Al-Masa'il fi al-tibb: Hunain ibn Ishaq's historic medical text with a distinctive style of Islamic medical education.

The golden age of Islamic medicine (800 to 1300 CE) is a notable period in medical history. Medical education in this period of time was significant and systematic in Islamic territory. In the early Golden Age of Islamic Medicine, Abu Zayd Hunain ibn Ishaq al-'Ibadi, an exceptional scholar and translator, emerged. He was known as Johannitius in medieval Europe. Al-Masa'il fi al-tibb lil-Mutallimin (Questions on Medicine for Students) was written by Hunain ibn Ishaq. This book remains a definitive text on Islamic medicine and has been printed and published widely in Europe. Al-Masa'il fi al-tibb is written in the style of questions and answers which is distinct from the conventional writing style of medical books on Islamic medicine. The current article reviews Al-Masa'il fi al-tibb and its distinguishing style, the question and answer format. Today, the question-and-answer method is a popular method of medical education, and clinical teachers tend to use it in medical education because of the advantages it offers. The use of this method in Al-Masa'il fi al-tibb for education and examination of medical students by Hunain ibn Ishaq reflects a great improvisation in medical education and introduces him as the leading developer of the question-and-answer method in Islamic medical education.

John Hatton's manuscript record of the surgical and pathological lectures given by Joseph Jordan, FRCS, in 1837-1838.

John Hatton, LSA MRCS FRCS MD (1817-1871), was apprenticed from 1833 to Joseph Jordan, MRCS FRCS (1787-1873), a well-known Manchester surgeon. Jordan, who had been teaching anatomy since 1814, closed his Mount Street Medical School in 1834 and was elected as surgeon to the Manchester Royal Infirmary in 1835. He continued to lecture on surgery and surgical pathology at the Infirmary, and sometimes at the Pine Street Medical School run by Thomas Turner, LSA FRCS (1793-1873). During 1837-38 Hatton transcribed and illustrated these lectures in a bound manuscript and also added notes and drawings in his personal copy of The Dublin Dissector. He gained his Licentiate of the Society of Apothecaries (LSA) in 1836 and Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons (MRCS) in 1839 and set up in Manchester as surgeon from around 1840. This paper is based on three previously unrelated documents in the University of Manchester Archives: a handwritten catalogue of specimens in Jordan's Anatomy Museum, Hatton's annotated copy of The Dublin Dissector and his manuscript record of Jordan's lectures. These documents provide a valuable insight into medical education during the 1830s.

The name to remember: Flexibility and contextuality of preliterate folk plant categorization from the 1830s, in Pernau, Livonia, historical region on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Research on the folk categorization of nature in preliterate societies in Europe is complicated due to the fragmentation of the information available and is rarely undertaken. Yet the data is valuable and may provide, in certain circumstances, important insights, if not into novel medicines, then into the historical logic of selection and memorisation of plants useful from a medicinal perspective. AIMS OF THE STUDY: We aim to understand the ethnobotany of a preliterate society by analysing the emic (derived from people) perspective on nature-related culture of one of Europe's smaller nations, whose written language and culture was shaped in the 18th-19th centuries by other, larger nations of Europe, and thus from the etic (academic) perspective. We attempt to identify how folk categorization is reflected in the relationships between plant names and uses and to map the structure of those relationships. DATA AND METHODS: We base our analysis on one of the oldest ethnobotanical manuscripts and herbaria of the Baltic governorates, compiled in 1831 by an amateur botanist, Baltic German Pastor Johann Heinrich Rosenplänter (1782-1846), which was derived from conversations with his parishioners from the tiny Pärnu parish. The historical dataset was critically analysed from an ethnobotanical perspective in light of recent identifications of the herbarium specimens. RESULTS: Although the Rosenplänter collection is fragmentary, the logic of plant categorization by non-literate peasants at that time is clearly seen in the data. Plants preserved in the herbarium were predominantly used for ethno-medicinal, food or ethno-veterinary purposes, such as treating chronic skin and joint diseases as well as severe acute diseases in humans and animals. Among 129 folk taxa analysed, more than one third had apparent purpose-related plant names providing clear links to their use, whereas a few multifunctional plants had several names reflecting diverse uses. For example, Hypericum spp., which was used in three different ways, had three semantically distinct names. However, among the plants that Rosenplänter collected, there were also some that were simply named and described by people but lacked any usability data (e.g., Trollius europaeus), meaning that use as such was not the primary criterion for recognising a plant. The web-like structure of preliterate thinking in plant-related knowledge reveals a deep relationship with the environment and the interpretation of new elements through familiar natural objects. CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrate that historical ethnobotanical data, if thoughtfully analysed, can be used not only for comparative purposes, but also for understanding the logic of preliterate thinking. We encourage future in-depth studies of historical ethnobotanical data in Europe in order to understand the relationship between nature and culture of native European populations.

