Ibn al-Quff (1233–1286AD), genius theorist of the existence of capillaries

Looking for the Word "Angiogenesis" in the History of Health Sciences: From Ancient Times to the First Decades of the Twentieth Century

This review deals with the origin of the term "angiogenesis", with an attention to John Hunter who is credited with this neologism. A part of the literature refers to a Hunter's work dating 1787, and the other part claims the first use of the term "angiogenesis" in the Hunter's masterpiece published in 1794. Since we were unable to find the term "angiogenesis" in Hunter's works, this review attempts to bring a new contribution to the historical research of this important concept, moving from ancient times to the first decades of the twentieth century, when "angiogenesis" begun to appear on titles of scientific articles. The development of the knowledge on the cardiocirculatory system and the principal steps of this fascinating subject were examined, with particular regard to microvascular bed and vessel sprouting, and to the intriguing observations on blood vessel neoformation that have been also made in the premicroscopic era. In Hunter's works, the concept of angiogenesis indeed emerges, but not the term "angiogenesis". The scientific language occurring during Hunter's time was still old-fashioned, and the term "angiogenesis" was not one of those he used, rather a much later neologism that sounds too modern to appear in that context. Would the first appearance of the term "angiogenesis" occur in late nineteenth century in studies dealing with embryogenesis and organ vascularization? The present study aims to explore the scientific literature and to open a debate to better define this matter.

Ibn al-Quff (1233-1286 AD), a medieval Arab surgeon and physician

Abū'l-Faraj ibn Ya'qūb ibn Isḥāq Ibn al-Quff al-Karakī (1233-1286 AD), best known as Ibn al-Quff in the West, was a 13(th) century Arab physician-surgeon. During his lifetime, Ibn al-Quff made some important contributions to the art of healing. He authored several books and commentaries in the field of medicine, in particular surgery. This paper aims to review Ibn al-Quff's life, career, and contributions to medical science.

Rhazes (865-925 AD), the icon of Persian cardiology

For many long centuries, the function of the human cardiovascular system was an important issue among scholars of different eras and areas. Abubakr Muhammad ibn Zakariyya al-Razi (865-925 AD), known by the Latin name Rhazes, was one of the scholars concerned with this issue. This physician is recognized as the first great scientist of the Golden Age of Islamic Medicine (9th-12th centuries AD). He authored Kitab al-Mansuri (Liber Al-Mansuri), a ten-volume medical encyclopedia that covers a large number of medical subjects. The first chapter of this book is allocated to human anatomy and functions. In this article, we review the chapter from Al-Mansuri that deals with Rhazes' views on the cardiovascular system.

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.