JOURNAL OF ISLAMIC AND IRANIAN TRADITIONAL MEDICINE
Year:2011 | Volume:1 | Issue:4 (4)|Papers Count:16

When studying some books of traditional medicine, including "Al-Hawi" by Rhazes, "Al-Qanun" (the Canon of Medicine) by Avicenna, "al-Jame’" by Ibn al-Baytar, and "Al-Seiedene" by Al-Biruni, we encounter the words “Khuz” and “Khuzi” in different phrases and with various structures. Different expressions such as “Khuz said” or “Khuzi said”, or “most Khuz believe that...”, “Khuz agreed that ...” indicate that there was an individual, group, or a particular school, whose particular viewpoints were provided in the field of medicine and pharmacology.From the available evidence, it is concluded that Khuzian were physicians from Jondishapur, who were dealing with scientific and research activities along with others in the field of medicine and pharmacology and had an independent school of medicine. They proposed their personal or group viewpoints in medical textbooks. Some of their books are “Kannash al-Khuz,” “Jame’ al-Khuz,” and “Shusemahi lel-Khuz”, which were cited in ancient medical textbooks.Based on the evidence, we are aiming to introduce Khuzian and their valuable position in the field of medicine in Jondishapur.

The Iranian traditional medicine was based upon a particular set of concepts and fundamental. These stable and fixed roots of dynamic medicine and the appropriate understanding of medicine have ended in useful results in diagnosis and treatment of diseases and more importantly in preservation of health and disease prevention. The theoretical aspect of Iranian medicine addresses the concepts and fundamentals of medicine, on which the development and balance of human being is dependent. The concepts include seven components of elements, temperaments, humors, organs, spirits, faculties, and activities. Appropriate understanding of these components is invaluable in development of drugs, treatment of diseases, nutrition, and preservation of health. Therefore, learning natural issues (omur-e Tabieia) was of great priority for physicians and pharmacists of Iranian medicine. Also, as was mentioned above, for appropriate understanding of these topics good understanding of philosophy is required.

In the Abbasid era, the translation movement provided the ground for familiarity of Muslim physicians with the main medical textbooks of the Greek medicine. Reviewing the books of medical history after Islam, it can be concluded that the roots of many post-Islam institutions in medical education originate from the conventional educational methods in the ancient Greece. In fact, Muslims adopted many methods of the Greeks in the field of theoretical education, while Muslims were influenced the least in the area of practical education. Muslims adopted the conventional methods of medical education in Greece, and also brought about some innovations in the field. Furthermore, in the first seven Hijrah centuries, the main educational sources in all levels, elementary to advanced, were Greek medical textbooks. However, Muslims were innovative in giving students’ examinations. Herein, we address the issue that along with getting familiar with the Greek medical textbooks, the Muslim physicians became acquainted with medical education approaches in the ancient Greece, and these methods became the origin of many medical education methods of Muslims.

Similar to Unani (Greek) medicine, Iranian traditional medicine is based upon the theory of humors of the body. Thus, it is obvious that the quality of development of different body organs have originated from this theory. According to the Iranian traditional medicine, body organs have developed from humors, and humors in turn have originated from food. The condition of the development of different organs and also the relationships among the organs are the noteworthy points in the Iranian traditional medicine. In the Iranian traditional medicine, the body organs are classified with various methods according to their origin, function, and their relationship with other organs. We have presented the classifications in details. The analysis of relationships among organs, faculties, spirits, and their resulted activities is surprisingly so robust and diagrammatic, such that the rules are adhered in all sections. The Iranian traditional medicine is different from Galen’s teachings from this viewpoint. In our traditional medicine system, the faculties and spirits are known to have materialistic quality, since they originate from cardinal organs, and their transportation is done through veins, arteries, and nerves. As veins transports natural and animal spirits (in trivial amounts) besides transporting humors, their role is of greater importance in this system.

