The Gateway Chronicle 2020

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example, Ibn al-Nafis was the first to discover
the pulmonary and coronary circulatory
system. In 711, originating from
North Africa, the Umayyads invaded
southern Spain – an area called Andalusia.
The Umayyads eventually took control of
the majority of modern-day Portugal,
Spain and some of southern France, forming
the civilisation of Al-Andalus. Despite
a strong Islamic presence in Al-Andalus
already established, it was only until 929
that the golden age of Al-Andalus is said
to have begun. 929 was the year in which
Abd al-Rahman III came into power. During
his reign, Al-Rahman united Spain
and founded the great palace city of Medina
al-Zahra – seen as the medieval
equivalent of modern-day Versailles. In an
attempt to rival the Abbasid caliphate in
Baghdad, al-Rahman proclaimed himself
caliph – establishing the Caliphate of Córdoba.
Abd al-Rahman wanted to further
cement Córdoba - a city already considered
the most prosperous and cultured in
Europe - as a rival to Baghdad and its
prestigious scholarly works and scientific
advances, similar to Abbasid caliphs, like
al-Rashid, attempts to elevate Baghdad.
However, it was al-Rahman’s son, al-Hakim
II who would contribute more to his
father’s aspiration. Sharing the same desire
for knowledge as the great Abbasid
caliph, al-Mamun, al-Hakim similarly invested
heavily in the translation of many
ancient texts and widely encouraged wellknown
scholars to study in his court at
Córdoba.
Amongst al-Hakim’s greatest scholars was
the most famous surgeon in medieval
world and considered to be the father of
surgery, Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi. Practicing
in al-Zahra, from where his name is
derived, al-Zahrawi contributed hugely to
the medical world. He invented more than
200 new surgical instruments that are still
in use today (such as the forceps used in
childbirth) including: the surgical hook,
the use of catgut for stitching patients, the
speculum, the surgical needle, the syringe,
retractors and the lithotomy scalpel. He
also made advancements in dentistry and
neurology. Majority of his innovations
were written in his most famous text, Kitab
al-Tasrif (The method of medicine.) Published
in 1000, his thirty volumes discuss areas
such as nutrition, pharmacology but most
importantly surgery. His detailed anatomical
descriptions ensured that like Ibn
Sina’s Canon, his encyclopaedia would
serve as a source of European medical
knowledge for five centuries. However,
the difference with al-Zahrawi’s Kitab al-
Tasrif is that he provides a detailed account
of the life as an Islamic surgeon
providing a reference for all future doctors
and surgeons. Al-Zahrawi pioneered the
implementation of anaesthesia through
the use of sponges soaked in a mixture of
narcotics including cannabis and opium.
One of al-Zahrawi’s contemporaries, who
contributed largely to
modern anaesthesia, was
Ibn Zuhr. Ibn Zuhr was
one of the first to perform
dissections and post-mortem
autopsy on human
bodies. He promoted the
idea of performing experimental
surgery on animals
to further human understanding.
Ibn Zuhr invented
the procedure of
tracheotomy and perfected
it by performing on goatsbringing
about the era of
experimental surgery. He
gave accurate descriptions
of mental disorders and
formulated the medicine Page from a 1531 Latin translation
for these kinds of diseases;
therefore, he is
of al-Zahrawi’s Kitab al-Tasrif
credited for the contribution to modern
neuropharmacology. Ibn Zuhr 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 – a suggestion
not too far from the principles of
modern-day medical school.