Hamza Sheth
Abu Marwan Abdal Malik Ibn Zuhr: ‘Avenzoar’
Abu Marwan Abdal Malik Ibn Zuhr also known as Avenzoar in the west was born in Seville in 1094 CE. He received his education at the University of Cordoba, specializing in medicine.
Ibn Zuhr came from a highly educated family which produced many good physicians including two female physicians who served at the palace of Almohad ruler.
He started his medical practice in Seville, but after some time he fell out of favor of the ruling king, so he had to flee from Seville but he was apprehended and jailed in Marrakesh for a long period of time.
After about two decade Almohad dynasty conquered Seville and Ibn Zuhr returned to his beloved city again. He devoted his time in medical practice, research and teaching till he died in the year 1162 CE.
Ibn Zuhr was one of the greatest physicians and surgeons of “the Muslim golden era,” and is considered the father of Experimental Surgery.
Contrary to the general practice of the Muslim scholars of that time, he confined his work to medicine and surgery only.
He was highly critical of the four humors theory, which was supported by the Greek philosophers like Hippocrates and Galen.
Ibn Sina was also a supporter of this theory which later proved to be incorrect. As a physician, he made several discoveries and breakthroughs. He was the first physician to describe correctly the cause of scabies, and explained that the disease is caused by some sort of parasite, thus he may be regarded as the first parasitologist.
Likewise, he developed a method of direct feeding through the gullet in cases where normal feeding was not possible. He also gave clinical descriptions of tumors, intestinal phthisis, inflammation of the middle ear, etc.
Ibn Zuhr’s chief contribution can be found in the monumental work Kitab al-Taisir fi al-Mudawat wa al-Tadbir (Book of Simplification concerning Therapeutics and Diet). In it, he described several original contributions he had made. The book gives in detail pathological conditions, followed by therapy. Ibn Zuhr gave the idea of performing experimental surgery on animals. He invented the surgical procedure of tracheotomy, and perfected it by doing the experiment on goats–thus he brought in the era of experimental surgery.
He was one of the first physicians who tried to establish surgery as an independent field of medicine and suggested training courses meant especially for future surgeons.
Parenteral procedure (delivery of medicine to desired part of body) had never been tried on a patient before, Ibn Zuhr was first to try it by using a silver needle, which he invented. He described in detail about this new method in his book titled Method of Preparing Medicines and Diet.
Neurological disorders were not very well understood in the Middle Ages. Ibn Zuhr was the first to give accurate descriptions of the mental disorders which included thrombophlebitis, meningitis and other related diseases.
He also formulated the medicine for these kinds of diseases, thus he is credited for the contribution to the modern neuropharmacology. He wrote a book on early pharmacopoeia (The Art of Drug Compounding) became the standard book on this subject for a long time.
Modern anesthesia was developed in Muslim Andalusia, in which Ibn Zuhr had great contributions along with al-Zahrawi, another Andalusian surgen. Ibn Zuhr used both oral and inhalant anesthesia and performed many surgeries with the use of narcotics soaked in sponges placed on the face of the patient.
He perfected the procedure by adjusting the dose and concentration, and thus made the original contribution in the field of anesthesiology which made surgery practical.
In the Middle Ages, dissection of the human body was considered a taboo, so physicians never undertook this project. Ibn Zuhr broke the tradition and conducted dissection and postmortem autopsy on human bodies and brought the field of medicine to the modern age. Dissection of bodies brought some new information to the medical science which was not available before.
Ibn Zuhr authored many other books related to medicine. His book Kitab al-Iqtisad fi Islah al-Anfus wa al-Ajsad (Book of the Middle Course Concerning the Reformation of Souls and Bodies) gives a summary of diseases, therapeutics and hygiene, written especially for the benefit of the layman and physician. His other book, Kitab al-Aghziya (Book on Foodstuffs) describes different types of food and drugs and their effects on health and the human body.
Ibn Zuhr in his works lays stress on observation and experiment, and his contribution greatly influenced medical science for several centuries–both in the East and the West. His books were translated into Latin and Hebrew and remained popular in Europe as late as the binging of the l8th century.
Ibn Zuhr was one of the greatest physicians and surgeons of the Middle Ages–he made so many important original contributions to medical science.
Ibn Al Baitar:
Ibn Al-Baitar full name (Abu Muhammad Abdullah Ibn Ahmad Ibn al-Baitar Dhiya al-Din al-Malaqi) was one of the greatest scientists of Muslim Spain and was the greatest botanist and pharmacist of the Middle Ages. He was born in the Spanish city of Malaqa (Malaga) towards the end of the 12th century.
He learned botany from Abu al-Abbas al-Nabati, a learned botanist, with whom he started collecting plants in and around Spain. In 1219 he left Spain on a plant-collecting expedition and travelled along the northern coast of Africa as far as Asia Minor. The exact modes of his travel (whether by land or sea) are not known, but the major stations he visited include Bugia, Qastantunia (Constantinople), Tunis, Tripoli, Barqa and Adalia.
After 1224 he entered the service of al-Kamil, the Egyptian Governor, and was appointed chief herbalist. In 1227 al-Kamil extended his domination to Damascus, and Ibn al-Baitar accompanied him there which provided him an opportunity to collect plants in Syria His researches on plants extended over a vast area: including Arabia and Palestine, which he either visited or managed to collect plants from stations located there. He died in Damascus in 1248.
Ibn Baitar’s major contribution, Kitab al-Jami fi al-Adwiya al- Mufrada, is one of the greatest botanical compilations dealing with medicinal plants in Arabic. It enjoyed a high status among botanists up to the 16th century and is a systematic work that embodies earlier works, with due criticism, and adds a great part of original contribution. The encyclopedia comprises some 1,400 different items, largely medicinal plants and vegetables, of which about 200 plants were not known earlier. The book refers to the work of some 150 authors mostly Arabic, and it also quotes about 20 early Greek scientists. It was translated into Latin and published in 1758.
His second monumental treatise Kitab al-Mlughni fi al-Adwiya al-Mufrada is an encyclopedia of medicine, which incorporates his knowledge of plants extensively for the treatment of various ailments, including diseases related to the head, ear, eye, etc. The drugs are listed in accordance with their therapeutical value. Thus, its 20 different chapters deal with the plants bearing significance to diseases of head, ear, eye, etc. On surgical issues he has frequently quoted the famous Muslim surgeon, Abul Qasim Zahrawi. Besides Arabic, Baitar has given Greek and Latin names of the plants, thus facilitating transfer of knowledge.
Ibn Baitar’s contributions are characterized by observation, analysis and classification and have exerted a profound influence on Eastern as well as Western botany and medicine. Though the Jami was translated and published late in the western languages as mentioned above, yet many scientists had earlier studied various parts of the book and made several references to it.
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