Tārīkh-i pizishkī i.e., Medical History

Medical knowledge, which dates back to human life, has a great position among other sciences due to its theme of maintaining the health of human body and soul; Although all nations have contributed significantly to the emergence, growth and flourishing of this valuable knowledge, but undoubtedly the contribution of Iranian scientists, especially during the Islamic civilization, has been enormous and significant.

Before entering the field of medicine, former Iranian scholars and scientists, inspired by religion and culture, studied sciences such as jurisprudence, logic, ethics, wisdom, astronomy, mathematics, physics, insight and other sciences, then entered the field of treatment and medicine. Put; Hence, they had a profound, comprehensive, wise, and innovative approach that medical science today desperately needs for its humanistic purposes.

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The study of relationship between doctor and patient showed Importance of patient's right, moral and human relations in centuries. According to ancient texts, Muslim and Iranian doctors had concerned medical ethics, patient's right, appropriate relation between patient and doctor based on religious principles. Kindness, patients respect, keeping patients secrets, knowledge of the physician, religious observance and avoid un-ethical behavior were important points that have been mentioned in ancient texts.Some of the ancient text that have been reviewed in the current study are as follow:

Alteboalrohani by Razi, kamelosenaatoaltabbiyah by Ali ibn Abbas ahvazi, Adaboltabib by Rohavy, Almoalejatoal boghratiyah by abolhasan tabari, meftaholteb by Ibn hendu, Menhajoaldokan by Abolmona, Kuhin atar kholasatolhekmat by aghili khourasani.

In ancient times, internal affairs and organizational structure of Iran’s hospitals were known to benefit from hierarchy and different sectors which were obtained over the time through efforts of Iranian physicians and their medical advances. Following to decline of the ancient Iran in Islamic caliphate era, some hospitals were built during the first centuries of Islam in Muslim countries that construction and organization of them were directly modeled from internal organizations of Iranian hospitals. Some hospitals were established in Islamic territory with direct involvement and cooperation of Iranian people and physicians and it is noteworthy to mention that in designing the internal structure of these medical centers, their management and medical practices, Jundishapur and Khuzy physicians had played the major role. From among the hospitals that could reach to impressive and credible levels from internal affairs and organizational hierarchy in treating patients, we can name the hospitals which were built in Al-Boyeh era in Fars and Bagdad . Considering that Al-Boyeh rulers had special vision toward Iranian ancient science and scientists, in that time the accomplishments of Iranian physicians, hospital management and their therapy method were modeled more accurately and with regard to advancements that Iranian and non-Iranian physicians had archived in post-Islam era, hospitals of this period had became a momentum in the fields of education, treatment and owning various proficiencies and they played a very important role in advancing medical and hospital affairs in Islamic era. However, establishment of specialized hospital departments and recruiting specialists of different fields of medicine, innovations of new treatment methods, compiling and translation of great medical and pharmaceutical works, establishing equipped pharmacies, preparation of surgical equipments and also constructing worthwhile library, taking health affairs into consideration, educating physicians and pharmacists were among the advantages and characteristics of hospitals in that era.

Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine (AD 980 to 1037), CA, USA A brief historical review of medicine during the fourth century Islamic civilization or eleventh century AD in Persia or Iran was undertaken with its focus on Avicenna. A physician–philosopher, named Ibn Sina or Avicenna (980 to 1037), followed and further expanded the tradition of western philosophy and medicine by Aristotle, Hippocrates and Galen. Avicenna, a physician, philosopher, astrologist, anatomist, pharmacologist, ethicist and poet wrote, the Canon of Medicine, the most comprehensive medical textbook of its time. This important textbook was extensively used in European medical schools for centuries after Avicenna’s death. In the Canon of Medicine, a chapter is dedicated to the care of the newborn infant dealing with hygiene, breastfeeding and upbringing of the child.*

Medical history of Iran in Qajar era in the mid-nineteenth century had undergone many changes; the first new academy was. There was no classical education system for medicine in Iran and the first medical school was established at Dar-Alfonon. By developing medicine course and inviting foreign experts, especially Austrians, medical history had progressed a lot. Among those who came to Iran, Jacob Edward Pollack, an Austrian teacher of medicine, surgeon, and pharmacist was hired at Dar-Alfonon to teach medicine.