[Great Folk Medicine Book from Poljica (Bratulic's Folk Medicine Book)] / Velika Poljicka ljekarusa (Bratuliceva ljekarusa)

The paper presents a folk recipe collection manuscript written by an unknown author in Poljica area, in the 18th century. It is owned by the philologist, historian of literature and bibliophile, Josip Bratulic. Therefore, the author suggests that this recipe collection should bear the name Great folk medicine book from Poljica (Bratulic's folk medicine book). The manuscript is written in Latin script and Croatian language. It consists of 288 pages written in black ink and contains more than 1,100 recipes making it one of the largest known manuscripts. Although well preserved, a small part of it is unreadable. Most recommended recipes are for treating humans and domestic animals, while several recipes contain household tips. The abundance of its content, expressions, and healing instructions add this recipe collection to other similar manuscripts of this region, which create precious part of the Croatian medical, pharmaceutical, and cultural heritage.

Hysteria or epilepsy?

Hysteria and epilepsy have long been compounded by the term "hysteria-epilepsy" among neurologists and physchiatrists, including Jean Martin Charcot. In a 114 page unpublished manuscript written circa 1815, Jean-Baptiste Louyer Villermay, French physician and student of Philippe Pinel, considered the signs that would differentiate hysteria from epilepsy. This differential diagnosis approach was proposed long before Charcot's lecture in 1868 at Salpêtrière hospital.

A Trilingual Medical Compendium from Medieval Oxford, Now in the Collection of the State Library Victoria.

A previously unstudied trilingual medieval medical manuscript, ca. 1400, RARES 091 M31, has been in the State Library Victoria, Melbourne, since 1862. The texts in this codex reveal the pedagogical and personal interests of a compiler from the world of Oxford colleges, halls, and libraries in the late fourteenth century. It contains academic medical texts as well as writings of a personal nature-charms, verses, prayers-in Latin, French, and Middle English. It appears to have been associated with Henry Beaumond (d. 1415), whose name appears in the codex. Beaumond was a physician with a problematic association with Exeter College, Oxford University. A good deal of information survives about Beaumond and his books, as well as his association with the influential cleric at New College, Oxford, Walter Awde (d. after 1404), who is also named in the manuscript. This study provides images and a full physical description of the manuscript.

The Massage Approach of Avicenna in the Canon of Medicine

Massage is the manipulation of the body tissues by using techniques, such as rubbing, kneading, pressing, and rolling to sustain a state of health and wellness. Massage is one of the oldest and most natural healing applications in human history. Avicenna (980 - 1037) gained a very important position in the medical world with his most important work, the Canon of Medicine, known as the holy book of medicine in the Western world. Different types of massage were defined in the book. These were hard friction that braces the body, soft friction that relaxes the body, repeated friction that reduces the amount of fat in the body, moderately hard friction that improves the body, rough friction that leads the blood to the surface rapidly, gentle friction that increases blood flow in the application area, preparatory friction that prepares the body before exercise, and restorative friction that is applied after exercise which alleviates exhaustion. It may be seen that Avicenna, whose work shows influnce of Greek and Roman physicians, was heavily influenced by Hippocrates and Galen. It is seen that the massage techniques and effect mechanisms defined by Avicenna about a thousand years ago have contributed a lot to the developments in massage through the historical process.

The contributions of Otto Hebold and Julius Gaupp to the study of spinal vascular malformations: Original documents and historical context.

