The history of medieval bladder stone surgery in Persia

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Introduction People’s understanding of bladder stones has a long history. Since around the sixth century BC, surgery has been selected as the most specialized and last treatment and has continuously evolved. Meanwhile, many missing links have sometimes been a turning point in bladder stone surgery. The efforts of Iranian medicine scholars in advancing this treatment method are part of the impressive ups and downs of this path, which is discussed in this research. Methods This review research is based on Persian medicine sources, such as Al-Hawi fi al-Tabb, The Kitāb al-Taṣrīf, and Al-Qanun fi al-Tebb. It has also used reliable databases such as Pub Med, Scopus, and Elsevier, as well as search engines such as Google Scholar, with related keywords. Results Surgery as the last treatment method for bladder stones was first proposed in the Golden Age (800–1300AD) of Persian traditional medicine by Ali ibn Rabben Tabari (810-895 AD) and Rhazes (865–925 AD), who discussed it in more detail. Then Hally Abbas, Albucasis, and Avicenna completed and enriched it. Albucasis’s role is imposing due to his unique techniques in perineal cystolithotomy, forceps to extract bladder stones, and primary lithotrity until the nineteenth century. Conclusion Examining the evolution and progress of bladder stone treatment shows the efforts of physicians in different medical schools. The brilliance of the sages of Persian Medicine, who invented seven different types of bladder stone surgery, improved the techniques of the predecessors and created a significant leap in the progress of this surgery.