[The origins of the Islamic model of hospital]

In this paper a new perspective is proposed regarding the most relevant factors in the origin and the first developments of the Islamic hospital in Abbasid Baghdad. Notably, the importance of the Persian contribution to the foundation of the first hospitals is questioned and the major focus is put on the role of Eastern Christian assistential institutions. The rise of the Islamic hospital is reconsidered in the frame of the wider process of urbanisation in the first Abbasid century. The Islamic bîmaristan brought about a new concept of assistance by offering a medical cure rather than care.

History of headache in medieval Persian medicine

Despite the many studies into the history of headache, the ways in which the disorder was treated in medieval Persia are not well known in the west. Several documents still exist from which the definitions and treatments of headache in medieval Persia can be ascertained. These documents give detailed and precise clinical information on different types of headache. The medieval doctors listed various signs and symptoms, apparent causes, and hygienic and dietary rules for prevention of headaches. The medieval writings are both accurate and vivid, and they provide long lists of substances used in the treatment of headaches. Many of the approaches of physicians in medieval Persia are accepted today; however, still more of them could be of use to modern medicine. The main objective of this paper is to review the clinical approaches to headache used by practitioners in medieval Persia.

Abul Fatah - a commentator of "Al-Qanoon"

The Commentator of "Al-Qanoon" (Canon of Avicenna) Abul Fatah known as "Maseehuddin" also was a native of Gilan. He migrated to India during Akbar's period (1556-1605 A.D.). The emperor honoured him by confering Sadarat of Delhi, Malwa and Gujarat and bestowed upon him the title of Hasht Sadi. His commentary on the Canon is known as "Fatahi", in which he explained various problems elaborately. He was well versed in anatomy and connoisseur of Prose and Poetry. He had made a good change in Huble-Buble and he was the first who had made the inhailing of smoke less harmful. He died on 20th June, 1580 A.D.

[Tholozan and Persia]

Tholozan arrived in Persia in 1858 and remained there until his death in 1897. Personal physician of Nasreddin Shah with the title of hakim bachi, he was also appointed director of the Medical School of Teheran founded in 1850. He trained many Persian physicians and wrote medical treatises printed in persian. In 1866 he married in Teheran a widow of greco-italian origin from whom he had a daughter, Elise, who will have many descendants. Besides his important monographs on epidemic diseases (plague, cholera, etc.) Tholozan wrote in 1869 a "Rapport a S.M. le Shah sur l'etat de l'hygiene en Perse". He accompanied the Shah during his three voyages in Europe (1873, 1878, 1889) and stayed for his health three years in France after the last one, being replaced by Dr. Feuvrier as physician of the Shah. The friendly relations between Tholozan and the French archeologists Marcel and Jane Dieulafoy for whom he obtained from the Shah the permission to undertake diggings at Susa are recalled with the help of unpublished documents.

[Tholozan: military physician]

Born in 1820 Joseph-Desire Tholozan joined in 1841 as "chirurgien sous-aide auxiliaire" the French military Health Service, being still a medical student in Marseille where the School of Medicine was directed by his uncle F. Cauviere. He was later appointed at the hospital of Bastia, obtained his M.D. (Paris 1843), went back to Marseille and later to Metz (1845) and Paris, at the Val-de-Grace (1846-47). He returned there as assistant physician (1851) and later as professor "agrege" of Medicine (1852), his agregation thesis devoted to hematology being presided by Andral. Tholozan later participated to the Crimean war (1854-55) during which he performed important observations on infectious diseases (cholera, dysentery, typhus, typhoid fever) or deficiency ones (scurvy, acrodynia). An unpublished report given here deals with a probable epidemic of murine typhus occurring in soldiers returning from Crimea on an American ship which had been used to transport horses. Promoted first class major physician (1857) Tholozan was chosen in 1858 by the French ministry of Foreign Affairs to become the physician of the Shah of Persia, Nasreddin Shah. In this country where he remained until his death (1897) he will have a threefold activity as organizer of the medical teaching, epidemiologist (of plague and cholera) and as a surgeon. Principal first class physician (the equivalent of Physician-Colonel) in 1868, he was definitely dismissed from the Army in 1880.

[Hipocratean pseudepigrapha]

Apart from translations of Persian letter (the first 9 letters from Pseudepigrapha) their critical analises are presented. A point is made that due to their character differing them from medical writings, Pseudepigrapha are an important complement in the research of the Hipocratean tradition.

The sacred disease of Cambyses II

Herodotus' account of the mad acts of the Persian king Cambyses II contains one of the two extant pre-Hippocratic Greek references to epilepsy. This reference helps to illuminate Greek thinking about epilepsy, and disease more generally, in the time immediately preceding the publication of the Hippocratic treatise on epilepsy, On the Sacred Disease. Herodotus attributed Cambyses' erratic behavior as ruler of Egypt to either the retribution of an aggrieved god or to the fact that he had the sacred disease. Herodotus considered the possibility that the sacred disease was a somatic illness, agreeing with later Hippocratic authors that epilepsy has a natural rather than a divine cause. Archaeological evidence suggests Herodotus slanders Cambyses, and there is no corroboration that the Persian king had epilepsy or any other disease. However, the view of epilepsy as a somatic disease and uncertainty about the cause of madness shows Herodotus as a transitional figure between supernatural and naturalistic medical theories.

Chest trauma during the battle of Troy: ancient warfare and chest trauma

The Iliad is the story of the events related to the siege and battle of Troy presenting an unsurpassed view of the strengths and weaknesses of its main characters. And what a revelation it is to see that the human element that ignites and sustains the flames of war did not change through the centuries and was 3,000 years ago the same as it is today! An added source of fascination in Homer's work is his peculiar description of the injuries suffered by the combatants. That, as well as the presence of physicians in the battlefield, is of special interest for us surgeons.

The death of Cyrus the Younger

Plutarch's excerpt of Ctesias' version of the death of Cyrus makes fascinating reading. Although Ctesias has an unenviable reputation among scholars from antiquity onwards for fabrication and self-promotion, his description of the effects of trauma to the temple match well the clinical signs listed in a modern study of such injuries. Since he was a doctor from a family of doctors, this is not surprising, but it does suggest that his account here can be relied upon.

In the kingdom of the Shah: Treacher Collins' Persian adventure

Early in his career, the British ophthalmologist Edward Treacher Collins (1862-1932) was asked to travel to Persia to evaluate the ocular problems of the Shah's eldest son. On the evening of his wedding, Collins and his bride left England to go on this great adventure. Collins was able to provide expert care to the Persian royal family and to many commoners. The success of this Persian tour helped Collins reach the highest level of British ophthalmology.