Tārīkh-i pizishkī i.e., Medical History

Background and Aim: Eggs' nutrients play an important role in different body organs' health such as brain, cardiometabolic system, musculoskeletal system, skin and eyes. In order to maintain the highest nutrient content of an egg, its proper cooking is recommended, but no specific clinical research has been done on the role of the type of cooking an egg on food and health properties. For this reason, this study has collected and discussed the topics related to a variety of methods of cooking an egg based on the texts of Persian Medicine and its comparison with modern nutrition sources.

Materials and Methods: The present study is a review in which Persian/ Iranian Traditional Medicine (ITM) sources were searched in software JamiTib (version 1.5) and Persian electronic banks, sites of PubMed, Google scholar, Science Direct and Embase and websites of health reference of America food and water. Finally, the obtained results' classification and content analysis were done.

Findings: In the books of ITM, in addition to referring to the different properties of eggs, different effects of different egg cooking methods have been investigated. The wise of the school of medicine have proposed at least five cooking methods that include very soft boiled, soft boiled, hard boiled; fried and omelet. In the texts healing properties of each case and the quality of digestion in the body were investigated separately. Among the five main methods of cooking eggs, soft boiled eggs' therapeutic and digestive effects are greater emphasized, because of easy digestion leading to better beneficial effects of eggs' yolk.

Conclusion: Despite that the wise of Persian Medicine have proposed a variety of methods to cook eggs, easy digestion is one of the most important factors of their decision-making to propose the type of cooking method for therapeutic prescriptions. While in modern nutrition research, regardless of the method of cooking eggs, the effect of its use on diseases such as heart disease or diabetes has been studied. Due to the fact that many mentioned cases of eggs have been confirmed in ITM texts during modern scientific survey, it seems that clinical studies on relevant issues of the eggs in this context are is useful in better understanding therapeutic effects.

Please cite this article as: Tabarrai M, Moradi F, Nejatbakhsh F. The Effects of Different Methods of Cooking an Egg on Its Therapeutic Properties from the Perspective of Persian Medicine. Med Hist J 2017; 9(32): 7-18.

Background and Aim: To save the valuable contribution of Iranian scientific efforts from Mogul invasion, Safineh-e-Tabriz, was written based on the works conducted before the invasion of the Mogul, focusing on the general condition of science in Tabriz in 8th Century ,Safineh-e-Tabriz somewhat recounts the stage of traditional medicine, and its recommendations in prevention and treatment of the diseases. The goal of this study is to scrutinize and explain traditional medicine in Iran and Safineh-e-Tabriz is discussed in details to attain this goal.

Materials and Methods: considering the research methodology of documents and historical works, the author, after identifying and interpreting the works, has described traditional medicine literature and has analyzed them with the help of the corresponding works of the era.

Findings: Safineh-e-Tabriz consists of treatises on traditional medicine with the subjects of healthcare and prevention, physical and psychological remedies and presentation of natural medicine. In this book only some of the sources has been mentioned. There are thirteen detailed and summarized treaties, mostly edited as tables.

Conclusion: In the area of health and prevention, the legacy of Iran and Rome has been impressive and attention to the type of nutrition has been important. With regard to treatment, not only immediate treatment was taken into consideration, but also the traditional medicine of this era was based on temperament Survey and probably influenced by Sixth Century AH Writings, especially Farrokh Nameh by Jamili Yazdi. Safineh-e-Tabriz shows the impact of cultural and social environment on the acceptance of the treatment method by the people because the dominant Sufi culture among the commons and superstitious beliefs has been effective in the development of a particular type of psychotherapy. Physiognomy was important in psychology and particular attention was paid to the therapeutic effect of minerals, stones and properties of grains and aromas.

Please cite this article as: Gorbannejad P, Ayyari M. The survey of medical scribes in the "Safinehy e Tabriz". Med Hist J 2017; 9(32): 19-29.

Background and Aim: Personal health care is one of the most important factors in the prevention of the contagious diseases. Therefore, attention to this issue from the perspective of the fetus and the child is especially important. The present study aims to review "woman’s sanitation", as stipulated in women's magazines 1289-1307 SSI/ 1910-1928 AD. In these articles, the issue of women’s health is emphasized only due to their motherhood role.

Materials and Methods: The House book or Library resources were quired for description, comparison and Data analysis.  The emphasis was on all the remaining nine issues of women’s newspapers as our method of documentation. This cross-sectional study includes the year 1910 (the publication year of the first women's newspaper, in line with medical issues) up to the year 1928 (creation of the first school of midwifery which was practiced educational technology) that reviewed 68 articles which were published in the women’s newspaper.