Book chapters and journal articles dealing with spinal cord vascular malformations often reference Otto Hebold and Julius Gaupp, but frequently misrepresent the observations published by the two German authors in the late 19th century. The purpose of this paper is to provide a better appreciation of these important contributions based on abridged translations of original documents set in their historical context, notably regarding the landmark works of Brasch, Raymond and Cestan, and Lindenmann. It is concluded that Gaupp offered the first reliable description of a perimedullary arteriovenous fistula while the lesion reported by Hebold was not a spinal vascular malformation.

A medieval physician: Amirdovlat Amasiatsi (1420-1495).

We aimed to acquaint the reader with a medieval physician, Amirdovlat Amasiatsi, who lived and practiced in the 15th century Anatolia. Amirdovlat wrote several books on medicine mainly focusing on phytotherapy and pharmacology using medicinal plants, animal-derived products and minerals. All his works were written in Middle Armenian, spoken Armenian language of the time. In his writings, Amirdovlat described unique recipes that represent a portrayal of medical knowledge and practice at the time in Anatolia where he lived and worked. He discussed the physical and therapeutic properties as well as geographic distributions of various plants and minerals, using different languages, mainly Turkish, Greek, Arabic, French and Persian. Amirdovlat's works not only enhanced our understanding of Armenian medical practices but also provided great deal of information on those of Ancient Greco-Roman as well as Islamic world, demonstrating close relationship of Armenian medicine with Greco-Roman and Islamic medicine. Amirdovlat accomplished this by amalgamating the past and contemporary practices of his time. In this regard, Amirdovlat's works, in particular "Useless for the Ignorant", are very unique playing a significant role in preserving traditions and heritage of different cultures.

A Research on the Shamanistic Medical Activities as Seen in the Recipes for Fifty-two Ailments Written in the Mawangdui Silk Manuscript.

The main thesis of this research is to discuss the shamanistic medical activities as seen in the Recipes for Fifty-two Ailments written in the Mawangdui Silk Manuscript, to corroborate them with handed-down literature and other underground written attestations in early China, and to inquire its characteristics. In the Eastern Zhou dynasty, medicine already emerged with specialized and professional properties, but did not disengage from the ideology of shamanism in Eastern Zhou society. In other words, the shamanistic treatment of diseases was one of the most important works of shamans because the specialized knowledge of medical treatment always interlaced with superstitious and mediumistic treatment methods. This article examines the details of shamanistic medical activities, for example, the 'zhuyou', the 'zhuyichuxiong', curing maggots activities, and so on, by analyzing the Recipes for Fifty-two Ailments written in the Mawangdui Silk Manuscript. The origin and development of this early Chinese medical treatment had an influence on ancient Korea, Japan, and other places. Through this research, we can learn more about the initial development stage of the early traditional medicine in ancient societies of East Asia.

Some Notes on Papyrus Ebers, Ancient Egyptian Treatments of Migraine, and a Crocodile on the Patient's Head.

Modern literature about the history of migraine treatments often starts with an ancient Egyptian remedy said to be from Papyrus Ebers that involves crocodiles that should be wrapped around the head. A fresh look on this treatment shows the need for revision on many points, including the source of the remedy, its content and meaning, and further implications for the history of Papyrus Ebers.

Knowledge Transmission of Medical Prescription and the Role of the Literati Officials from the Song Dynasty: Focusing on Huadupainongneibusan.

