Arabo-Farsi anatomy figures.

Abstract

LettersArabo-Farsi anatomy figures Farid Sami Haddad, MD Farid Sami Haddad, MD Custodian of the Sami I Haddad Memorial Library, Rancho Palos Verdes, California, USA Search for more papers by this author Email the corresponding author at [email protected] Published Online:5 Feb 2009https://doi.org/10.4103/0256-4947.51809SectionsPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload citationTrack citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail AboutIntroductionWe conclude our series of articles on the “Anatomy Charts”1–4 with the following note from Dr. Haddad. The images and accompanying description may now be found on Wikipedia: ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomy_Charts_of_the_Arabs)To the Editor: The table and references below summarize available information on 17 sets of very similar anatomy figures that I have been able to glean from the current published literature and put at the disposal of the readers. It is fair to assume that there are a few more similar figures, the locations of which are not yet known. I urge the reader and expressly enlist his kind cooperation in the task of completing this collection, which, at present, stands at exactly 100 colored hand-painted anatomy figures.There are several disputed points and questions about these figures. Here are some of them:Why did a few historians assume that these figures might be of Scythian or Tibetan origin?Which set is the original and which are copies?Who is the author of these figures?Why is the head always represented in a Mongolian perspective and why was the squatting position chosen?Why do these figures usually (with the exception of three sets) appear in mas ‘wd's text on anatomy?Why aren't these figures always mentioned or referred to in the text in which they are found?Why do they, sometimes, seem to have been just bound within the volume containing them and do not seem to form an integral part of it?Are they all from the same hand or drawn by different scribes?What is their relation to the similar Latin figures?Table 1 Seventeen sets of anatomy figuresNoDateAuthorPlaceNumberReferences01<1400 ADmanSwrParis15555, 13, 1402<1400 ADmanSwrLondon235565031400 ADmanSwrOxford15765, 604C 1400 ADIndia Office22965, 605C 1450 ADmanSwrBethesda9, 1006C 1450 ADmanSwrBethesda9, 1007manSwrNew Haven1008manSwrNew Haven1009New Haven1010Ibn sÿnALondon1711Ibn sÿnALondon121537 ADmahAbAdÿCalifornia908, 11, 15, 1613C 1650 ADmanSwrDurham12, 1814C 1650 ADmanSwrKansas1015C 1650 ADmanSwrMontreal7785, 757, 1016C 1750 ADmanSwrKansas1017C 1850 ADmanSwrMontreal7785, 767, 10All manuscripts have six figures except number 12, which has only four.Once we have the answers to these questions, one can hope to study the available data with a comparative and critical analysis so that some of the existing mysteries can be resolved.ARTICLE REFERENCES:1. 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"Arab-Islamic medicine and its influence on the Latin West" . The Islamic World Med J. 198605/06 2(2):58-63. Google Scholar18. Cavanah GST. Personal correspondence. 19870311. Google Scholar Previous article Next article FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 29, Issue 1Jan–Feb 2009 Metrics History Published online5 February 2009 InformationCopyright © 2009, Annals of Saudi MedicineThis is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.PDF download