Maimonides: Part 1—The man and his writings

Abstract

Moses Maimonides (meaning “son of Maimon” from the Greek suffix “-ides”: “son of”) was among the most wellknown physicians of the Middle Ages (Figure 1). Also known as Moshe ben Maimon, Musa ibn Maymun, Abu ‘Imran Musa ben Maimum ibn ‘Abd Allah, Rabi Moses the AEgyptius, ן ו מ י מ ן ב ה ש מ (in Hebrew; Figure 2), ن و م ي م ن ب ى س و م (in Arabic), or RaMBaM (acronym of Rabbi Moses ben Maimon), Maimonides achieved fame through not only his immense knowledge but also his outstanding activity as a physician, theologian, philosopher, and rabbi. His impact in these fields spread to several countries during the Middle Ages and influenced many thinkers of different religions, through today. He was a person with an exceptional human understanding, conferring upon him an outstanding role in the community. Within his medical writings, Maimonides made several observations that refer to what we would consider “dermatology” today. His life and his main contributions to medicine in general and to dermatology in particular will be reviewed in a series of three contributions.