This paper attempts to examine the spread of medical prescription knowledge during the Song dynasty and the role played by the literati officials through a reconstruction of the transmission of Painongneibusan, a prescription to treat abscesses. An examination of the origins of Painongneibusan shows that after being confirmed in the Qianjinyaofang, it was passed down through Waitaimiyao, Taipingshenghuifang, Shengjizonglu, and Taipinghuiminhejijufang. In particular, in the records from Taipinghuiminhejijufang, which was revised and enlarged during the Shaoxing period (1131-1162) unlike transmissions that were almost identical to those from previous periods, we can find a clear increase in the knowledge regarding medicinal effects, medicinal ingredients, administration methods, precautions and so on. However, if we examine the same prescription record included in Hongshijiyanfang published by Hong Jun in 1170, we can see that the contents are almost exactly the same as those in Taipinghuiminhejijufang and that Hongshijiyanfang had even more content. Through this study, we can deduce that the prescription recorded in these two books were from the same original text. In addition, we can conclude that the original text is likely to be sourced from the knowledge of folk medicine. According to the records, Hu Quan received this prescription from an "outsider," and Hu Quan gave this to Hong Kuo, who wrote an introduction and published it as a stone carving in Huizhou. After this, knowledge about this prescription became known far and wide. While Chen Yan criticized the abuse of this prescription, Hong Jun still included it in Hongshijiyanfang, and Hong Mai included it in Yijianzhi, leading to it becoming even more widespread. Due to this spread of the prescription, the transmission of the description that is connected from "Outsider - Ho Quan - Three Hong Brothers" continued to appear in many medical anthologies by literati officials. Whenever this prescription was mentioned, they referred to Three Hong Brothers, and it went as far as to cause the practice to sometimes be called "Hongshineibusan." Chen Ziming continued the criticism of Chen Yan in Waikejingyao; while the prescription made famous by Hong Kuo had the same contents as prescription in Taipinghuiminhejijufang, the fact that criticism was only directed at Hong Kuo is a proof of his influence in the spread of related knowledge. In conclusion, this happened during an active time of accumulation, exchange, and competition in the knowledge of prescription, as can be observed in various sources from the Song Period. There were various communications and exchanges between officials, locals, and literati officials, and tensions could also sometimes be found. We can say that the role of the literati officials was to collect, record, publish, and spread the knowledge of medicine taken from various sources. In addition, in relation to the spread of the knowledge of medicine, the influence of the literati officials exceeded Taipinghuiminhejijufang, which was the official text at that time.

Epilepsy in Hildegard of Bingen's writings: A comprehensive overview.

Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179AD) is one of the most relevant figures of the Middle Ages. She wrote two medical books, Physica (Natural history) and Causae et curae (Causes and remedies). Our aim was to provide a comprehensive account of Hildegard of Bingen's conception of epilepsy, of the remedies proposed to treat it, and of the medical and physiological theories behind their use. We searched Hildegard of Bingen's entire body of writings to identify any possible reference to epilepsy or epileptic seizures. We reported the identified passages referring to epilepsy and discussed their content in light of medieval medical and physiological theories. Most references to epilepsy were found in Physica and Causae et curae. The suggested remedies against epilepsy range from herbal preparations to animal remedies and jewel therapy. Hildegard's conception of epilepsy gives the impression of an original revisitation of the traditional theory of humors, and carries strong moral connotations. Hildegard of Bingen's conception of epilepsy appears strongly rooted in medieval thinking and less in physiological theories. However, it differs in many respects to the traditional medieval beliefs and is a further proof of her unique personality. As living testimony of the past, Hildegard's writings enable us to shed a fascinating light on the beliefs concerning epilepsy in the middle ages.

One of the Earliest Accounts of Head Wounds in Firdaws al-Hikma by al-Tabari from the 9th Century.

OBJECTIVE: To present the first Arabic text on suturing scalp wounds. METHODS: A related section entitled "On the wounds in the head" from the book Firdaws al-Hikma (Paradise of the Wisdom) written by al-Tabari in the 9th century was identified and analyzed. This work was one of the earliest medical compendiums in the Islamic world during the medieval period. A printed copy of Firdaws al-Hikma edited by Muhammad Zubayr al-Siddiqi was examined, and findings were compared with relevant knowledge in the literature. RESULTS: A notable part of this text is based on appropriate closure of scalp wounds using sutures. Before this work, only the well-known Indian medical book Susruta-Samhita had mentioned closure of scalp wounds using sutures. In his work, al-Tabari recommended using materials made of silk or linen for suturing. He additionally proposed some recipes that have a coating feature that prevents bleeding from the wound after it was closed properly. He also dealt with persistent swelling and provided formulas for solving the problem with special compositions. CONCLUSIONS: Firdaws al-Hikma is a noteworthy work in the history of medicine, and it includes a unique chapter on head wounds. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first mention of suturing scalp cuts in Arabic literature and the second reference in medical literature after the Indian work Susruta-Samhita.

Thomas of Wroclaw (1297-1378) - Medieval bishop and scholar of English origin.

