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.