Iran

Abstract

Persian Medicine that is practiced as a traditional system of medicine in Iran and neighboring countries nowadays is one of the oldest traditional systems of medicine dating back to at least 7000 years ago. History of medicine in Iran can be divided into three periods: pre-Islamic (early), medieval (Islamic), and modern period. In the books of Avesta (6th century BC), three kinds of medicine were described: medicine through the knife (surgery), through the plants (herbal medicine), and through the divine words (cure by prayers). Another remarkable point from the pre-Islamic era is successful establishment of the Academy of Gondishapur (3rd century AD), which is believed to be the first teaching hospital in which medical students were trained under the supervision of physicians. Persian medicine flourished during Islamic era, in particular 9th to 13th century AD which is called as Islamic Golden age. Renowned physicians such as Rhazes, Haly Abbas, Avicenna and Jorjani(Sorsanus) belong to this era. Some of their contributions in medicine including the texts of Razi’s (The Continent) and Avicenna’s (The Canon) were the core of western medicine for several centuries. In the Persian medicine, physiological functions of the human body are considered to be based on seven factors. These are as follows: Elements, Temperament, Humors, Organs, Spirits, Forces and Functions. Since 2006, the Persian Medicine Schools have been established in Iran. Specialized education at the PhD level has been defined for two fields of Traditional medicine and Traditional pharmacy in Iran. At present there are 8 schools of Persian medicine and 17 departments of traditional medicine all around the country.