FIMA Year Book 2009 - Federation of Islamic Medical Associations

Muslim Contributionsin various places and observed the areawhere the meat was least decomposed.Al-Razi was the first to use animalgut for sutures. He started using silksutures and alcohol for hemostatis.Al-Razi introduced mercurycompounds as purgatives (aftertesting them on monkeys); mercurialand lead ointments. His interest inurology focused on problems involvingurination, venereal disease, renalabscess, and renal and bladder calculi.He described hay-fever or allergicrhinitis.Some describe al-Razi, asthe greatest physician of the Islamicworld. He wrote Kitab Al-Mansuri(Liber Almartsoris in Latin), a 10volume treatise on various disciplines,including Greek medicine (5) . His textscontinued to be reprinted well into the19th century.Ibn Sina ( Avicenna) in his masterpieceal-Qanun fi al- tibb (The Canon ofMedicine) containing over a millionwords described complete studies ofphysiology, pathology and hygiene.He specifically discoursed uponbreast cancer, poisons, diseases ofthe skin, rabies, insomnia, childbirthand the use of obstetrical forceps,meningitis, amnesia, stomach ulcers,and tuberculosis as a contagiousdisease, facial tics, phlebotomy, tumors,kidney diseases and geriatric care. Herecognized ‘physiological psychology’in treating illnesses involving emotions.From the clinical perspective, Ibn Sinadeveloped a system for associatingchanges in the pulse rate with innerfeelings which has been viewed asanticipating the word associationtest of Jung. Ibn Sina suggested thecommunicable nature of tuberculosis.His recommendation of wine as thebest dressing for wounds was verypopular in medieval practice. He wasthe first to use alcohol as an antiseptic.Ibn Sina also originated the idea of theuse of oral anesthetics. He recognizedopium as the most powerful mukhadir( intoxicant drug). Less powerfulanesthetics known were mandragora,poppy, hemlock, hyoscyamus, deadlynightshade (belladonna), lettuce seed,and snow or ice cold water.Ibn Sina’s description of the surgicaltreatment of cancer holds true eventoday after 1,000 years. He said theexcision must be wide and bold; allveins running to the tumor must beincluded in the amputation. If this isnot sufficient, then the area affectedshould be cauterized.Ibn Sina was known in the West as “theprince of physicians.” His synthesis ofIslamic medicine, al-Qanun fi’l tibb , wasthe most authoritative book on medicalmatters in Europe for several centuries.Although Ibn Sina made advances inpharmacology and in clinical practice,his greatest contribution was probablyin the philosophy of medicine. Hecreated a system of medicine that todaywe would call holistic and in whichphysical and psychological factors,drugs, and diet were combined intreating patients (6) .Abu al-Qasim Khalaf bin Abbas al-FIMA YearBook 2009104