Hakim Esmail Jorjani (1042-1137 AD: ): Persian physician and jurist

Obesity from a sign of being rich to a disease of the new age: A historical review

Background and Objective

Obesity has historically been seen as a sign of wealth and social privilege, as can be inferred from studying the ancient works. We aimed to report the causes, diagnostic approaches, and treatment among the authentic books of traditional Iranian medicine.

Methods

We searched the original versions of historical books and used a narrative approach to report the history of obesity.

Results

Obesity was often seen as an indicator of complete health. Obesity in healthy women was a requirement for beauty, based on descriptions of women from the Zoroaster period and from antiquity to the late Qajar period. This point of view existed during various ages. However, after the constitutional period, the view of obesity changed into that of an illness, due to modern ideas and offshore role models, especially during the Pahlavi era. This change led to serious attempts to treat obesity. Obesity is a critical problem that needs immediate attention to prevent substantial health consequences. Different medical paradigms have presented their criteria and foundations throughout history. The emphasis of Iranian alternative medicine was on prevention and the maintenance of health, with the next step being treatment. Prevention, treatment, consuming medicinal plants, and recovery have often been written about in the traditional books of medicine.

Conclusions

Throughout the traditional Iranian medical texts, physicians have made recommendations about maintaining an appropriate body weight. The best treatment was prevention and a healthy lifestyle. The treatments for controlling and restricting obesity included paying attention to nourishment, mobility, and even the habitat.

Effects of the aerobic and Pilates exercises on mental health in inactive older women

This study aimed to compare the effect of the Aerobic and Pilates exercises on mental health in inactive older women. Seventy-five inactive aged women were randomly divided into three groups (n = 25); aerobic (62.48 ± 2.87 years), Pilates (62.66 ± 1.68 years), and control group (63.80 ± 3.35 years). The Goldberg General Health Questionnaire assessed mental health. The exercise program was performed for 12 weeks. The results indicate that Pilates exercises are more valuable than aerobic training in depression (p ≤ .05). However, in other mental health components, the difference between the two exercise groups was not statistically significant. According to our results, physical activity, particularly Pilates and aerobic exercises, improves physical health and has a close correlation with the mental health of inactive older women. These results highlight the role of these physical exercise training in older women.

Historical account of endocrinal disorders in Unani medicine

Hippocratic doctrine of four humors and qualities is implicated to be a pioneer of modern endocrinology because of the concept of dyscrasia. Imbalance in humors causes disease. Unani scholars were aware of endocrinological disorders like endocrinologic syndrome (i.e., association of amenorrhea and galactorrhoea in a non-pregnant woman), castration, contraceptives techniques, infertility, obesity, diabetes etc., and also their mode of remedy, albeit with a phenomenological approach. Their understanding of the symptoms and signs related to endocrinologic syndromes, which were explained in detail in the recent account of the endocrine system, is presented here with historical chronology. The survey was carried out from the literature of the Unani system of medicine, and the same was analyzed from the observations reported in various indexed journals and reputed books. The paper details the account of endocrinologic syndrome from the Greek era to the end of the medieval ages. - Description of the endocrinal disorders is mentioned in Unani Medicine for centuries, albeit with a different name for the disease category.- According to Unani Medicine, this disease arises due to abnormal quality and quantity of humour.- Renowned Unani scholars like Hippocrates (370-460 BC), Aristotle (384-322 BC), Aretaeos of Kappadokia(81-96 AD), Galen (130-200 AD), Zakaria Razi (865-925 AD), Majusi (930-994 AD), Ibn-e-Sina (980-1037 AD), Albucasis (1013-1106 AD) and Ismail Jorjani (1042-1137 AD) also treated such ailments through Unani medicine (plant, mineral and animal origin drugs).-Majusi performed surgery of Goiter and mentioned in his treatise and recommended the method of surgery.-Albucasis performed the first successful thyroidectomy under opium (Papaver somniferum L.) sedation and simple ligatures and hot cautery in the name of 'elephantiasis' of the throat (goiter).- The principles of treatment in Unani medicine may provide a guide for better management of endocrinal disorders (e.g., hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, diabetes etc.).- The treatment in Unani medicine for various diseases/syndromes/signs, which are now likely associated with hormone dysfunction, can open up the new field of Unani therapeutics for these diseases for the exploration of better treatment options.

Reformulation of Traditional Chamomile Oil: Quality Controls and Fingerprint Presentation Based on Cluster Analysis of Attenuated Total Reflectance-Infrared Spectral Data

Herbal oils have been widely used in Iran as medicinal compounds dating back to thousands of years in Iran. Chamomile oil is widely used as an example of traditional oil. We remade chamomile oils and tried to modify it with current knowledge and facilities. Six types of oil (traditional and modified) were prepared. Microbial limit tests and physicochemical tests were performed on them. Also, principal component analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis, and partial least squares discriminant analysis were done on the spectral data of attenuated total reflectance-infrared in order to obtain insight based on classification pattern of the samples. The results show that we can use modified versions of the chamomile oils (modified Clevenger-type apparatus method and microwave method) with the same content of traditional ones and with less microbial contaminations and better physicochemical properties.

