Tārīkh-i pizishkī (i.e., History of Medicine)

Background and Aim: Familiarity with Western advancements in various feilds, particularly medicine, paved the way for transformations in Iran. This process began in the early Qajar era following exposure to European achievements in health and medicine, but its effects-though limited-became apparent from the Constitutional Revolution to the mid-Pahlavi era. Despite this familiarity and efforts such as sending students abroad and developing education, public health condition and medical services did not improve significantly.

Methods: The primary sources of this research include newspapers, memoirs, documents and books which experienced significant growth during this era. Furthermore, recent studies in health and medicine from the past few decades have been utilized. The research method is descriptive-analytical and data were collected through library research.

Ethical Considerations: The principles of honesty and integrity have been strictly observed in this manuscript.

Results: Analysis of the data indicates that the spread of modern medicine, limited development of medical centers, enhancement of health education and training of human resources, did not result in a noticeable improvement in the health and medical care of Tabriz residents. Nevertheless, this period can be considered a transitional era toward modern health and medical approaches which laid the groundwork for future developments.

Conclusion: This article analyzes the state of health and medicine in Tabriz from the Constitutional Revolution to the end of the First Pahlavi reign, illustrating both achievements and shortcomings. The findings suggest that during this pivotal transition, the limited focus on three key areas-advancing medical education, developing health and medical infrastructure and charitable activities alongside attention to urban sanitation-played a fundamental role in the subsequent improvement of public health in later periods.

Background and Aim: The manuscript Siyāsat al-Khayl, attributed to Wahab ibn Munabbih, is considered a less known yet significant text within the Islamic bayṭārah (veterinary) tradition. Written in a narrative style and incorporating elements of Isrāʾīliyyāt, the work offers valuable insights into the identification of equine diseases, as well as methods for training and treating it. However, stylistic and lexical discrepancies, along with the absence of similar works by Wahab ibn Munabbih, have cast doubt on the manuscript's attribution, presenting both textual and historical challenges. This study aims to investigate the authenticity of its authorship.

Methods: This research was conducted using a historical-analytical approach and a descriptive method, relying on documentary and library sources. The research data was gathered by examining manuscript number BnF Arabe 2817 held at the National Library of France. Its content was compared and analyzed against other veterinary works from the Islamic period and against works definitively attributed to Wahab ibn Munabbih

.Ethical Considerations: In conducting this study, all data and sources were meticulously examined and documented, adhering to the principles of academic integrity and research ethics.

Results: Despite the content value of Siyāsat al-Khayl in the history of Islamic veterinary medicine, codicological and analytical evidence indicates that this work was likely compiled in a later period and does not align with the established works of Wahab ibn Munabbih. Consequently, the attribution of this work to Wahab ibn Munabbih is seriously called into question.

Conclusion: Siyāsat al-Khayl should be examined within the context of the religious-narrative discourse and the production of empirical knowledge in the later Islamic centuries and should not be considered an authentic work by Wahab ibn Munabbih.

Background and Aim: The connection between Razi's medical and alchemical ideas and the formation of chemical medicine in Paracelsus’ works, as well as the role of Latin translations of Razi's works and the reinterpretation of his views within the intellectual context of the European Renaissance, are among the important issues that have rarely been studied in a systematic manner. The present study, through a comparative analysis of selected texts by Razi and Paracelsus, seeks to explain how the Islamic medical heritage was transmitted and transformed during the transition to modern European medicine. The main focus is on examining the foundations of empiricism, the practical approach to treatment and ethical considerations in Razi's thought and their reflection in the formation of Paracelsian medicine, as well as the importance of studying these aspects in reassessing the place of Islamic civilization in the history of science and highlighting Razi's role as a bridge between Islamic alchemy and the chemical medicine of the European Renaissance.

Methods: The research method is historical, comparative textual analysis and qualitative examination of the content of al-Razi’s and Paracelsus works.

Ethical Considerations: In this research, the principles of trustworthiness, honesty in citing sources and avoidance of bias were observed.

Results: According to the research findings, by emphasizing systematic empiricism, clinical observation and the critique of traditional authority, Razi established a methodological model in practical medicine that was transmitted to Europe through Latin translations and influenced Renaissance medicine. The study of Paracelsus's works also shows that his chemical medicine is based on the primacy of experience, the use of chemical substances in treatment and the empirical evaluation of clinical results. Furthermore, a comparative analysis of the texts indicates a significant overlap between Razi's method and Paracelsus's approach, as well as the continuation of components of Islamic empiricism within the epistemological and clinical structure of European Renaissance medicine.

