Medieval Islamic Medicine

The New Edinburgh Islamic Surveys

by Peter E. Pormann, Emilie Savage-Smith

The medical tradition that developed in the lands of Islam during the medieval period (c. 650-1500) has, like few others, influenced the fates and fortunes of countless human beings. It is a story of contact and cultural exchange across countries and creeds, affecting many people from kings to the common crowd. This tradition formed the roots from which modern Western medicine arose. Contrary to the stereotypical picture, medieval Islamic medicine was not simply a conduit for Greek ideas, but a venue for innovation and change.

Medieval Islamic Medicine is organized around five the emergence of medieval Islamic medicine and its intense crosspollination with other cultures; the theoretical medical framework; the function of physicians within the larger society; medical care as seen through preserved case histories; and the role of magic and devout religious invocations in scholarly as well as everyday medicine. A concluding chapter on the "afterlife" concerns the impact of this tradition on modern European medical practices, and its continued practice today. The book includes an index of persons and their books; a timeline of developments in East and West; and a section on further reading.

Genres: History, Medicine, Nonfiction, Islam, Science, Medieval

240 pages, Paperback

First published March 6, 2007

About the author

Peter E. Pormann in Professor of Classics and Graeco-Arabic Studies at the University of Manchester.

Reviews

[C.P. Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I desperately wanted more specific discussion of treatments for specific conditions and more overview of medicine as practiced outside the centers of Baghdad, Damascus, and Cairo. But a coherent, readable, informative survey of a 1,000-year history—and lovely illustrations besides—deserves all the praise I can heap on it. I learned a great deal.

This book qualifies for my History and Reduce the TBR challenges for 2014.

[Ahmad Abdul Rahim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buku ini adalah sangat baru diterbitkan bagi kategorinya (2007 oleh AUC). Skop kajiannya juga adalah spesifik disamping style of exposition yang straight to the point dan far-reaching conclusions. Medieval islamic medicine adalah ditujukan untuk peminat sejarah sains kesihatan/perubatan specifically merujuk kepada aspek historiografi-nya.

Meneruskan agenda-agenda yg sudah dibingkaikan oleh Manfred Ullmann, buku tulisan Peter Pormann ini boleh dianggap sebagai satu penambahbaikan kepada tentatif sediada di dalam sejarah perubatan islam di Zaman Pertengahan. Lebihnya, Pormann tidak terlalu ralit dengan asal-usul tradisi perubatan islam (tidak seperti Ullmann) dan dia menjelaskan garis2 perkembangan pengaruh sistem perubatan islam kepada barat dan tamadun2 lain.

Ini adalah buku yang sangat penting bagi mereka yg ingin mengetahui perkembangan2 terbaru dalam bidang pensejarahan perubatan di Dunia Islam sewaktu zaman pertengahan. Ada beberapa maklumat yg tampak berlawanan dengan pengetahuan konvensional (seperti tradisi penubuhan hospital dalam dunia Islam bermula dengan bimaristan di Parsi circa 555AD adalah tiada sandaran bukti, atau Baytul Hikma itu tidak wujud) tetapi dapatan2 seperti itu sudah boleh diagak bagi sebuah karya akademik sebegini.

[/d. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really great book on the origins and developments of the Islamic medical tradition. Pormann does as good as a job as one could possibly expect, tracing its developments from the very early pre-Islamic, Greek times to the traditions legacy in the 20th and 21st century. It's a well-written, condensed read and serves as a perfect introduction to the topic, that can point into the right direction if one would want to dig deeper into any particular topic.

[Katie Horan · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great overview of medieval islamic medicine. i wish they explored more the ramifications of the sources being contradictory

[Mark Blackham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book explores Arab medicine before the rise of Islam and then, as the Arab empire grows in sophistication, we see how Arab physicians adopted and improved upon Greek thought and practices. The Arabs were really the first to set up free hospitals with relatively universal practices. During the Crusades, the Europeans were introduced to many advanced techniques and remedies, although to what degree is still debated.

[Humza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative! Contrary to popular belief, modern medicine didn't begin when Sir William Osler decided to grace posterity with his unique European genius..