved the way for empiricism and experimental medicine.

Anesthesia is one of the main issues in surgery and has progressed a lot since two centuries ago. The formal history of surgery indicates that beginning of anesthesia backs to the 18th century, but reviewing the history of medicine shows that pain management and anesthesia has a long history in ancient times. The word “ anesthesia” , comes from Greek language: an-(means: “ without” ) and aisthē sis (means: “ sensation” ), the combination of which means the inhibition of sensation. The oldest reports show that the Sumerians maybe were the first people that they cultivated and harvested narcotic sedative like the opium Poppy as early as 3400 BC and used them as pain killers. There are some texts which show us that Greek and Mesopotamia’ s doctors prescribed alcoholic beverages before their surgeries. In the Byzantine time, physicians used an elixir known as “ laudanum” that was a good sedative prior the patient’ s operation. Ancient Persia and China were as the biggest civilizations, of which medicine anesthesia had a great role in. Also, Persian and other Muslim physicians developed the field of anesthesiology in early medieval era which is called Islamic Golden Age.

In the history of Islamic Medicine, honorable physicians have risen; however, some of them are less well-known than the others. Abu Ja’ far Ahmad ibn Ibrahim Jazzar is one of the students of the medical school of Kairouan, who was scientifically active during the Fatimid Caliphate (297-358 A. H/ 909-969 A. D). The scientific works of this knowledegable scientist manifest his expertise and skill in lexicon, philosophy, medicine, and branches related to medicine, especially pharmacology. Tibb al-Fuqara’ va al-Masakin [medicine for the poor and destitute] is one of his most enduring medical works with considerable fame. This research tries to study the details of Ibn Jazzar’ s scientific life as well as his works remained in the field of medicine.

The eye and its treatments and surgeries used to be taken as a profession in ophthalmology during old Islamic civilization, just as surgery which used to be a completely independent branch of medicine. A glance on numerous works done and written on the eye and its treatments during Islamic era illustrates the fact that Islamic physicians knew most of eye diseases, and posed some theories about the eye and its diseases in theirs books. The present study tries to scrutinize on Muslim physicians’ ideas about Eye Neoplasm, its causes and treatment and to compare them with modern medicine. This is a descriptive-analytic library research aiming at highlighting Muslim physicians’ perceptions of Eye Neoplasm and their suggested treatments. The results showed theories of Eye Neoplasm posed by Muslims and also their suggested treatments were of totally scientific bases and in accordance with modern medicine sources and methods.

Due to the human plague epidemic in some regions of Kurdistan in 1947, research teams of the Pasteur Institute of Iran were sent to these regions for investigations. Such studies are still ongoing. Mohammad Hanifi caught plague during its epidemic, and most of his relatives died of the disease. He began his official collaboration with research teams of the PII in diagnosing and controlling plague reservoir rodents in 1959, and it lasted until his death in 2015. In addition to plague, Hanifi conducted a great number of studies on other diseases such as relapsing fever, rabies and cholera. During his lifetime, he also suffered from plague and relapsing fever, but he was healed. The present paper reviewed his lasting activities during his work at the Pasteur Institute of Iran (PII).

Venesection (FASD) (or the practice of drawing blood from a vein as a medical therapy) was first introduced by Ibn al-Quff in the 12th century, described in his book, al Omdaa (Arabic version). He explained in details how venesection (FASD) or bloodletting would help to relieve different infectious and dermatological diseases as well as some tumours. A comprehensive literature review was done using PubMed and Google Scholar. Papers written on Ibn al-Quff’ s work and his contribution to medical knowledge, including those on venesection were selected. Chapter 10 of Ibn al-Quff’ s (in Arabic) manuscript describes extensively the reasons and procedures for venesection. Ibn al-Quff discussed the efficacy of venesection in multiple medical conditions such as inflammatory, infectious, and haematological tumours and other cases. The vast use of venesection raises the concern, especially regarding its inefficiency in some current medical treatments. Ibn al-Quff talked about venesection in a way not suitable for his time. Venesection, in comparison to hemodilution, has a role in medical practice. Multiple applications of Ibn al-Quff’ s venesection require more studies in current medical practices.

Research Office for the History of Persian Medicine is one of the co-organizers for holding the 2nd International Congress on History of Medicine in Iran and Islam (Figure 1). This Congress will be held in School of Persian Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences on November 26-29, 2019. It is a joint program that many organizations are involved like: ...