Anatomy in Reference Texts of Persian Medicine in Islamic Golden Age

Abstract

Background and purpose: Anatomy is a branch of science that deals with different parts of human body and its organizational structure. It has various goals, such as insight into the divine perfection and understanding the causes of diseases and their treatments. Anatomy in the Islamic era included physiology too. This research aimed at providing an overview on anatomy in the Reference Materials of Persian Medicine. Materials and methods: A qualitative study (content-analytic library research) was performed based on the books of Persian medicine. This study was conducted at several stages; finding the keywords, searching in reference texts of Iranian-Islamic medicine, in history books and Islamic encyclopedias, and in Persian and Latin electronic banks, then sorting, organizing, and comparing the information. Results: Anatomical knowledge is prerequisite to treatment and surgery. The works of Muslim scientists on anatomy, like the Europeans, were found to be influenced by the works of Galen. According to evidence, Muslim doctors performed autopsy and were great surgeons. Conclusion: The basis of the new anatomy enhanced by Vesalius is similar to the Iranian-Islamic anatomy that was introduced to Europe after revising the texts of Galen. Considering the holistic viewpoints in Persian medicine, further research is needed to adapt that to modern medicine.

Keywords

• anatomy
• autopsy
• islamic civilization
• persian medicine