Medical Legacy Research Articles

History of Ilmul Saidala (Unani Pharmacy) Through Ages: A Critical Appraisal and Current Scenario

Ilmul Saidala (Unani pharmacy) is an important pharmaceutical branch of Unani System of Medicine, also known as Greco-Arabic medicine. Its historical evolution is intricately related with that of human’s disease and sufferings. The earlier records about the Ilmul Saidala reveal that the Greco-Roman civilization is credited with its origin and development. Then, the Arabs preserved their medical legacy, and enriched it with their pharmaceutical experiments, innovations, and newer formulations. Most of the physicians rendered voluminous compendium known as “Al-Qarābādhīn” (pharmacopoeia) on the pharmacy including pharmaceutical as well as cosmeceutical preparations. After the fifth century, the development in Unani Pharmacy has been greatly contributed by Arab physicians and the world acclaimed piece of knowledge from this period is Avicenna’s ‘Canon of Medicine’. The medical influences of the Arabs helped in further development, regulation, and advancement of pharmaceutical sciences in the European soil and evolved it as a distinctive institution of respect and public welfare. The vastness of knowledge of Greco-Arabic period can be judged from the fact that the contemporary innovations and developments in the pharmaceutical industry is primarily owed to the original contributions of Greek, Egyptian, and Arab philosophers and physicians, such as Hippocrates, Pedanios Dioscorides, Galen of Pergamon, Avicenna, Rhazes, Geber etc. In India, Mughals, especially emperor Akbar was very instrumental in the propagation of Unani medicine and had appointed Unani physicians in different cities of his territory. Later on, Khandan Shareefi (Shareefi family) and Khandan Azizi (Azizi family) played important roles in the promotion of Unani Pharmacy. In post-independence India , Hạkīm ‘Abd al-Hạmeed established Unani pharmacies on the lines of the modern pharmaceutical industry for the mass production of Unani formulations in compliance with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) guidelines. At present, Unani System of Medicine and its pharmacies enjoys the patronage of Government in India and other South-East Asian countries, such as Pakistan and Bangladesh along with post graduate education in Unani pharmacy. The present work is a sincere attempt of authors to critically appraise the Unani Pharmaceutical potentials from the past, the current waves of developments and issues, and their possible ways forward. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol. Vol. 21(1) 2022 Page : 24-36

Dr Hetty Brenda Ockrim (1919-2007) and her medical legacy.

Dr Hetty Ockrim was a general practitioner in an inner-city Glasgow district for 43 years, before retiring in 1989. This paper looks at her career and her legacy through the pioneering oral history study she undertook, on retirement, with former patients, and the 'Letters to No-one' written at the time of her retirement but only discovered at the time of her death.

De curandis hominum morbis: An 18th century medical prescription for measles and smallpox in the Nuevo Reino de Granada

ResumenEn el Archivo Histórico de la Biblioteca “Octavio Arizmendi Posada” de la Universidad de La Sabana, se encuentra una colección de más de un centenar de recetas médicas de finales del siglo XVIII donadas por el presbítero Cipriano Rodríguez Santa María, epónimo institucional del archivo. Estos textos son un legado histórico médico y un fundamento para comprender la terapéutica colonial y tradicional de diversas enfermedades. En este artículo, se describen algunas recetas para el tratamiento de la viruela y el sarampión, como aporte a la historia de la medicina en Colombia.

The Emergence of Verification (taḥqīq) in Islamic Medicine

Abstract In this article, I discuss the legacy of Faḫr al-Dīn al-Rāzī’s commentary on Avicenna’s Canon of Medicine in Islamic medical commentary after 1100. I argue that Faḫr al-Dīn’s legacy lies in the exegetical practices, the method of verification (taḥqīq) he introduced into Islamic medical scholarship through his commentary on the Canon. I first argue that the features that characterise the method of verification in works such as Faḫr al-Dīn’s commentary on Avicenna’s Pointers and Reminders are present in the commentary on the Canon, even if Faḫr al-Dīn’s introduction to the latter work does not allude to these practices in the way that the introductions to his later works do. Based on an analysis of Galen’s prescription about exegetical best-practice in his Hippocratic commentaries and Muḥammad ibn Zakarīyā al-Rāzī’s (d. ca. 925) introduction to Doubts on Galen, I argue next that Faḫr al-Dīn’s introduction of the verification method into the Islamic medical discourse was a watershed moment in the tradition. I use Ibn al-Quff’s (d. 1286) commentary on the Hippocratic Aphorisms to show how these methods were imitated by later medical commentators. This final section illustrates the enormous exegetical interest that the Canon of Medicine attracted, suggesting other promising trajectories for research into Faḫr al-Dīn’s medical legacy.

