SOCH111 History of Healing · PDF fileSOCH111 –History of Healing ... o...

SOCH111 – History of Healing

www.endeavour.edu.au

Session 13

Middle Eastern and

Traditional Jewish

Medicines

Department of Social

Sciences

© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 2

Session Aims

o To examine both traditional and scholarly/

philosophical forms of medicine in the historical

Middle East in Persian, Arabic and Jewish

cultures

o To define the role and contributions of Persian

and Arabic physicians/philosophers in the

history of Western/scientific medicine

o To discuss the whole medical system of Unani-

Tibb and its similarities to Eastern systems


Middle East

Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=188718

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=188718


Historical Timeframes

o Judaism established as a religion— ~2000 BCE

o Persian Empire—6th century BCE to 7th century

CE

o Byzantine/Eastern Roman Empire—4th to 15th

century CE

o Islam established as a religion—7th century CE

o Islamic Empire—7th century to 13th century CE


Persian Empire

By Ali Zifan - Own work. CC BY-SA 4.0,




Culture and Religiono Historically similar to Indian

culture and spirituality

o Zoroastrianism: connected

somewhat to the Vedas and

Egyptian symbology

o Cosmology of the world as a

battlefield, man as a

microcosm of that

o Concepts of soul, afterlife,

judgment, heaven and hell,

and free will

By Roodiparse - Own work, Public Domain,




Persian Medicine

o Human body is a microcosm of

the Universe and understood in

relation to the external world

o Promotion of the development

of science; human dissection

practiced

o Influenced by pre-Hippocratic

Greek and Syrian philosophies

o 3rd century CE: first university

teaching hospital established in

southwest PersiaBy Arabischer Maler des Kräuterbuchs

des Dioskurides - Public Domain,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/inde

x.php?curid=147655



Byzantine Empire

By Tataryn - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,




Culture and Religiono Re-establishment of Greek

culture

o Greek Orthodox Christianity

o Strong trade-based economy

o Abundant food resources,

areas of wealth

o Robust military forces

o High standard of living and

public health in cities, with

sewers and water systems

Public Domain,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid

=2069094



Transmission of Knowledge

o Classical Greco-Roman

culture, science and

philosophy preserved in

Byzantine Empire whilst it

dissipated in Western

Europe

o Women participated in

intellectual life of the

culture

o Greatest Byzantine writer

was female historian Anna

Comnené

By (C) copyright © Coptic Museum, Egypt. Uploaded by

mcorazao, Public Domain,




Byzantine Medicineo Re-invigoration of historical

Greco-Roman medicine and

texts

o First culture in which church and

state hospitals widely flourished,

and with walk-in dispensaries,

formed the hubs of medicine

o Charitable and monastic

medicine played key roles

o Monastery libraries were key to

copying and preservation of

classical knowledgePublic Domain,




Islamic Empire

By DieBuche - Public Domain,




Religion and Cultureo Muhammed viewed as a third prophet following on

Moses and Jesus bringing a restoration to

monotheistic Abrahamic faith

o Writings of the Qu’ran and Hadith (‘wise sayings’)

were closely followed by his adherents

o Powerful and wealthy empire, great cities built,

extensive trade routes established, as well as

schools, universities and mosques

o Bath houses part of culture, as Qu’ran emphasized

hygiene and cleanliness

o Islam also strongly emphasized importance of

learning, and books were highly valued


Transmission of Knowledge

o Arabic scholars were the major

bridge for transmission of

ancient Greco-Roman

philosophy and medicine to

Europe leading into the Middle

Ages

o Many texts would have been

lost forever if not for Arabic

translations that were

eventually translated into Latin

and other European languages

By Abu Ali Ibn Sina - Public Domain,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index

.php?curid=9362194



Developments in Scienceo Persian Arabic physicians

influenced by Byzantine,

Indian, Chinese, and other

areas of the Islamic empire

o Evidence that Persian

physicians were involved in

human dissection, which

was strictly forbidden

o The Qu’ran describes the

process of embryogenesis,

including development of

organsPublic Domain,




Alchemyo Knowledge and practices

around how to prepare

medicines

o Named and characterised

many different substances,

some of which had

medicinal value

o Many drugs now in use are

of Arabic origin, as well as

processes such as

distillation and sublimationBy Codici Ashburnhamiani 1166, Public Domain,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curi

d=163740



Revision Questions

o What were some of the paths of transmission and

development of knowledge from the ancient Greco-

Roman period into the medieval period?

o What were some of the influences of religion and

culture through this period?