During the long history of this land women have undoubtedly undertaken important duties such as training and nurturing the future generations of the country. Despite the important role that women were responsible for in different aspects of history, especially in some fields of social history, unfortunately in primary sources this was underestimated and it seems that women have not participated in any fields during past history.

According to some researchers of civilization history, the medical profession was one of the fields where women appeared in for specific reasons and became pioneers in diagnosing disease and herbal remedies. Although some centuries later, this duty of women have got more specialized and entered into men-owned spiritual areas, but it could never stay away from them. Perhaps the most important branches of medicine that for centuries have been remained in the monopoly of the women were the Issues related to the pregnancy and birth, and from this perspective, the midwifery has always been belonged to women.

Noureddin Mahmoud Ibn Zangi had established hospitals in different cities of his territory such as Aleppo and Damascus. He had done significant dedication to these hospitals; the most important one was Noori Hospital in Damascus. The Noori Hospital continued its scientific progression even after Noureddin and transformed into a medical training center for medical students to do clinical trials. Many famous physicians from across the Muslim world including Iran, Iraq, Egypt and from west joined there to practice medicine, exchange their medical knowledge with each other and train medical students. Noureddin also dedicated many medical books to this hospital so that physicians following to their medical practice could get together to read and discuss medical problems. Moreover, he established a hospital in Aleppo as well as Dekhvarieh medical school in Damascus. Ibn Abi Asibaae, the author of Oyoon al Anbaa Fee Tabakat al Atebaa (the book of wisdom in doctor's level) and Ibn Nafis, who discovered the blood circulation graduated from this school and trained in Noori Hospital. Noureddin's support to establish hospitals, affected a number of eminent of Zangi govern ment. As the result they established hospitals in other cities of Iraq such as in Mosul by Mojahed Aldin Ghaimaz and in Erbil by Mozafaredin Kokivari Ibn Zeinedin. The aim of this paper is to study the causes that Noureddin Zangi paid attention to medical knowledge and established hospitals and also we analyze the effects and consequences of expanding medical knowledge in Islamic civilization. This study is accomplished using the resources and tools at Saman's Library.

In the medicine of Islamic civilization era, surgical operation was one of the alternatives in health services and this kind of treatment required physicians to be acquainted with anatomy, however anatomy on those days implied more than dissecting the body organs and included morphology (the science of the structure and form of the body organs) as well as physiology (the science of the functions of body organs).

The physicians of Islamic period could acquire this knowledge through six ways:

1. Study of ancient medical books,

2. Study of animals and dissection of their body organs,

3. Study of the dead bodies,

4. Observing wounds and injuries of wars or accidents, casualties.

5. Logical deductions supported by natural laws and scientific-theoretical backups.

6. Dissection of human corpses.

Historical evidences show that physicians of that era applied the first five methods to cure people; in relation to the last method – regarding the religiously prohibition of dissecting human corpses – there is no evidence for the condemnation of this method by those physicians, though some hints denote that it had even been used by them.

In many cases in the past, Britain and Russia had tried to apply health and medicine as a tool for expanding their political and economic influence in Iran. These interventions included the entrance of religious missionaries as a physician and with the aim of religious propaganda, occupying the islands in the Persian Gulf in southern Iran or possession of certain places and hospitals in northern Iran under the pretext of restoring health quarantines. These issues, however, are among the cases that have been even neglected in historical literatures.

Specifically, the most important example of Iran's medical history books that is written by English author Cyril Elgood, despite the valuable information that offers to the reader, has exaggerated stands on the role and positive impact of Britain in Iran's medical and health developments. Of course, it is clear that when historical developments of a country are being written by foreign authors, their personal judgments and verdicts will undoubtedly be manifested in the scripts.   

In this article, following to a summary of medical developments in the Qajar era, some examples of documents taken from Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs that reveal these two political powers' apparent efforts to increase their influences in Iran is presented.