Peter of Tilleberi (Tilbury), later known as bishop Thomas of Wroclaw, after completing his studies (in Bologna or in Montpellier) worked as a physician in northern Italy and probably in Spain. Later through Germany and Bohemia, he came to Wroclaw in 1336 where he joined the Order of St. Dominic. In 1352, Thomas was made an auxiliary bishop of the diocese of Wroclaw. After the episcopal consecration, Thomas stopped living in the abbey, but all the time he was well known both as a priest and physician. He is known as an author of several treatises on medical sciences. His most important work entitled Michi competit (i.e. It suits me) is composed of four parts: Regimen sanitatis (i.e. Hygiene), Aggregatum (i.e. Aggregation), Antidotarium (i.e. Medicine directory) and Practica medicinalis (i.e. Medical practices). Moreover, he is the author of other treatises including, for example, De phlebotomia et de iudiciis cruoris (i.e. On phlebotomy and blood content) and De urinis (i.e. On urine). Some Polish scientists claim that bishop Thomas of Wroclaw with his knowledge and industriousness functioned as a university faculty of medicine even though the University of Cracow had not been established yet.

Three Newly-Discovered Copies of the Manuscript Mayaku Ko, Written by Shutei Nakagawa, with Special Reference to their Appearance and Genealogy.

Seishu Hanaoka's greatest achievement was the anesthetic Mafutsusan. He developed it and then used it successfully for various operations, primarily breast cancer tumor excisions. The developmental process can be traced in Mayaku Ko, a memorandum written and edited in 1796 by Hanaoka's close friend Shutei Nakagawa. Contained in this document is a list of fourteen prescriptions for earlier attempts by other doctors to create-a general anesthetic. These prescriptions, which Nakagawa had passed along to Hanaoka, were the foundation for the scientific breakthrough. The preface suggests that Hanaoka had nearly perfected Mafutsusan by 1796. Nakagawa's original manuscript has been lost, but copies of it are extant. Until recently, we knew of four, all of them in Japan. I have discovered three more: one in the University of Tokyo Library (Gakken Collection), another in the Keio University Shinanomachi Media Center, and the third in the Asahikawa Medical University Library (Sekiba-Samejima Collection). After carefully examiiing the new ones, I put the seven known copies of Mayaku Ko into four groups, A to D, according to the order in which they were likely transcribed. One of the copies in Group A, which is from the Matsuki Collection, appears to have been the first.

Una mirada crítica sobre la medicina en el Antiguo Egipto / A critical regard over the medicine in the Ancient Egypt

Generally, writing about the medicine in the Ancient Egypt, historians adopt an approach rather benevolent than critical, giving to its practice merits that never had. Reading without prejudice the famous twelve papyri -and now one more- we can't less to pronounce a condemnatory sentence, because at the end this medicine looks like a patchwork of ignorance, superstition, magic believes and a pair of grains of knowledge. However, we can rescue its surgical practice, very useful, sometimes efficient, and quite necessary in those centuries of war, slavery and permanent abuse of the weak and the poor people by the high political rulers and priests.

Creemos que, con mucha benevolencia, los historiadores médicos sobrestiman la medicina del Antiguo Egipto, elevando a la categoría de arte o de ciencia una práctica que más tenía de magia. Y, hablando de ella, llama la atención que ésta es bien rara en los papiros más antiguos, donde hay más medicina que superstición, aumentando los conjuros y las invocaciones a medida que más recientes son los documentos encontrados, quizás porque el gremio médico, al ver que los conocimientos terapéuticos empezaban a difundirse entre la masa, quiso mantener la exclusividad de ellos, agregando a la administración de los remedios físicos un ritual misterioso y esotérico, dotando así al ejercicio médico de una raíz sagrada: la magia conserva su encanto hasta la actualidad y hasta los más ilustrados creen en curaciones milagrosas. Sólo son rescatables los aspectos quirúrgicos. El desarrollo de la cirugía y de algunas especialidades que la emplean, como la obstetricia y ginecología, respondía seguramente a la época que se vivía entonces, donde la guerra, la opresión, el abuso y la brutalidad reinantes, favorecían la génesis de heridas, traumas, quemaduras, abortos y accidentes varios, haciendo imperativo su tratamiento rápido y oportuno.