“Reviving Twentieth-century Medical Legacy – The Case of Banarasi Dass Women’s Hospital, Sadar Bazaar, Ambala Cantonment, India”

One of the notable advancements of late 19th-early 20th century British India was the introduction of ‘western-style’ medical care for women. Located within confines of the colonial or princely enclaves, a number of women’s hospitals, staffed with trained British female doctors, were established under the Dufferin Fund. But the benefits of medicalised childbirth did not extend to commonplace Indian women. At this point of time, history was also made by certain philanthropic and nationalist individuals who made some pioneering efforts to extend benefits of medicalised childbirth to the vast neglected body of commonplace Indian women.The 48-bedded Banarsi Dass Hospital for Women, built in 1922 within the dense urban fabric of Ambala Cantonment, is one of the earliest of such pioneering structures. The architectural value of the building as seen in its ingenious spatial organization was devised to ensure generous access to sun and air, ensured thermal comfort in all seasons, a construction system representative of the era, and various ornamental elements that proclaim its ‘monumental’ status adds to its unique historic significance. Though the building is still in a good physical and structural condition, the advancement in medical world has rendered its infrastructure obsolete.In the present scenario, we tend to lose a significant landmark of 20th century development in India. This paper presents an analysis of the historic, societal and architectural value of the property, the reasons for its disuse and the design interventions proposed to restore the original societal and architectural status of this majestic historic building.

Editorial.

Editorial.

Medical Legacy of Gandhi: Demystifying Human Diseases.

Medical Legacy of Gandhi: Demystifying Human Diseases.

Insights on the molecular mechanism of anti-inflammatory effect of formula from Islamic traditional medicine: An in-silico study

Background and aimTraditional medicine is an important source for drug discovery. However, many challenges face the scientific community to develop novel drugs from it. To investigate the rationale behind the medical legacy of centuries of precious knowledge from traditional medicine, we aimed at performing virtual screening to identify potential leads from the middle-age textbook, The Canon of Medicine. Experimental procedureA database of chemical constituents of plants mentioned within the book was built and docked against different molecular targets associated with inflammation such as phospholipase A2, p38 alpha mitogen activated protein kinase, cyclooxygenase-2 and leukotriene B4 dehydrogenase, after that literature survey was done to determine the consistency of traditional uses and molecular docking results with the current knowledge obtained from previous studies and reports. Results and conclusionThe in-silico study revealed the ability of several chemical constituents, in the plants under investigation, to bind effectively to different targets associated with inflammation, which was consistent with previous reports, indicating that Islamic traditional medicine can be considered as a reliable promising source for developing new anti-inflammatory agents with low toxicity and minimal side effects.

Dr Samuel Gaskell at Lancaster Asylum: A medical and literary legacy?


 

Medical aspects of the Waterloo campaign of 1815

200 years after the end of the Napoleonic wars, medical military historian Michael Crumplin examines the medical legacy of the Waterloo campaign of 15–18 June 1815.

The legacy of medicalising ‘homosexuality’: A discussion on the historical effects of non-heterosexual diagnostic classifications

The classification of non-heterosexuality has changed considerably over the past century. Once considered as medical conditions attracting legal complications and serious social stigma, expressions of non-heterosexuality are now broadly considered to be normal variations of human sexuality. The historical inclusion of homosexuality in the psychiatric literature may still have implications for how sexual orientation is viewed today, including the ongoing treatment of homosexuality as an illness despite its delisting from medical diagnostic nomenclatures. This discussion paper explores the historically recorded diagnostic classification of homosexuality, reviews the processes that led to the reclassification in the nomenclature and closes with a commentary for current implications of this medical legacy.

