, 1894–1968)
Psychology and psychotherapy Al-Razi was one of the world's first great medical experts. He is considered the father of psychology and psychotherapy.
Smallpox vs. measles Al-Razi's book "On Smallpox and Measles", is, along with a book of the same name by
Thabit ibn Qurra (836–901), among the earliest extant books describing
smallpox and
measles as distinct diseases. Smallpox was not known in
ancient Greek medicine. It was likely differentiated from measles and other similar diseases by authors in
late antiquity writing in
Medieval Greek and
Syriac, whose works were known to Thabit and al-Razi. Al-Razi's work was translated into Syriac and then into Greek. It became known in Europe through this translation, as well as Latin translations based on the Greek text, and was later translated into several European languages.
Meningitis Al-Razi compared the outcome of patients with
meningitis treated with
blood-letting with the outcome of those treated without it to see if blood-letting could help.
Pharmacy Al-Razi contributed in many ways to the early practice of
pharmacy by compiling texts, in which he introduces the use of "
mercurial ointments" and his development of apparatus such as mortars, flasks, spatulas and phials, which were used in pharmacies until the early twentieth century.
Ethics of medicine On a professional level, al-Razi introduced many practical, progressive, medical and psychological ideas. He attacked
charlatans and fake doctors who roamed the cities and countryside selling their
nostrums and "cures". At the same time, he warned that even highly educated doctors did not have the answers to all medical problems and could not cure all sicknesses or heal every disease, which was humanly speaking impossible. To become more useful in their services and truer to their calling, al-Razi advised practitioners to keep up with advanced knowledge by continually studying medical books and exposing themselves to new information. He made a distinction between curable and incurable diseases. Pertaining to the latter, he commented that in the case of advanced cases of cancer and
leprosy the physician should not be blamed when he could not cure them. To add a humorous note, al-Razi felt great pity for physicians who took care for the well-being of princes, nobility, and women, because they did not obey the doctor's orders to restrict their diet or get medical treatment, thus making it most difficult being their physician. He also wrote the following on
medical ethics: (from a Latin translation of a work by al-Razi, 1466)
Books and articles on medicine ====
Al-Hawi==== This 23-volume medical textbook sets the foundation of
gynecology,
obstetrics,
oncology and
chemotherapy, and
ophthalmic surgery. Because of this book alone, many scholars consider al-Razi the greatest medical doctor of the
Middle Ages.
Al-Hawi is not a formal medical encyclopedia but a posthumous compilation of al-Razi's working notebooks, which included knowledge gathered from other books as well as original observations on diseases and therapies based on his own clinical experience. It is significant since it contains a monograph on smallpox, one of the earliest known. It was translated into Latin in 1279 by
Faraj ben Salim, a physician of Sicilian-Jewish origin employed by
Charles of Anjou, and after which it had a considerable influence in Europe.
Al-Hawi also criticized the views of
Galen after al-Razi had observed many clinical cases that did not follow Galen's descriptions of fevers. For example, he stated that Galen's descriptions of
urinary ailments were inaccurate as he had only seen three cases, while al-Razi had studied hundreds of such cases in
hospitals of
Baghdad and Rey.
For One Who Has No Physician to Attend Him (Man la Yahduruhu Al-Tabib) (من لا يحضره الطبيب) Al-Razi was possibly the first Persian doctor to deliberately write a home medical manual (
remedial) directed at the general public. He dedicated it to the poor, the traveller, and the ordinary citizen who could consult it to treat common ailments when a doctor was unavailable. This book is of special interest to the history of pharmacy since similar books were very popular until the 20th century. Al-Razi described in its 36 chapters diets and drug components that can be found in either an apothecary, a marketplace, in well-equipped kitchens, or military camps. Thus, every intelligent person could follow its instructions and prepare the proper recipes with good results. Some of the illnesses treated were headaches, colds, coughing, melancholy and diseases of the eye, ear, and stomach. For example, he prescribed for a feverish headache: "2 parts of
duhn (oily extract) of
rose, to be mixed with 1 part of vinegar, in which a piece of
linen cloth is dipped and compressed on the forehead". He recommended as a
laxative, "7
drams of dried
violet flowers with 20 pears,
macerated and well mixed, then strained. Add to this
filtrate 20 drams of sugar for a drink." In cases of melancholy, he invariably recommended prescriptions, which included either
poppies or its juice (
opium),
Cuscuta epithymum (clover dodder) or both. For an eye-remedy, he advised
myrrh,
saffron, and
frankincense, 2 drams each, to be mixed with 1 dram of
yellow arsenic formed into
tablets. Each tablet was to be dissolved in sufficient
coriander water and used as eye drops. ;
Book for al-Mansur () Al-Razi dedicated this work to his patron
Abū Ṣāliḥ al-Manṣūr, the
Samanid governor of Ray. It was translated into Latin by
Gerard of Cremona around 1180. A Latin translation of it was edited in the 16th century by the Dutch anatomist and physician
Andreas Vesalius. al-Razi rejects several claims made by the Greek physician, as far as the alleged superiority of the
Greek language and many of his
cosmological and medical views. He links medicine with philosophy, and states that sound practice demands independent thinking. He reports that Galen's descriptions do not agree with his own clinical observations regarding the run of a fever. And in some cases he finds that his clinical experience exceeds Galen's. He criticized Galen's theory that the body possessed four separate "
humors" whose balance is the key to health and a natural body temperature. A sure way to upset such a system was to insert a liquid with a different temperature into the body, resulting in an increase or decrease of bodily heat, which resembled the temperature of that particular fluid. Al-Razi noted that a warm drink would heat the body much higher than its natural temperature. Thus, the drink would trigger a response from the body rather than transferring only its warmth or coldness to it. (
Cf. I. E. Goodman) This line of criticism could completely refute Galen's theory of humors and Aristotle's theory of the
classical elements on which it was grounded. Al-Razi's alchemical experiments suggested other qualities of matter, such as "oiliness" and "sulphurousness", or
inflammability and
salinity, which were not readily explained by the traditional fire, water, earth, and air division of elements. Al-Razi's challenge to the current fundamentals of medical theory was quite controversial. Many accused him of ignorance and arrogance, even though he repeatedly expressed his praise and gratitude to Galen for his contributions and labours, saying:
The Diseases of Children Al-Razi's
The Diseases of Children was the first monograph to deal with
pediatrics as an independent field of medicine. ==Alchemy==