Critical rationalism is an approach in epistemology and science philosophy, based on which each cognitive predicate, in general, and each scientific theory, in particular, can be criticized rationally. In case of having experimental content, the theory can be experimentally tested by applying different experiments and observations, to be supported or rejected. In critical rationalism, when man encounters a particular problem, he provides some solutions, and when the number of solutions is higher, there is a higher probability of finding an appropriate solution. One of the concerns of the supporters of each particular philosophy, for instance medical philosophy, is to evaluate whether or not the evaluation and confirmation of the methods and hypotheses of the particular field is possible in the framework of critical rationalism.When talking about the philosophy of the science of medicine in the Islamic world, one can elaborate on the Islamic “philosophy of medicine” on the one hand and the philosophy of “Islamic medicine” on the other hand. The authors do not believe in the existence of a unique “medical philosophy” through the Islamic world. Furthermore, we accept the presence of a tradition called “Islamic medicine” (in spite of internal heterogeneity) and believe that one can talk about the philosophy of “Islamic medicine.” Therefore, the elements of this medical philosophy can be considered and its methods and hypotheses can be described and also criticized. By devising different medical encyclopedias and presenting different solutions for treatment of various diseases, critical appraisal of different treatment methods in different medical traditions, attempts to found large hospitals with instruments required for precise evaluation of the diseases for a large number f patients, employment of some effective methods for diagnosis and treatment in the hospitals, and development of effective educational, rehabilitation, and legal medical systems, physicians of the Islamic world have provided a good sample of critical rationalism. Moreover, by using different treatment methods for particular diseases and employment of different experimental methods, they had a great chance for finding appropriate treatments.

The issues related to medicinal plants are among the most important and interesting issues of medical sciences in recent decades. The history of taking medicinal plants goes back to the existence of man on the Earth. Almost all tribes and nations have used medicinal plants in their history. Kasni (Cichorium intybus L.), which is known to have various effects including anti-hepatotoxic, anti-malaria, blood glucose decreasing, anti-oxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects, has been widely used in Iran and many other countries. In the books of Iranian traditional medicine, the plant is known as Hendeba, and the traditional Hakims considered the plant to have a cold temperament. It was traditionally taken as diuretic, laxative, and also a medicine that improves liver and gall bladder function as well as the appetite. Some of these effects have been approved with modern laboratory evaluations. In this study, we have tried to introduce the plant and its effects in traditional and modern medicine. This is achieved by reviewing the references of Iranian traditional medicine as well as the observations cited in recent scientific evidence, and carrying out comparative evaluation of these items.

Medicine and pharmacology were in fact two supreme arts, and those who reach the top of these sciences should have an artistic viewpoint and potential. The ancient country of Iran, as one of the founders of human culture and civilization, has played a great role in development and progress of the arts and sciences of medicine and pharmacology through the world. During the previous historical eras, by providing different fundamental theories of medicine on the quality of development of the diseases and restoration of health and also the appropriate usage of plants and natural materials in treatment of diseases, the country has played an important role in development of medical sciences in the world. The theory of the four temperaments, which is considered as the basis of traditional medicine and is known as the theories and fundamentals of Greek medicine, was explained in details in the book “Bundehesh” centuries before the culmination of the Greek civilization and issuing of Hippocratic texts. Moreover, the name of many plants and useful medical materials had explained in the texts remained from Zoroaster in the book “Avesta.” Therefore, Iran can be considered as one of the main founders of the art and science of medicine through the world, and the inappropriate term of “Greek medicine” should be corrected.

Fever is one of the complications of the disease, whose etiology may remain unrecognized in diagnostic evaluations in some cases. Avicenna, the Iranian scientist, classified fever on the basis of the etiology of the involved organ, timing of fever, and the involved temperaments. According to him, the three types of fever are Dagh fever, phlegmatic fever, and daily fever. Avicenna emphasized on history taking and careful examination of patients and stated that the physician should ask about anything that is related to the events before occurrence of fever. It seems that understanding the ideas proposed in the traditional medicine can be helpful in diagnosis and treatment of the underlying causes of fever.

One type of headache in the Iranian traditional medicine is the participatory gastric headache. It is defined as the headache not originated from the disorders of head and neck, rather the pain in the head is caused by gastric dysfunction and its diseases. Treatment of this type of headache is completely dependent on the treatment of the gastric disorder. Since this type of headache is not considered in the classifications of the International Headache Society (HIS), we have carried out this study to review the most reliable textbooks of the Iranian traditional medicine to define the participatory gastric headache, its causes, its different types, and the symptoms. The study is a review of the textbooks of the Iranian traditional medicine such as the Qanon, Zakhireh-e Kharazmshahi, Al-Havi, Exir-e Azzam, Moalejat-e Aghili, and Sharh al-Asbab va al-Alamat. In the review, it was found that the headache originated from the gastric and GI disorders is evidently defined in these textbooks, and it was described in all the books. The headache was classified into the following categories:1- Headache cause by a simple dyspepsia, 2- headache caused by dyspepsia of the gastric humors (bile, phlegm, and black bile), 3- headache caused by gastric bloating, 4- headache caused by production of vapors in the stomach, and 5- headache caused by the weakness of gastric sphincter.Moreover, the symptoms and treatments of all these types had been described in details. So, it can be concluded that in contrast with the modern medicine, this type of headache has a clear position in the Iranian traditional medicine, and Iranian physicians were familiar with and treated it.