Conclusion: The results indicate that Razi's scientific and empirical legacy played a fundamental role in the transformation of Renaissance medicine and the development of Paracelsus's chemical medicine. The comparative analysis of the texts also reveals that principles such as precise observation, clinical empiricism, criticism of the authority of the Greek tradition, and the integration of ethics with treatment are reflected in Paracelsus’ works and reproduced within a new framework. The findings confirm that the transmission of Islamic medicine through Latin translations was not limited to the transfer of theoretical concepts; rather, it played a decisive role in shaping the methodological structure of empirical medicine in Europe and laid the groundwork for the emergence of a human-centered and chemistry-centered approach in modern medicine.

Background and Aim: The pictorial history of surgery in ancient manuscripts dating back several millennia reflects the concurrent evolution of art and medicine. Certain details such as structure, scale, components and function could only be conveyed through images. Scientific illustration has consistently provided precise and eloquent information. According to many historians, Abu al-Qasim Khalaf Ibn al-Abbas Al-Zahrawi (4th century AH / 10th century CE), one of the greatest physicians of the Islamic world and a pioneer in the history of modern surgery, emphasized in his valuable treatise Al-Tasreef li-man 'ajza 'an al-Taleef (the first illustrated medical encyclopedia) the inadequacy of text compared to images in accurately conveying scale-based and form-oriented concepts, tools and information in various sciences, including medicine. Six hundred years later, Ambroise Paré, a French military surgeon and member of the Parisian Barber-Surgeons Guild, also devised innovative techniques in instruments and therapeutic methods. The present research aims to investigate and study the scale-based visual heritage of medical illustration in the treatises of al-Zahrawi and Paré in transmitting surgical knowledge and techniques.

Methods: In this descriptive-analytical research, stratified and purposive sampling methods were used for data collection.

Ethical Considerations: In the present research, ethical aspects of textual study, including authenticity of texts, honesty and trustworthiness, have been observed.

Results: Considering the unparalleled achievements of al-Zahrawi and Paré in designing innovative surgical instruments, pioneering, documenting, and teaching anatomy and modern surgical techniques, it can be said that today's biomedical engineering and forensic medicine owe a debt to their efforts and genius.

Conclusion: The achievements and influence of both aforementioned surgeons in designing surgical instruments, prosthetic limbs, pharmacology, dentistry and novel therapeutic methods - through their scientific writings and illustrations in their important compilations and the heritage derived from them - demonstrate the definite and irreplaceable role of art in conveying the concepts of medical science

Background and Aim: In Zoroastrian texts, including the Avesta and the Dēnkard, diseases are understood as the result of the onslaught of Ahriman (the Evil Spirit) and his creations upon the world of Ahura Mazda. Poisonous creatures-especially the xrafstars, regarded as demonic beings-serve as the instruments of this aggression, spreading sickness throughout the cosmos. In counteraction, Ahura Mazda dispatched healing divinities such as Airyaman, Haoma, Vanant and Sraosha to restore human health. These divine healers employed both material methods (e.g., medicinal plants) and spiritual practices (e.g., reciting māntra and performing Nirang rituals) in their therapeutic processes.

Methods: This research adopts a library-based approach, employing content analysis of Zoroastrian scriptures. To this end, Avestan sources, Pahlavi texts and relevant contemporary studies have been thoroughly examined and analyzed.

Ethical Considerations: All ethical principles of library research-including textual authenticity, honesty, and fidelity in citation and representation-have been strictly observed throughout this study.

Results: The ritual of "binding diseases through Nirang" (Nirang bastane bīmārīhā), performed to repel illnesses and noxious creatures or to fulfill personal wishes, was carried out using sacred words, consecrated water, plants, amulets and talismans. In this ritual, the mythical figure Fereydūn plays a prominent role; by preparing remedies and harnessing the power of sorcery-alongside the assistance of the divinity Vanant-he binds and neutralizes poison. Talismans such as the "Scorpion Charm" (raq‘a-yi kazhdum) and metal amulets engraved with Fereydūn’s image exemplify the manifestation of these beliefs in popular literature.

Conclusion: In Zoroastrian thought, the disruption of bodily order, i.e., disease, was perceived as a consequence of demonic agency. The employment of incantations and prayers designated as Nirang not only facilitated the restoration of health but also constituted an active participation in the cosmic battle between good and evil.

Background and Aim: Architecture and health are two interconnected concepts that have long been emphasized in various civilizations. In Iranian Traditional Medicine (ITM), the relationship between the living environment and human health is important. Building materials, as the primary constituents of the living environment, play a decisive role in providing or threatening individuals' health and it appears that selecting appropriate building materials is a key factor in designing the built environment. This article aims to investigate the impact of building materials on human health according to ITM sources.

