Contributions of Avicenna to surgery and anesthesiology

Rhazes' (865-925 CE) contribution to surgery in Liber Almansoris

BACKGROUND

Surgery has deep historical roots. Rhazes (865-925 CE), a Persian physician, made a significant contribution to the development of medical sciences in the medieval era. Liber Almansoris is one of his significant works on medicine. This book is a medical textbook for medical students. It covers every aspect of the medical sciences. This article discusses Rhazes' contribution to surgery, based on Liber Almansoris.

METHOD

This study examines Rhazes' contribution to surgery, based on his book, Liber Almansoris.

RESULTS

Rhazes's Liber Almansoris contains a chapter (seventh chapter) on orthopedics, which includes surgical approaches. This chapter also describes surgical procedures for traumas and skull fractures. In other chapters, he also recommends surgical options for treating certain complications when discussing different treatment methods.

DISCUSSION

Although Rhazes mentioned surgical procedures as a medical treatment method, he did not include a separate chapter on surgery. This strategy can be found in his other medical works, such as Liber Continens or Al-Hawi. It appears that Rhazes adheres to the Galenic (Greek) perspective on surgery. In this context, surgery is not an independent major but a method that a physician can employ as needed. It differs from an alternative approach in that era that adheres to ancient Persian perspectives, which identified surgery as a major like other medical sciences disciplines.

Albucasis (936-1013), a pioneer in tonsillectomy

BACKGROUND

The surgical removal of tonsils has been performed from as long as three thousand years ago, as mentioned in Hindu literature. The role medieval physicians like Albucasis played in the history of tonsillectomy is very important. This article aims to show the contributions Albucasis made to this procedure.

METHODS

The present library-documentary research relied on the third chapter of the book al-Tasrif, Albucasis' surgical text, as the main information source.

RESULTS

Albucasis discussed the conditions necessary for tonsillectomy, he introduced three surgical tools for this operation, and he also described the surgical method. Albucasis succeeded in inventing and discovering new tools and methods for tonsillectomy.

CONCLUSION

The comparison of the tonsil surgery introduced by Albucasis and those of earlier and later surgeons reveals Albucasis' superiority in both operation performance and equipment used. Some of his methods are comparable with approaches to operations used in the 20th century.