What Does the Most Celebrated and Pioneer Ottoman Physician, Şanizade Mehmed Ataullah Efendi, Say on Anatomy, Physiology, Diseases, and Surgery of the Urinary System? A Glance at Hamse-i Şanizade or Kanun-ı Şanizade.

Abstract

Hamse-i Şanizade (Khamse Shānī-zāde) is the most important work of Şanizade Mehmed Ataullah Efendi (1769 or 1771-1826), an Ottoman kadı (qāḍi), physician, historian, polymath, and polyglot, about medicine and consists of 5 books. The first book, Mir'āt al-ebdān fī teshrīḥ a'dā' al-insān, is on anatomy. The second book, Uṣūl al-ṭabī'a, deals with physiology, while the third, Mi'yār al-etıbbā, mentions diseases and their treatments. These books were published together in Istanbul in 1820. A fourth book, Qānūn al-cerrāḥīn, published in Cairo after his death in 1828, discusses surgical treatments of diseases. A fifth book, Mīzān al-edviye, is a pharmacopeia. In this study, we examined the information about urinary system anatomy, physiology, diseases, and their medical and surgical treatments in Hamse-i Şanizade. We examined the first 3 books and the fourth book. The relevant passages were translated into English after being transliterated into the contemporary Turkish alphabet. In the first book, kidney anatomy is discussed under the heading "fī teshrīḥ al-kulā" and bladder anatomy under "fī teshrīḥ al-methāne." In the second book, the formation and excretion of urine are explained in different headings. In the third book, kidney inflammation and its treatment are discussed, with kidney and bladder stones and their medical treatments explained in detail. Finally, the types and treatments of urinary retention are discussed, with types, causes, symptoms, prognosis, and surgical treatments of bladder stones written in detail. In the Ottoman Empire, Hamse-i Şanizade is regarded as one of the first gateways to the West in the field of medicine. It was instrumental in modernizing Ottoman-Turkish medicine and contains and reflects the state-of-the-art knowledge of the time regarding the anatomy, physiology, diseases, and medical and surgical treatments of the urinary system.