Methods: This qualitative research, using content analysis and relying on evidence from valid ITM sources, examined the impact of building materials on various aspects of health from the perspective of Iranian Traditional Medicine to derive a model and principles for selecting suitable materials.

Ethical Considerations: Honesty and fidelity in citing historical sources and documents were observed in this research.

Results: The results indicate that building materials, based on their four primary qualities and intrinsic properties, can influence an individual's temperament (warmth/coldness and dryness/moisture), as well as the air, humidity and temperature of the environment, thereby affecting the residents' health. In such a way that foundational, consumable and installation materials directly impact human health by affecting the air and water used by individuals. Furthermore, based on their physical and chemical properties, and by indirectly influencing the drying process of the building, they can increase or decrease its time to occupancy and affect human morale.

Conclusion: Utilizing materials aligned with temperament principles can enhance quality of life and prevent many diseases. Therefore, by adapting building materials based on the components emphasized in ITM including the temperament of materials and individuals, space function, and individual condition, with climate as the overarching key factor, it can provide a health-oriented and healing environment for people. In this regard, it seems that using warmer materials like natural wood in interior design for individuals with a cold temperament and using materials with a colder temperament compared to natural wood, such as plaster or wood products, for individuals with a warm temperament is more suitable. Also, using materials with low water absorption, like porcelain ceramics and refractory bricks, seems more appropriate for individuals with a moist temperament, while using clay bricks and conventional ceramics appears more suitable for individuals with a dry temperament.

Background and Aim: In the Zoroastrian worldview, the boundary between "pure and impure" is not merely a ritual or hygienic category but rather a meaning-making system that contributes to the regulation of social relations and collective identity. Previous studies on the Ardā Wirāz Nāmag have been predominantly descriptive and content-oriented, with none having approached the rituals of purity from a discourse-analytic perspective. The present study aims to address the question of how the discourse of "purity" in the Ardā Wirāz Nāmag is transformed into a meaning-giving and ordering framework through specific linguistic and discursive mechanisms. The significance of this research lies in offering a model for analyzing the ordering functions of purity and impurity systems in ancient societies.

Methods: This research was conducted using a documentary-library approach and Fairclough's critical discourse analysis method. The unit of analysis was the edition of the Ardā Wirāz Nāmag by Jignoux and Amouzgar (1993). To mitigate the risk of anachronism, the analysis was carried out through a dual approach: an emic (insider) perspective, grounded in ancient Zoroastrian texts, and an etic (outsider) perspective, aimed at uncovering the objective functions of the discourse.

Ethical Considerations: The study is based on the analysis of historical texts and involved no intervention concerning living individuals; therefore, it did not require approval from an ethics committee.

Results: At the textual level, the binary opposition of "pure/impure" (occurring over 60 times), along with imperative verbs and deontic modality, has created a clear and unambiguous framework. At the level of discursive practice, intertextuality with ancient Zoroastrian texts lends historical legitimacy to the prescriptions of purity; the metaphors "heaven = health" and "hell = sickness" naturalize these concepts, while mechanisms of reward and punishment activate self-surveillance. At the level of social practice, the discourse of purity has served multiple ordering functions: regulating gender relations through prescriptions concerning menstruation (daštān) and coitus (mujāma‘at), thereby contributing to family cohesion; legitimizing social order by equating purity with righteousness; and reinforcing collective identity by delineating the boundaries between "us" and "the other."

Conclusion: The Ardā Wirāz Nāmag stands as a remarkable example of the transformation of a cosmic-hygienic system into a meaning-giving and ordering framework. "Purity" in this book constitutes a discursive apparatus that contributes to rendering the world meaningful, reducing anxiety, and fostering social cohesion. This study demonstrates that systems of "purity and impurity" have performed universal functions in regulating both individual and collective life.

Background and Aim: In the process of medical modernization in Iran, the profession of midwifery-which was directly linked to women’s health and the government’s population policies-gradually came under state supervision and regulation. Following the enactment of the Medical Practice Law in 1911 and the establishment of institutions such as Dar al-Wiladah, Dar al-Ummahat and Dar al-Muallimat, midwives were required to complete formal training and obtain official licenses. This study examines the process and necessity of issuing midwifery licenses between 1851 and 1925 to demonstrate how governmental oversight and structured education contributed to the institutionalization of midwives within the healthcare system and the improvement of women’s health indicators.

Methods: This study employs a descriptive-analytical methodology, consistent with the documentary nature of the research.

