JOURNAL OF ISLAMIC AND IRANIAN TRADITIONAL MEDICINE
Year:2010 | Volume:1 | Issue:1|Papers Count:11

Mentha (Mint) is a genus of flowering plants in the Labiatae (Lamiaceae) family. Mints are aromatic, almost exclusively perennial, and rarely annual. Mint and its medicinal uses have been cited in many traditional manuscripts and since Mentha Author: G.R. Amin species have different medical properties and recognition of these species considering the characteristics mentioned in traditional manuscripts is difficult, we decided to elaborate the corresponding names in traditional medicine and characteristics of 4 native and one hybrid common species of Mentha in Iran including M spicata, M longifolia, M pulegium, M aquatica and M x piperita. The results of this work help the traditional medicine researchers to recognize the medicinal properties specified in traditional manuscripts for each Mentha species.

Herbal medicine, as an important part of traditional medicine, has been developed by famous scholars. "De Materia Medica" the valuable work of Dioscorides (1st CE) was translated into Arabic by Stephan Basil under the title of Hayula al-Teb. This work was further elaborated by several Moslem scholars and finally made available to the public in the 3rd Century CEo Indigenous pharmaceutical sciences were pioneered by Ebn al-Beitar the outstanding Muslim botanist and is the author of "Jame le Mofradat". Other scholars who have contributed chapters to, or authored separate treatises on materia medica or pharmaceutical sciences were, Tabari (Ferdous a1-Hekmat), Rhazes (A1-Hawi and AIMansouri), Heravi (AI-Abnieh), Avicenna (Al-Qanoon), Biruni (Al-Saidane), Jorjani (Zakhire), Shapor Sahl (an erudite from the School of Jondishapour and author of Gharabadin: the oldest Pharmacopoeia), Haji Zain al-Attar (Ekhtiarat-e-Badii), Hakim Momen (Tohfe) and Aghili Khorasani (Makhzan a1-Advie).

It is well over half a century since a systematic approach has been launched to the study of history of medicine through the pioneering endeavors of distinguished scholars such as the late Dr Nadjmabadi and others. Fortunately, we have been witnessing the emergence of numerous studies which are based on scientifically conducted methodology, over the past decades. A rational and institutionalized approach, however, has been outstanding until the Iranian Academy of Medical Sciences decided to incorporate the articles on the Iranian History of Medicine in its newly published "Quarterly Journal of Traditional Medicine." This study investigates the ways deemed appropriate for future development of this field in the region as well as the challenges faced by students engaged in defining the problems to be tackled.

“Al-Hawi" (The Continents) written by the famous Persian polymath scientist Rhazes, has been carefully studied in order to enlighten the contribution Iran has played in the development of medical science. Two hundred and eighty six sources including references to 112 scholars were investigated. From this list, a total of 20 books and references to 38 scholars have been recorded with mistaken identity in the literature. In this paper, biographical data of these scientists have been scrutinized with the anticipation to provide a reliable guide for further studies.

Abu Bakr Mohammad Ibn Zakaria Razi, known in the western literature as Rhazes, was born in 865 CE in Reyy, a township south of modem Tehran. In his youth, he pursued the craft of goldsmith and was lead gradually to the art of Alchemy. He excelled in this art such that his genial contributions and historic discoveries helped convert the superstition shrouded alchemy into the experiment-based rational chemistry. Rhazes is also credited for a scientific classification of minerals, purification of oils and the first description of chemical reduction. Rhazes was the first to produce colored glass and synthesis of paints.

Personal and social hygiene has been a matter of utmost importance in the Iranian traditional medicine and even prioritized to the art of treatment of illnesses. Based on six essential hygienic tenets, regulations were promulgated with the intent of safeguarding the health of individual and society. These six principles comprise the environmental conditions, nutrition, balanced physical exercise, adequate rest, regular elimination of bodily waste and mental balance are discussed in detail in this article.

In this work, Human Anatomy (Tashrih-e-Mansuri) by Mansur ibn Mohammad Ibn Ahmad Shirazi is introduced and its 21 points are compared to the modern anatomy. Mansuri expounds on functional differentiation between arteries and veins based on their grossly visible constituent fiber (li:f) structure. The author describes the anatomic difference in pulmonary artery as the artery with only one layer which makes it appropriate for the exchange of gentle breeze (oxygenation) and elimination of smoke (C02), While describing the accurate anatomic course of the vessel, mistake is incurred as to its origin probably instigated by the leftward course, similar to the aorta. The author gives a relatively accurate description of the coronary arteries as well as the proximal branches of the aorta namely the subclavian and carotid arteries are well described and it site of entrance to the brain is well described in distinction to the vertebral arteries traversing processes of the cervical vertebrae. The major branches of the descending aorta including the origin of renal arteries as well as the more distal iliac and femoral bifurcations are also described.

The use of herbal drugs as we know them today, began from early times in Iran. This country is blessed with the abundance of as many as 8,000 kinds of botanical species, a large number of which are valued for their healing effects. In these days, people are tending to accept a natural life style as part of their heritage and some companies have developed an industry based on natural remedies. Increasing in herbal plant production and overseas sales is for some important reasons such as increasing high quality products, scientific validation for products in the market place, entering the mainstream companies in the market place and encouragement of physicians in recommending herbal medicines. Iran is a country with a rich plant flora but there is a specific shortage in usage and export of medicinal plants, amounting less than 0.5 percent of the global trade. This article will focus on the comparison of export and consumption of herbal medicine in the world and in Iran and the way of increasing them.

Physicians have been familiar with leishmaniosis for thousands of years. This disease could present in several different forms, one of which is cutaneous leishmaniosis. This type has been named as Rish-e-Balkhi (Balkh Wound) in Iranian traditional medicine texts. In this paper the description of the disease, its diagnostic methods and various treatment modalities are investigated in the light of relevant traditional medical texts.

One can study the Islamic medicine within two stages: establishment; compiling and innovation. In the establishment stage the Islamic medicine was created on the basis of Greek rules especially Galenic medicine, but it was not limited to the Greek Galenic models. In this stage it freed itself from the fame of Galen through expansion of dialogues and scientific discussions and adding new elements to the science of medicine; writing on the subjects not dealt with by Galen; criticizing Galen and using non-Greek models such as Indian ones. The compiling and innovation stage continued for at least five centuries (early fourth century (H) to the middle of the ninth century/centuries 10-15); and it can be considered as the Islamic medicine era in the general history of medicine. In this stage the most important differences in the field of general principles were: separation of medicine and philosophy; dominance of the medicine's scientific section in comparison with its theoretical one; surpassing mere logical reasoning by experience and experiment; and the priority of scientific clinical observations to analogical theories. Therefore, Islamic medicine separated from philosophy and only dealt with medical subjects and physicians started to expand medical branches and specializing them via writing and practicing. Moreover, it enabled them to correct predecessors' mistakes and add many new subjects.