Rabies in medieval Persian literature - the Canon of Avicenna (980-1037 AD)

Ibn Sina (980–1037 AD), known by his full name Abu Ali al-Hussain ibn Abdallah ibn Sina and the Latin name ‘Avicenna’, was a Persian scholar who is primarily remembered for his contributions to the science of medicine. He authored Al-Qanun fi al-Tibb (The Canon of Medicine). Sections of his work are devoted to detailed descriptions of a number of infectious illnesses, particularly rabies. Avicenna described rabies in humans and animals and explained its clinical manifestations, route of transmission, and treatment methods. In this article, our goal is to discuss Avicenna’s 11^th-century points of view on rabies and compare them with modern medical knowledge.

How did Haly Abbas look at the cardiovascular system?

Persian scholars, especially those who lived during the Golden Age of Islamic Medicine (9th-12th century AD), made significant contributions to the healing arts and secured a place of honor for themselves in the history of this science. Abū l-Ḥasan Alī ibn al-'Abbās al-Majūsī Ahvazi (? 930-994AD), with the Latinized name of Haly Abbas, was a scientist from this part of the world who contributed to the advancement of medicine. He is the author of Kāmil al-Sinā'ah al-Tibbīyah (The Perfect Book of the Art of Medicine), also commonly known as al-Kitāb al-Malikī (The Royal Book), a medical encyclopedia renowned for its systematic and precise content. This textbook covers a wide variety of medical issues, among them topics related to the science of cardiology. This paper reviews the main points of Haly Abbas' knowledge of the cardiovascular system, of which little has been written until now.

The life of jorjani: one of the persian pioneers of medical encyclopedia compiling: on the occasion of his 1000th birthday anniversary (434, a.h. - 1434, a.h.)

Background

Seyyed Esmaeil Jorjani is one of the most prominent pioneers and scientists of Islamic and Iranian traditional medicine in the 11^th and 12^th centuries (4^th and 5^th centuries A.H.). The number of his books is not certainly clear, but it is signified that he has written a couple of great books concerning medicine for Persians and too many treatises in such fields as philosophy, theology, medical ethics, human anatomy, chemistry, pharmacy and other sciences. His most famous and important book is “Zakhireh Khwarazmshahi” or “The Treasure of King Khwarazm”, which is really a complete and valuable medical encyclopedia in Persian language.

Materials and Methods

In the present study, authors have attempted to state the life and time of Jorjani and his views by studying the history, old medical sources, and other provided recent medical literature in these fields.

Results

The biography of Hakim Jorjani has been well reviewed and described precisely.

Conclusions

Based on our findings, it is clear that Jorjani described and explained the symptoms, signs and treatments of several diseases, introduced the activities of various medicinal plants, and compound formulations. He achieved all of this during his continuous visits to prestigious medical centers and famous people of his time.

Surgery for Gynecomastia in the Islamic Golden Age: Al-Tasrif of Al-Zahrawi (936-1013 AD)

The rise of European science during the Renaissance is greatly indebted to the flourishing of the sciences during the Islamic Golden Age. However, some believe that medieval Islamic physicians and in particular surgeons had been merely a medium for Greco-Roman ideas. Contrarily, in some medieval Islamic medical books, such as Al-Tasrif of Al-Zahrawi (936–1013), the surgical instructions represent a change in the usual techniques or are accompanied by a case history, implying that the procedure was actually undertaken. Along with the hundreds of chapters on different diseases and related medical and surgical treatments, Al-Tasrif includes a chapter on surgical techniques for gynecomastia. The present paper is a review of the description of the surgical management of gynecomastia by Al-Zahrawi as well as that of the ancient Greek, medieval, and modern medicine. Although Al-Zahrawi seemed to base his descriptions of surgery for gynecomastia upon those of Paulus of Aegina, his modification of the procedure and application of the medicinal substances might be indicative of Al-Zahrawi's own practice of the procedure. Al-Zahrawi's surgical procedures remained unchanged for many centuries thenceforward until the technological evolution in the recent centuries.

Sleep paralysis in medieval Persia - the Hidayat of Akhawayni (?-983 AD)

Among the first three manuscripts written in Persian, Akhawayni's Hidayat al-muta'allemin fi al-tibb was the most significant work compiled in the 10th century. Along with the hundreds of chapters on hygiene, anatomy, physiology, symptoms and treatments of the diseases of various organs, there is a chapter on sleep paralysis (night-mare) prior to description and treatment of epilepsy. The present article is a review of the Akhawayni's teachings on sleep paralysis and of descriptions and treatments of sleep paralysis by the Greek, medieval, and Renaissance scholars. Akhawayni's descriptions along with other early writings provide insight into sleep paralysis during the Middle Ages in general and in Persia in particular.