Ethical Considerations: This research has observed all ethical requirements, including honesty, proper attribution and textual authenticity.

Results: Previous studies have examined midwifery during the Qajar era, yet none have specifically addressed the licensing process and its historical development. In the late Qajar period, stagnant population growth and high infant/maternal mortality rates prompted a series of reforms to improve public health conditions. These included the enactment of the Medical Practice Act and the establishment of healthcare institutions with regulatory oversight. Within this framework, midwifery-as a profession directly tied to maternal and neonatal health-became subject to state supervision. Following competency assessments and standardized training, formal licenses were issued to qualified midwives.

Conclusion: A review of these documents reveals that a consistent and regulated process existed for issuing licenses for midwifery, which played a significant role in establishing the professional status of midwives and reducing mortality rates.

Background and Aim: Today, the social history approach plays a significant role in analyzing medical history and accurate understanding of medical concepts and practices within their social, cultural and economic contexts. This article aims to explore the significance and application of the social history approach in medical historiography.

Methods: This research utilizes a qualitative methodology and historiographic analysis grounded in social history discourse. Data were collected by examining historical archives, including newspapers, physicians' memoirs and documents obtained from reputable databases. Historical-documentary analysis was performed using primary and secondary sources alongside interdisciplinary research on medical history and the impact of social contexts.

Ethical Considerations: This study is based on historical sources and interdisciplinary research, with no direct human intervention or experimental trials involving human participants. All sources have been employed in compliance with intellectual property rights and research ethics. The researchers are committed to maintaining academic integrity and transparency in presenting data and historical arguments.

Results: The results indicate that the social history approach conceptualizes medicine as a social institution shaped profoundly by power structures, cultural beliefs and social determinants such as class, gender and ethnicity. For instance, the impact of social class on access to healthcare during the Safavid era is evident, with lower social strata resorting more frequently to alternative therapies and informal care networks. Additionally, the lived experiences of patients and healthcare providers shed light on often overlooked dimensions of medical history.

Conclusion: By opening new avenues for research, the social history approach enables scholars to undertake a comprehensive, multilayered analysis of medical history, emphasizing the critical role of social, cultural and structural factors in medical transformations. It is recommended that future researches focus on localized Iranian contexts, utilizing interdisciplinary methods and fieldwork to better capture the diverse lived experiences of communities. This approach holds promise for informing healthcare policy and enhancing contemporary understandings of health and disease.

Background and Aim: Medical history researches in contemporary academic traditions has often been based on descriptive and narrative approaches, with less attention to the mechanisms of knowledge production, power relations and institutional contexts shaping medical knowledge. While these approaches are useful for reconstructing historical events, they are often insufficient for analyzing the discursive foundations of medical knowledge. Michel Foucault’s theoretical framework, centered on the relationship between knowledge and power, provides a critical methodological perspective for rethinking research in medical history. This article aims to introduce and explain Foucauldian Discourse Analysis as a methodological strategy in medical history research and to clarify its analytical capacities and stages of application.

Methods: This research is qualitative, analytical and methodological in nature, grounded in a critical re-reading of Michel Foucault’s major and interpretive works in the fields of archaeology and genealogy. Employing the Foucauldian discourse analysis framework, key concepts such as statements, objects of knowledge, discursive subjects, legitimizing rules and mechanisms of exclusion and silence are systematically formulated and explained as an operational model for medical history research. The article focuses on methodological logic and the practical stages of discourse analysis, avoiding engagement with empirical data.

Ethical Considerations: In conducting this research, the principles of scientific integrity, honesty in citing theoretical sources, conceptual fidelity to Foucault’s thought and avoidance of interpretive bias have been observed.

Results: The methodological findings of the research indicate that Foucauldian discourse analysis enables the study of medical history as a discursive field comprising power relations, institutions, regimes of truth and processes of subjectivation. Accordingly, a phased framework for applying this method in medical history studies is presented.

Conclusion: Foucauldian discourse analysis, as a methodological strategy, has the capacity to move beyond descriptive historiography toward a critical analysis of medical knowledge and can open new horizons for future research in the history of medicine and the history of science.

Background and Aim: Headache is one of the most common neurological disorders worldwide. Although various medications such as analgesics, triptans, antidepressants, anticonvulsants and beta-blockers are used to reduce its severity and frequency, their limited efficacy and side effects, particularly at high doses, highlight the need for exploring alternative therapeutic approaches. Despite the numerous topical formulations for headache treatment described in traditional medicine texts, including Avicenna’s The Canon of Medicine, only a limited number of contemporary studies have addressed this route of drug delivery for headache management. Given the numerous benefits of this method, the present study aimed to investigate the most frequently used natural compounds in topical formulations for headache management as described in Avicenna’s Canon.