Other food for thought:o What do you think the benefits and challenges

were of blending historical Greco-Roman, Indian,

Chinese, and Persian medical thought under the

influence of the religions of that time?


Ibn Rāzī (Rhazes)o ~850 - ~930 CE

o Muslim philosopher and

alchemist considered to

have been the greatest

physician of the Islamic

empire

o Atomic theory of composition

of matter, similar to

Democritus

o Differential diagnosis: the

idea that different diseases

might have similar signs

and symptoms

By Gerardus Cremonensis - Public Domain,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php

?curid=3691634



Ibn Rāzī (Rhazes)

o ~900 CE, set up and ran a

new hospital in Baghdad

o Wrote ~200 medical texts

o First to describe

differences between

smallpox and measles

o Described fever not as part

of the illness but as an

indication that the body

was fighting illnessBy Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-

Razi - Public Domain,

https://commons.wikimedia.org

/w/index.php?curid=673628



Ibn Sīnā/Avicenna

o ~980 - 1037 CE

o Most famous of the philosopher-

scientists of the medieval Islamic

world

o Wrote over 240 books on

mathematics/geometry,

astronomy, metaphysics, physics,

philology, geography, geology,

alchemy, music and poetry, as

well as medicine

o Unified classification of all

knowledge

By Adam Jones CC BY-SA 2.0,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/in

dex.php?curid=30320426



Canon of Medicine

o Completed in 1025 CE

o Most comprehensive medical text

to date

o Encyclopaedia of diseases,

naming causes and symptoms,

and suggesting treatments

o Comprised of five books

o Translation of the Canon from

Arabic to Latin was how ancient

Greek medical knowledge was

transmitted to Europe

By http://www.library.yale.edu/oacis/scopa/scopa_ibnsina_ms5.html, Public

Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1317972



Ibn Sīnā/Avicennao Correlation of sweet urine to

diabetes

o Asthma treatment considered

more effective than modern

medicine

o Treatment of liver disease in

alignment with modern research

o Wine as a wound dressing,

commonly used in medieval

Europe

o Reduction of spinal deformities

using pressure and tractionBy Nick Taylor - CC BY 2.0,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php

?curid=4583624



Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides)

o Born 1135 in Islamic

Spain, died 1204 in Egypt

o Jewish philosopher,

scholar, physician, jurist;

foremost intellectual

figure of medieval

Judaism

o Wrote many important

texts on religion,

philosophy and medicine,

influencing both Jewish

and non-Jewish scholars

By Almog - Own work, Public Domain,




Other Medical Scholarso Masuya (Ibn Masawaih)

777-857 CE: Persian

Christian physician,

original anatomical

studies

o Abu al-Qasim (Albucasis)

936-1013 CE: greatest

Arabic medieval surgeon,

shaped European surgical

procedures until the

Renaissance By Abu'l Qasim al-

Zahrawi - Public

Domain,

https://commons.wiki

media.org/w/index.p

hp?curid=1676316



Arabic Medicineo Arabic towns and cities

had hospitals, often more

than one

o Doctors, once trained,

were given a license to

practice

o Doctors were a mix of

Muslims, Jews and

Christians, and not all

were native to the region

o Surgeons were held in

lower regard than

physicians

By Mxcil - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,




Unani-Tibb

o Unani = “Greek/Ionian”

o Tibb = “medicine”

o Unani-Tibb = the system of

medicine that developed

during Arab civilisation out

of the Greek system of

humoral medicine

o Foundational treatise:

Avicenna’s Canon of

MedicineBy

http://www.library.yale.edu/oacis/scopa/sco

pa_ibnsina_ms5.html, Public Domain,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.ph

p?curid=1317972



Four Temperaments

o Sanguine—Air/Blood

o Choleric—Yellow Bile/Fire

o Melancholic—Black Bile/Earth

o Phlegmatic—Phlegm/Water

o Temperament: an individual’s

physical constitution,

susceptibilities and tendencies

within an elemental frameworkOriginal source, Public Domain,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/i

ndex.php?curid=809041



Four Temperaments

o The temperament of a person is the dominant

humour in their body

o Imbalance in temperament predisposes the body

and mind to various diseases

o Air, water, food, rest, activity, work, elimination of

wastes, sleep, etc. will influence balance or

imbalance of temperament

o Drugs and foods are also classified by their

temperament and will have specific influence on the

balance of the humours based on that classification


Healing Principleso Six essential factors for

temperament:

• Ambient air

• Food and drink

• Physical activity and rest

• Emotions and feelings

• Sleep and wakefulness

• Retention of fluids and

evacuation of wastes

o Gentlest treatments

possible used to restore

balance of humoursBy Tom Lemmens - CC0,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.

php?curid=26471210



Healing Practiceso Emphasis on clinical

observation and recording

signs and symptoms

o Materia medica became

blended with that of Ayurveda

o Advances in drug preparation

and other methods of

chemistry, such as distillation

o Invention of methods of

anaesthesia (but surgery only

a last resort)By Evelyn Simak, CC BY-SA 2.0,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/ind

ex.php?curid=14132749



Revision Questions

o Name three luminaries of Arabic medicine in the

Middle Ages.

o What were the contributions of the Canon of

Medicine to Western medical history?

Other food for thought:o Many aspects of Greco-Arabic medicine migrated

to Western Europe, whilst others, such as

anaesthesia and hygiene, did not. Why do you

think that is?


Jewish History o Stemming from the history of

the ancient Israelites as

recounted in the Bible

o Origins ~2000 BCE

o Centred in Israel and

surrounding lands, but with

cultural interaction with a wide

variety of other early

civilisations, including Egyptian,

Babylonian, and Greco-Roman

By Marcin n® ☼ CC

BY-SA 2.5,

https://commons.wikim

edia.org/w/index.php?c

urid=1970413



Culture and Religion

o Belief in obedience to God’s

law, as told through Moses

and documented in the

Torah, in all aspects of

communal and individual life

o All behavior, as well as law,

social customs, diet, ethics

and medicine, are tied to

religious laws

o Based on the concept of a

personal and communal

relationship with God

By HOWI - Horsch, Willy - CC BY-SA 4.0,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.p

hp?curid=3187456



Traditional Jewish Medicineo Old Testament contains references to quarantine

and health protection, sanitary regulations on meat

handling, rapid burial processes and social hygiene

o Midwives are mentioned as well as physicians

o Treatments mentioned include healing waters and

bathing, anointing with oils, wine, balms and

medicinal compresses, and splinting fractures, as

well as health benefits of music

o Medicinal plant resins of gum, balm and laudanum

(opium) are mentioned, as well as myrrh, cassia,

cinnamon and hyssop


The Talmud

o Hebrew text written by a large number of Rabbis

through the 5th century CE that is the basis for all

Jewish law

o Widely covers law, ethics, philosophy, customs,

medicine, history and cultural lore

o Mar Samuel:

greatest Talmudic

physician

Public Domain,

https://commons.wik

imedia.org/w/index.p

hp?curid=2177328



Talmudic Medicineo Most medicines from

plants and trees,

including oils

o Most important animal

medicine is honey

o Many common foods

used as medicines

o Drugs prepared by

cooking, pulverising to

powders, or making

into salves or poulticesBy George Shuklin - Own work, CC BY-SA 1.0,




Healing Principleso Sympathy: a variant

on “like cures like”

o Contact: objects in

contact with each

other continue to

influence after contact

ends

o Antipathy: an object

or substance that

drives something else

away

By Bluewind - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,




Role of Superstition/Magic

o Segulot: particular object that

has an “occult virtue” used as

a magical remedy, a charm

o Many superstitious “cures”