Findings: In these articles, the issue of women’s health is emphasized only due to their motherhood role. Thematically, the study is divided into four cross-sections: 1. Women’s health before the gestation period, 2. Women’s health in the gestation period, 3. Women’s health at Time of Delivery, 4.Women's health at time of lactation or Breastfeeding.

Conclusion: women’s health in the period of gestation and lactation was particularly emphasized. The important point is congruency between the medical advices of the days and recently medical breakthroughs. The direct relationship between items such as: women’s infertility and their physical forms (obesity), age-appropriate pregnancy determination, determination of next pregnancy based the previous one, and the roles of medical herbs in reducing delivery and after mass pains.

Please cite this article as: Baghdar Delgosha A, Sarafrazi A, Zanjanizadeh H, Vakili H. The issue of women’s health in women’s printing press the issue of women’s health in women’s printing press (With an emphasis on published press from 1289-1307 SSI/ 1910-1928 AD). Med Hist J 2017; 9(32): 31-44.

Background and Aim: Traditional medicine has been based on valuable old medical works such as Kitab al-Hawi, The Canon of Medicine, Zakhireye Khwarazmshahi, and some such works. The present article aims to examine one of the subcontinent medical books called "Teb e Ourangshahi" written by Darwish Mohammad Hakimi Amn Abadi which has not been emendated yet and its manuscripts are still an unknown.

Materials and Methods: The study was conducted through a documentary method. First, a comprehensive list of Teb e Ourangshahi manuscripts was extracted, and then its manuscript kept in Library and Document Center of Iran Parliament was reviewed in terms of philology and descriptive bibliography by means of content analysis method.

Findings: Teb e Ourangshahi is classified among the unknown traditional medicine works, which was written in India. This work has not been introduced and emendated yet. Two manuscripts of the book are available in Library and Document of Iran Parliament and some manuscripts are also existing in other Iranian and world libraries. Teb e Ourangshahi’s author, i.e. Darwish Mohammad Hakimi Amn Abadi was a competent Iranian physician who emigrated to India and dedicated his work to Aurangzeb. This book has reviewed the fundamentals of old medicine and treatments in seven chapters and more than three hundred sections.

Conclusion: Teb e Ourangshahi is regarded as one of the prominent medical works of India, in terms of statement of Indian sages’ ideas, Indian instructions, pharmaceutical measures, and acology. Furthermore, the author spoke of the medical fundamentals of Iranian and Indian sages in numerous places and while expressing his own views, he discussed cohesively. Lastly, in domain of pharmaceuticals, Amn Abadi’s certain measures to name them distinctively, are of the most important medical features of the work.

Please cite this article as: Jahadi SA. A Review of Teb e Ourangshahi in Manuscript, a Medical Work of the Subcontinent. Med Hist J 2017; 9(32): 45-59.

Background and Aim: The Old Persian medical term of "Baras" is called variously today. Some people know it as "Pisi" and some others as "Lak-O-Pis" and/ or "Vitiligo". Providing an appropriate definition for the term "Baras", rejecting the uncertainties and comparing the findings of the Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM) to the Conventional Medicine are the most important objectives of the present study.

Materials and Methods: The present research attempts to study the definitions of the term "Baras" comparatively in TPM and the Conventional Medicine, in addition to the analytical and literal review of the concepts.

Findings: According to TPM, "Baras" is a chronic skin disease, accompanied with itching and painful burning, which in some cases it is possible to penetrate to the depth of the person’s body and make him/ her unsociable, for its unpleasant apparent symptoms.

Conclusion: "Baras" is not simply a disease accompanied with white spots which are mistakenly called "Lak-O-Pis" and/ or "Vitiligo".

Please cite this article as: Zare F, Jaladat AM. Different Attitude toward the Concept of "Baras" in Traditional Persian Medicine. Med Hist J 2017; 9(32): 61-70.

Background and Aim: Iran, a great country with a rich valuable history, has a unique herbal coverage for its special climate. Iranian scientists had a great role in the development of science before and after the advent of Islam such that even Western scientists and researchers in their efforts to introduce Greece and Western world as the cradle of civilization and science could not disregard the great role of Iranian scientists. Persian medicine dates back to many centuries before Christ and based on western documents of the history of science, it is of founders of Greek medicine. Investigation of the situation of traditional Iranian medicine and its history in the Iranian herbal research is the aim of present article.

