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MEDICAL SCIENCE AMONG THE ARABS.
as received by them, and also took away from them all
courage for independent investigation. And then came
social and religious prejudices, which nipped in the bud
every attempt which was made in this direction.
Anatomy and physiology remained, therefore, essentially
at the standpoint they had reached under GALEN. The
dissection of human subjects being forbidden by the
religious creed of the Muhammedans, clearly any increase
in anatomical knowledge was not to be thought of. Incidental
observations, as those made by ABDEL-LETIF on the
occasion of an epidemic in Egypt, in which by the examination
of the skulls of the dead he succeeded in correcting*
numerous osteological mistakes of GALEN, formed an exception
to the rule. Generally speaking, anatomical
literature was limited to abstracts and short compendiums
founded upon the works of GALEN. In the same way his
physiological theories were slavishly followed. Even the
promising results, which physics and chemistry arrived at
in the way of experiment, produced scarcely any reform in
this matter. Students were not in the position to make
them thoroughly profitable for the study of human physiology
and failed to apply these methods of inquiry to that
science.
The Arabs manifested greater independence in practical
medicine. Their numerous writings upon this subject are
certainly also dependent upon the works of the ancients
and consist for the most part of extracts, commentaries and
translations of the same ; but here and there we do find an
independent observation, a personal experience, which
selves to show that the author was master of the subject
and was in a position to advance the knowledge of it. The
scientific work accomplished by such men as RHAZES, ALI
ABBAS, ABULKASEM, AVICENNA, AVENZOAR, AVERROES,
MAIMONIDES, IBN EL-BEITHAR, OSEIBIA and othersf holds
an honourable position in the history of medicine, and
* ABDOLLATIPHII Hist. JEgypt. ed. WHITE, Oxon. i8co, p. 277.
t WUSTENFELD: Gesch. der Arab. Arzte u. Naturforscher, Gottingen 1840.