Novel use of the ovarian follicular pool to postpone menopause and delay osteoporosis

Life expectancy has increased by more than 30 years during the last century and continues to increase. Many women already live decades in menopause deprived of naturally produced oestradiol and progesterone, leading to an increasing incidence of menopause-related disorders such as osteoporosis, cardiovascular diseases and lack of general well-being. Exogenous oestradiol has traditionally been used to alleviate menopause-related effects.This commentary discusses a radical new method to postpone menopause. Part of the enormous surplus of ovarian follicles can now be cryostored in youth for use after menopause. Excision of ovarian tissue will advance menopause marginally and will not reduce natural fertility. Grafted tissue restores ovarian function with circulating concentrations of sex steroids for years in post-menopausal cancer survivors. Future developments may further utilize the enormous store of ovarian follicles.Currently, the main goal of ovarian cryopreservation is fertility preservation, but grafting of ovarian tissue may also serve endocrine functions as a physiological solution to prevent the massive medical legacy of osteoporosis and menopause-related conditions in the ageing population. This intriguing solution is now technically available; the question is whether this method qualifies for postponing menopause, perhaps initially for those patients who already have cryostored tissue?

Gulf War Syndrome: a review of current knowledge and understanding

The 1991 Persian Gulf War was a resounding military success for coalition forces, who liberated Kuwait following the Iraqi invasion. The medical legacy we have from the conflict is the poorly understood, yet remarkable, phenomenon of Gulf War Syndrome, which surfaced soon after. Epidemiological research has proven beyond doubt that Gulf War veterans report a wide variety of symptoms, in excess of appropriately matched control subjects, and experience worse general health. Numerous toxic environmental hazards have been suggested as causes of Gulf War Syndrome, yet exhaustive scientific study has failed to provide conclusive proof of any link. No novel or recognised disease has been found to account for the symptomatic burden of veterans, and the optimal treatment remains uncertain. This understanding can be added to from an anthropological perspective, where the narratives of those afflicted provide further insight. The nature of military life was changing at the time of the Gulf War, challenging the identity and beliefs of some veterans and causing socio-cultural distress. The symptomatic presentation of Gulf War Syndrome can be considered an articulation of this disharmony. Gulf War Syndrome can also be considered within the group of post-combat disorders such as shellshock, the like of which have occurred after major wars in the last century. With the current withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Defence Medical Services (DMS) should heed the lessons of history.

Human Embryology in the Islamic Tradition

The translation of Greek works on medicine and biology into Arabic and their wide dissemination, at the latest by the 6th-7th/12th-13th centuries, in different disciplines of the Islamic tradition were not without consequences, especially for fiqh (Islamic law). In their religio-ethical discussions, Muslim jurists addressed this Greek medical legacy, together with comments and additions made by Muslim and non-Muslim, especially Jewish, physicians. This essay starts with introductory remarks about the main approaches to medical views on human embryology in philosophy and theology. I then focus on the works of five Muslims jurists from the 7th-8th /13th-14th centuries, with special attention to the Mālikī jurist Shihāb al-Dīn al-Qarāfī (d. 684/1285) and the Ḥanbalī Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 751/1350), whose contributions to human embryology remain comparatively unexplored. My main thesis is that the introduction of medical views on human embryology to fiqh literature opened the door for post-formative jurists to practice ijtihād, sometimes on a large scale, by going beyond the established authority of the madhāhib (schools of law). In modern times, Muslim jurists who address human embryology, especially within the nascent of field of Islamic bioethics, have been influenced by these earlier discussions.

Queen Cleopatra and the other ‘Cleopatras’: their medical legacy

Cleopatra is a female figure widespread in Greece (especially in Macedonian territory), Egypt and Syria during the Hellenistic era. Ancient women doctors bearing the name Cleopatra have been identified by a systematic search through the ancient Greek, Latin and Egyptian bibliography, including original resources from the first century BC. Fictional and non-fictional figures have been distinguished and their works identified. Queen Cleopatra of Egypt, Galen's physician assistant, the outcast Metrodora, Cleopatra the Alchemist and Cleopatra the Gynaecologist deliver a story of medicine and name-giving that confuses researchers of the past and intrigues those of the present.

