Ibn Zuhr
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Abū Merwān ’Abdal-Malik ibn Zuhr (Arabic: أبو مروان عبدالملك إبن زهر ) (also known as Ibn Zuhr , Avenzoar, Abumeron or Ibn-Zohr) (1091–1161) was an Arab Muslim physician, pharmacist, surgeon, Islamic scholar, and teacher. He was born and died in Seville, and studied at the University of Córdoba. He was also the teacher of Averroes.
He belonged to the Banu Zuhr family, which produced five generations of physicians, including two female physicians who served the Almohad ruler Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur.[1]
As a surgeon, he did the first parenteral nutrition of humans with a silver needle, and invented the surgical procedure of tracheotomy. Ibn Zuhr is also credited with introducing the method of human dissection, discovering the cause of scabies and inflammation, and for his experimental refutation of the theory of four humours.
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[edit] The Method of Preparing Medicines and Diet
He performed the first parenteral nutrition of humans with a silver needle, and wrote a book on it entitled The Method of Preparing Medicines and Diet.
[edit] Anatomy and Physiology
During his medical experiments on anatomy and physiology, Ibn Zuhr was the first physician known to have carried out human dissection and postmortem autopsy. He proved that the skin disease scabies was caused by a parasite, which contradicted the erroneous theory of four humours supported by Hippocrates, Galen and Avicenna. The removal of the parasite from the patient's body did not involve purging, bleeding or any other traditional treatments associated with the four humours.[2] His works show that he was often highly critical of previous medical authorities, including Avicenna's The Canon of Medicine.[3]
He was one of the first physicians to reject the erroneous theory of four humours, which dates back to Hippocrates and Galen. Avenzoar also confirmed the presence of blood in the body.[4]
[edit] Drug therapy
Ibn Zuhr (and other Muslim physicians such as al-Kindi, Ibn Sahl, Abulcasis, al-Biruni, Avicenna, Averroes, Ibn al-Baitar, Ibn Al-Jazzar and Ibn al-Nafis) developed drug therapy and medicinal drugs for the treatment of specific symptoms and diseases. His use of practical experience and careful observation was extensive.[5]
[edit] Pharmacopoeia
Ibn Zuhr wrote an early pharmacopoeia, which later became the first Arabic book to be printed with a movable type in 1491.[6]
[edit] Etiology
Ibn Zuhr was the first to provide a real scientific etiology for the inflammatory diseases of the ear, and the first to clearly discuss the causes of stridor.[4] He also proved that the skin disease scabies was caused by a parasite.[2]
[edit] Neurology and Neuropharmacology
Ibn Zuhr gave the first accurate descriptions on neurological disorders, including meningitis, intracranial thrombophlebitis, and mediastinal tumours, and made contributions to modern neuropharmacology.[7]
[edit] Surgery
In the field of surgery, Ibn Zuhr invented the surgical procedure of tracheotomy.[8] He was the first to give a correct description of the tracheotomy operation for suffocating patients.[4]
[edit] Anesthesiology
In anesthesiology, modern anesthesia was developed in Islamic Spain by the Muslim anesthesiologists Ibn Zuhr and Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi. They were the first to utilize oral as well as inhalant anesthetics, and they performed hundreds of surgeries under inhalant anesthesia with the use of narcotic-soaked sponges which were placed over the face.[5]
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ The Art as a Profession, United States National Library of Medicine
- ^ a b Islamic medicine, Hutchinson Encyclopedia.
- ^ Nahyan A. G. Fancy (2006), "Pulmonary Transit and Bodily Resurrection: The Interaction of Medicine, Philosophy and Religion in the Works of Ibn al-Nafīs (d. 1288)", Electronic Theses and Dissertations, University of Notre Dame.[1]
- ^ a b c Prof. Dr. Mostafa Shehata, "The Ear, Nose and Throat in Islamic Medicine", Journal of the International Society for the History of Islamic Medicine, 2003 (1): 2-5 [4].
- ^ a b Dr. Kasem Ajram (1992). Miracle of Islamic Science, Appendix B. Knowledge House Publishers. ISBN 0911119434.
- ^ M. Krek (1979). "The Enigma of the First Arabic Book Printed from Movable Type", Journal of Near Eastern Studies 38 (3), p. 203-212.
- ^ Martin-Araguz, A.; Bustamante-Martinez, C.; Fernandez-Armayor, Ajo V.; Moreno-Martinez, J. M. (2002). "Neuroscience in al-Andalus and its influence on medieval scholastic medicine", Revista de neurología 34 (9), p. 877-892.
- ^ A. I. Makki. "Needles & Pins", AlShindagah 68, January-February 2006.
[edit] References
ar:ابن زهرfr:Avenzoar ms:Abu Marwan Ibn Zuhr ru:Ибн Зухр