Methods: Canon of Medicine was reviewed using keywords such as "Soda’a" "Head pain," "Shaqeeqa" and "Bayza wa Khawza". Related topical formulations were extracted and their constituent compounds were analyzed.

Ethical Considerations: The principles of accuracy and impartiality were observed in faithfully conveying the content and concepts.

Results: The present study revealed that with a precise understanding of transdermal drug absorption, pharmaceutical forms like poultice, lotion, topical oil and pouring boiled were recommended for the treatment of various types of headaches and medicinal plants such as damask rose, myrtle, chamomile, saffron and sweet violet were the most frequently used materia medica. In Persian medicine, headaches have multifactorial origins and treatment approaches were personalized and targeted based on the type of temperament, underlying cause and pain location.

Conclusion: Traditional medicine, particularly Avicenna’s works, serves as a valuable resource for developing complementary headache treatments. Further scientific research can evaluate the safety and efficacy of these formulations for potential integration into modern therapeutic practices.

Background and Aim: In the Islamic civilization period, Hospitals as pioneering institutions in providing healthcare services, medical education and knowledge production, played an irreplaceable role in the history of medicine. However, a comprehensive reconstruction that integrally explains the structural and functional model of these hospitals-covering their various organizational and operational dimensions-has not yet been presented. The present study aims to reconstruct the structural and functional model of hospitals in Islamic civilization (from the Jundishapur era to the 13th century AH), with emphasis on the requirements for their establishment, administrative, financial, academic and physical structures, as well as their interaction with patients.

Methods: This research employs a descriptive-analytical approach, based on primary historical sources and works related to the history of medicine and hospitals of the Islamic civilization period (authored by contemporary scholars). Data were collected and analyzed with the aim of extracting the structural and operational patterns of these hospitals.

Ethical Considerations: The research was conducted as a library-based study and throughout all stages, the principles of academic integrity and proper citation of sources were observed.

Results: The findings indicate that the hospitals of Islamic civilization were formed within a coherent framework, both structurally and functionally. While drawing upon earlier medical traditions, particularly the heritage of Jundishapur, they evolved within the context of Islamic values and transformed into advanced institutions that integrally provided treatment, medical education and knowledge production. Among their most significant features were specialized medical wards, educational spaces and libraries, a financial system based on endowment (waqf), well-defined administrative structures, and the provision of healthcare services based on ethical principles without any discrimination. Furthermore, a regular payment system for physicians and staff, along with the provision of welfare services for patients, played a key role in the sustainability and efficiency of these institutions.

Conclusion: The hospitals of Islamic civilization were systematic and advanced institutions that integrated treatment, education and research within a framework of defined administrative, financial, academic and physical structures, and based on a supportive, service-oriented approach toward patients. Accordingly, a comprehensive reconstruction of their structural and functional model is of considerable significance.

Background and Aim: The Justinianic Plague (541-542 CE) was one of the deadliest pandemics in human history, sweeping across the territories of the Byzantine Empire. This study aims to conduct a comprehensive examination of the multiple dimensions of this health crisis including its origins and transmission routes, as well as its demographic, economic and social impacts, particularly on the Byzantine Empire alongside governmental responses and its long-term historical consequences.

Methods: Employing a historical-analytical approach, this research integrates chronological, environmental, and social-historical methodologies of disease. Data were systematically gathered and analyzed through structured note-taking (fishing method) from primary historical sources and interdisciplinary findings-including paleogenetic, archaeological and geological evidence.

Ethical Considerations: All ethical research principles including academic integrity, accurate and original citation and faithful handling of sources and data were strictly observed.

Results: The findings indicate that the Justinianic Plague likely originated in the city of Pelusium in Egypt and spread via commercial and military networks to Constantinople and subsequently throughout the Mediterranean, Anatolia, Mesopotamia and Syria. The causative agent was the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which recurred episodically until approximately 750 CE, claiming the lives of around 50 million people (equivalent to 26% of the world’s population at the time).3. Determination of Temperament: Individuals with a warm and dry temperament may be harmed by performing certain exercises.

Conclusion: The Justinian Plague was not merely a public health catastrophe, but a pivotal moment in the civilizational history of the early Middle Ages. This pandemic transformed the political, economic and social structures of the ancient world, played a key role in weakening the Byzantine Empire and had a profound and lasting impact on the course of historical developments, effectively heralding Europe's entry into the Middle Ages.