Pre‐modern Islamic Medical Ethics and Graeco‐Islamic‐Jewish Embryology

This article examines the, hitherto comparatively unexplored, reception of Greek embryology by medieval Muslim jurists. The article elaborates on the views attributed to Hippocrates (d. ca. 375 BC), which received attention from both Muslim physicians, such as Avicenna (d. 1037), and their Jewish peers living in the Muslim world including Ibn Jumay' (d. ca. 1198) and Moses Maimonides (d. 1204). The religio-ethical implications of these Graeco-Islamic-Jewish embryological views were fathomed out by the two medieval Muslim jurists Shihāb al-Dīn al-Qarāfī (d. 1285) and Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 1350). By putting these medieval religio-ethical discussions into the limelight, the article aims to argue for a two-pronged thesis. Firstly, pre-modern medical ethics did exist in the Islamic tradition and available evidence shows that this field had a multidisciplinary character where the Islamic scriptures and the Graeco-Islamic-Jewish medical legacy were highly intertwined. This information problematizes the postulate claiming that medieval Muslim jurists were hostile to the so-called 'ancient sciences'. Secondly, these medieval religio-ethical discussions remain playing a significant role in shaping the nascent field of contemporary Islamic bioethics. However, examining the exact character and scope of this role still requires further academic ventures.

Doctor Jean-Paul Marat (1743–93) and his time as a physician in Great Britain

Jean-Paul Marat was a French revolutionary, famously murdered in his bath by Charlotte Corday in 1793. A lesser known fact is that for over ten years he lived in Britain where he practised as a doctor. During this time he visited London, Edinburgh, Dublin and Holland. Although he had no formal medical training, he published two medical papers on gleets (gonorrhoea) and diseases of the eyes and, on the recommendation of two eminent Scottish physicians, William Buchan and Hugh James, he was granted a medical degree from the University of St Andrews. Marat left no medical legacy and his related writings were forgotten for 100 years until the rediscovery of the two medical papers, which were eventually re-published in 1892 at the instigation of James Bailey, the librarian of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. Biographies by F Chevremont (1880), Ashbee Spencer (1890) and A Cabanès (1891) had rekindled interest in this intriguing revolutionary. A study of his time in Britain and his medical works and training provide an interesting insight into the mind of a revolutionary and how his sojourn may have shaped his future political career upon his return to France in 1777.

John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) and his medical legacy

John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) and his medical legacy

Moses Maimonides, "physician of princes, prince of physicians"

Moses Maimonides (1135-1204) is considered the most prominent figure of Judaism during the Middle Ages. Born within the Sephardic Jewish community of Cordoba, his rich intellectual education (theological, philosophical and medical) together with a deep spirituality gave birth to the figure of a highly humanitarian, rational and dedicated physician. His medical legacy includes ten treatises, among them 'Medical Aphorisms of Moses', a set of 1,500 aphorisms organized in 25 chapters, each dealing with a different area of medicine. His theological works and the renowned 'Guide for the Perplexed' raised his figure as a theologist and modern philosopher, being the latest his most universal creation. His life and legacy are an invitation to raise the medical vocation and practice beyond a simple occupation.

Moisés Maimónides, "médico de príncipes, príncipe de los médicos"

Moses Maimonides (1135-1204) is considered the most prominent figure of Judaism during the Middle Ages. Born within the Sephardic Jewish community of Cordoba, his rich intellectual education (theological, philosophical and medical) together with a deep spirituality gave birth to the figure of a highly humanitarian, rational and dedicated physician. His medical legacy includes ten treatises, among them 'Medical Aphorisms of Moses', a set of 1,500 aphorisms organized in 25 chapters, each dealing with a different area of medicine. His theological works and the renowned 'Guide for the Perplexed' raised his figure as a theologist and modern philosopher, being the latest his most universal creation. His life and legacy are an invitation to raise the medical vocation and practice beyond a simple occupation.