A Study on the Sources of Chief Physician Kãtib-zãde Meḥmed Refî' Efendi's Risãla 'Illat Mathãna: Did Kãtib-zãde Actually Use the Works of European Authors as Sources?

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to identify the Eastern and Western authors and physicians quoted by Kãtib-zãde Meḥmed Refî' Efendi (died 1769), the chief physician of the Ottoman Empire, in his work Risãla 'illat mathãna. The study also aimed to determine whether Kãtib-zãde Meḥmed Refî' Efendi benefited from the views of the physicians that he mentioned in his treatise and, if so, from which works he benefited.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this study, a copy of Kãtib-zãde Meḥmed Refî' Efendi's Risãla 'i rãbi' fî al-mathãna, with the registration number T 3796/4 in the Turkish manuscripts section of the Istanbul University Rare Books Library, was examined. Eastern and Western physicians mentioned by Kãtib-zãde Meḥmed Refî' Efendi in this work were first identified; then, a literature search was conducted regarding these authors and their works.

RESULTS

In his Risãla 'illat mathãna, Kãtib-zãde Meḥmed Refî' Efendi mentions the names of eminent Eastern physicians and quotes from their works. For example, he mentions Ibn Sînã (980-1037) and his work al-Qãnūn fî al-Ṭibb, Najîb al-dîn al-Samarqandî (died 1222) and his work al-Asbãb wa l-'alãmãt, and Ibn Mãsawayḩ (died 857). He also mentions the names of Western physicians and their works. For example, he mentions Lazarus Riverius (1589-1655), Ioannes Fernelius (1497-1558), Petrus Forestus (1521-1597), and Amatus Lusitanus (1511-1568).

CONCLUSIONS

Regarding sources, Kãtib-zãde Meḥmed Refî' Efendi refers to The Canon of Medicine and a commentary on al-Asbãb wa l-'alamãt written by al-Kirmãnî in his work. His main Western source was Lazarus Riverius's Praxis Medica. More specifically, he draws on the section of Praxis Medica titled "Dysuria seu ardoris urine curatio." Kãtib-zãde Meḥmed Refî' also refers to other Western physicians, including Ioannes Fernelius, Petrus Forestus, and Amatus Lusitanus. These physicians are actually the physicians mentioned and quoted in the section of Lazarus Riverius' work mentioned above.

Personal Experiences of Chief Physician Emir çelebi on Kidney and Bladder Diseases: A Brief Review in Anmūdhaj al-Ṭibb

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study is to review the kidney and bladder disease sections in Emir çelebi's book called Anmūdhaj al-Ṭibb by presenting and discussing his own experiences with these issues.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A copy of Anmūdhaj al-Ṭibb registered in İstanbul Süleymaniye Manuscript Library, Mihrişah Sultan Collection, no. 342/1, and a printed copy of al-Mūjaz fī al-Ṭibb in Arabic, as well as a copy of the Turkish translation of this work by Surūrī registered in Ankara National Library, A1437, were examined. We examined the findings in light of the literature.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

We discovered that the sections on kidney and bladder diseases in Emir çelebi's Anmūdhaj al-Ṭibb are actually Turkish translations of relevant sections of Ibn al-Nafīs's al-Mūjaz fī al-Ṭibb. In some of these chapters, Emir çelebi has added his own observations and experiences, whereas, in others, he has included quotations from physicians such as Ibn Māsawayh and Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Zakariyyā al-Rāzī. One of the most intriguing findings was the drug Yad-Allāh, which Emir çelebi claimed was very effective in reducing the kidney stone of the Grand Admiral of the Ottoman Navy Receb Pasha. According to Emir çelebi, Galen and Aflīnūs [?] both praised this medicine in their own works. However, it has been discovered that Yad-Allāh, as described in the literature, is a drug defined by Philagrius.

Ibn Zuhr (Avenzoar) on head wounds in his Kitāb al-Taysīr (Liber Teisir)

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to present and evaluate the section concerning head wounds in Kitāb al-Taysīr (Liber Teisir) by Ibn Zuhr (Avenzoar).

METHODS

In this study, four different versions of Avenzoar's work were analyzed. The first two are in Arabic and titled Kitāb al-Taysīr fī al-Mudāwāt wa al-Tadbīr. Of which, one was edited by Michel Khouri and printed in Damascus in 1983, and the other was edited by Muḥammad b. 'Abd Allah al-Rūdānī and printed in Rabat in 1991. Third and fourth versions are in Latin; one was translated by Paravicius, edited by Hieronymus Surianus, and printed in Venice in 1530, whereas the other was a manuscript in Bibliothèque interuniversitaire de santé, MS 5119 in Paris and translated by John of Capua.

RESULTS

The titles of the sections are "Wounds due to iron objects" and "Wounds due to stones" in Arabic and "On head injuries from external factors such as blow" and "On head wounds from iron or stone or wood" in Latin. The chapter written by Avenzoar on head wounds is divided into two parts. First, he explained the treatment and subsequently described his views and related experiences.

CONCLUSION

The information provided by Avenzoar on head injuries technically reflects the medical and surgical comprehension of his era. In the section that is the focus of this study, he first provided technical information related to head injuries and then offered his opinions on the controversial and problematic issues in the treatment such as phlebotomy. This study revealed that Avenzoar approached the subject differently than his predecessors.

A Study on Head Wounds in Kitāb al-'Umda fī Ṣinā'a al-Jirāḥa by Ibn al-Quff

The aim of this study is to investigate the knowledge on head wounds contained in the Kitāb al-'Umda fī Ṣinā'a al-Jirāḥa, written by Ibn al-Quff in the thirteenth century. This study was based on a copy of the Kitāb al-'Umda fī Ṣinā'a al-Jirāḥa, printed in 2 volumes in Dā'ira al-Mā'ārif al-Uthmāniyya in Hyderabad in 1356/1937-38 and reprinted by the Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Science at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University. This printed copy was compared with the manuscript of İstanbul University Rare Works Library, Arabic Manuscripts, A 4749. Relevant chapters were translated from Arabic to English, after which they were thoroughly examined. Obtained knowledge is presented in the Results section and is compared in the Discussion section with other reports of this subject. The first chapter classified head wounds into 6 types: the first 3 types are conservatively treated and the remaining 3 types are surgically treated. This chapter also presents information on how to proceed when there is a head wound-related hemorrhage, which medications should be used, and which are the adequate treatment protocols. The second chapter discusses the symptoms and signs that follow head blow and fall injuries. The characteristics and noteworthy circumstances of skull fractures as well as the surgical treatment methods are included in the fifteenth chapter, which is concluded with surgery-related complications. The present study shows that Ibn al-Quff benefited from his predecessors' knowledge and made some considerable contributions to this subject.