Materials and Methods: Some sources on the scientific history of Iran were studied. Valid scientific data sourced such as PubMed, Scopus and Wiley were also searched limited to Iran. All Iranian herbal research were collected and reviewed.

Findings: Although some noteworthy efforts have been made to introduce the history of Persian traditional medicine and Iranian herbal medicine, it seems that these issues have not been adequately respected. For instance, there is no international and Iranian data bank for the vegetation or herbal medicines of Iran. Furthermore, it hasn’t been found any book on endemic plants to Iran or to a province of Iran.

Conclusion: The properly recognition and understanding of Iranian traditional medicine as an independent medicine to the international community needs national management and planning, as well as efforts and notions of respected Iranian scientists and researchers to the historical background of Persian medicine and to the identification and introduction of medicinal herbs endemic to Iran.

Please cite this article as: Rezaei A. A Survey on the Situation of Traditional Iranian Medicine and its History in Iranian Herbal Research. Med Hist J 2017; 9(32): 71-84.

Background and Aim: "Plague" is one of the oldest infectious diseases with high mortality caused by the Yersinia pestis bacteria. It is characterized by the sudden onset of fever, followed by pain and lymphadenopathy. The aim of this study is to review the viewpoints of Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM) concerning the plague and to compare the findings of the study with conventional medical approach.

Materials and Methods: In this study, we reviewed the reliable resources of TPM in various centuries including The Canon of Medicine, Zakhireh kharazmshahi and Exir-e-Azam to make a comparison between traditional and conventional approaches concerning the plague.

Findings: Plague in traditional resources has a similar definition in comparison to conventional medicine; as a febrile disease accompanied with warm swelling of soft parts of the body. Septic air and body dystemperaments (abnormal changes of the whole body or an organ temperament) are predisposing factors of catching the disease. Moving from hot septic air into fresh air, eating some medicinal fruits and preparations such as pomegranate, prune and vinegar, also using perfumes like joss stick, sandalwood, and rose water are the most common hygienic recommendations of Persian traditional practitioners for the disease. Applying Zedoary (Curcuma zedoaria) and Armenia's clay are the other therapeutic recommendations in dealing with plague.

Conclusion: Recent findings show that Persian traditional approach on plague meet today's scientific standards. New research ideas can be derived from reviewing written resources of TPM in dealing with infectious epidemics such as the plaque.

Please cite this article as: Zare F, Mosavat SH, Atarzadeh F, Jaladat AM. "Plague" in Tradition Persian Medicine and Modern Medicine. Med Hist J 2017; 9(32): 85-95.

زمینه و هدف: حکیم ابوالقاسم فردوسی توسی، بزرگ‌ترین حماسه‌سرای تاریخ ادب پارسی است. شاهنامه فردوسی یکی از آثار فاخر جهانی است که از بطن اشعار حماسی آن می‌توان جنبه‌های مختلف علمی، اجتماعی و تاریخی را بیرون کشید و مورد بررسی قرار داد. یکی از موارد مهم علمی، دانش پزشکی است که در داستان‌های حماسی نامه باستان به زیبایی و حکیمانه به تصویر درآمده‌اند. این پژوهش بر آن است دیرینگی دانش پزشکی و تخصص‌های مربوط به آن را در اشعار شاهنامه فردوسی به ویژه داستان زاده‌شدن «رستم» پهلوان اسطوره‌ای ایرانی که به شیوه «کارد پزشکی» (عمل رستم‌زاد) متولد شده است را واکاوی کند.

مواد و روش‌ها: پژوهش یادشده درصدد بیان شکوه و قدمت تاریخ پزشکی ایران باستان آن هم در موضوع مهمی مانند جراحی است که به روش مطالعه و بررسی کتابخانه‌ای با تکیه بر منابع اصیل تاریخ پزشکی انجام گرفته است.

یافته‌ها: شاهنامه یکی از بهترین منابع اصیل در اثبات قدمت تاریخ پزشکی ایران باستان است که مورد غفلت قرار گرفته است.

نتیجه‌گیری: اشعار فردوسی نشانِ پروردگی و پیشرفتگی و پرمایگی دانش پزشکی را دارد. داستان زادن «رستم» پهلوان اسطوره‌ای ایرانی و شیوه جراحی در دوره باستان و اصطلاحات پزشکی که حکیم در نظم آورده، نمونه‌ای از اوج دانش پزشکی ایرانیان است.