and preventative practices/

rituals

o Rabbis concerned about

superstition, but allowed it

indicating that anything used

for therapeutic purposes

would not be considered

superstitioushttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki

/File%3ASefer_raziel_segulot.png

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sefer_raziel_segulot.png


Healing Ritualso Recitation of passages

from the Torah; prayer

o Repetition of treatments a

certain number of times

o Transferring an illness

from a person to another

object or being

o Preservation of Germanic

magical cures

o Changing a person’s

nameBy Edward Poynter - Public Domain,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/ind

ex.php?curid=14659481



Healing Waters

o Use of natural

springs and other

healing waters was

a well-known

healing modality

o Hot springs of

Tiberias on the

shore of the Sea of

Galilee are famous By Unknown - Postcard: UVACHROM 6067, Public Domain,




Traditional Jewish Herbalism

o St Johns Wort: used as a

diuretic and expectorant

o Fennel: for abdominal

disorders and threatened

miscarriage

o Sage: as a cure for

paralysis and to aid

digestion (mixed with

saltpeter, bay and

cinnamon) By Franz Eugen Köhler, Public Domain,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.

php?curid=255453



Medieval Periodo With formal role of physician

established, narrow line

between physicians and

traditional healers

o Physicians seen as powerful

across realms of both

science and religion

o Balancing the humours

played a key role alongside

the more superstitious and

traditional practices

By http://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/image/L0004087.html, CC

BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35866840



Revision Questions

o What was the relationship between religion and

medicine in historical Jewish culture?

o List three types of healing practices used in

traditional Jewish medicine.

Other food for thought:o Why do you think the concept of the four elements

and four humours was so easily adopted across

different cultures?


Referenceso DiStefano, V 2006, Holism and complementary medicine: origins and principles, Allen & Unwin, Crows

Nest, NSW. [ebook available]

o Encyclopedia Britannica Online, Abu Al-Qasim, viewed 25 July 2016 <https://www.Britannica.com/biography/Abu-al-Qasim>.

o Encyclopedia Britannica Online, Al-Razi, viewed 25 July 2016 <https://www.Britannica.com/biography/al-Razi>.

o Encyclopedia Britannica Online, Avicenna, viewed 25 July 2016 <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Avicenna>.

o Encyclopedia Britannica Online, History of Medicine, viewed 27 July 2016 <https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-medicine/Hellenistic-and-Roman-medicine#toc35652>.

o Encyclopedia Britannica Online, Judaism, viewed 1 August 2016 <https://www.britannica.com/topic/Judaism>.

o Encyclopedia Britannica Online, Moses Maimonides, viewed 25 July 2016 <https://www.Britannica.com/biography/Moses-Maimonides>.

o Encyclopedia Britannica Online, Zoroastrianism, viewed 27 July 2016 <https://www.britannica.com/topic/Zoroastrianism/Practices-and-institutions>.

o Jabin, F 2011, ‘A Guiding Tool in Unani Tibb for Maintenance and Preservation of Health: A Review Study’, Afr J Tradit Complement Altern Med, vol. 8, no. 5 (Suppl), pp 140–143 viewed 1 August 2016 <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3252723/>.

o Kayne, SB 2010, Traditional medicine: a global perspective, Pharmaceutical Press, London.

o Kelly, N et al 2002, Medicine through time, 2nd edn, Heinemann, Oxford.

o Mohammadali, MS and Tubbs, RS 2007, ‘The History of Anatomy in Persia’, Journal of Anatomy, vol. 210, no. 4, pp 359–378. viewed 26 July 2016 <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2100290/>.

o Moosavi, J 2009, ‘The Place of Avicenna in the History of Medicine’, Avicenna J Med Biotechnol, vol. 1, no. 1, pp 3–8. viewed 26 July 2016 <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3558117/>.

o Science Museum Brought to Life: Exploring the History of Medicine, Unani-Tibb, viewed 29 July 2016 <http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/techniques/unanitibb>.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Abu-al-Qasim

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Avicenna

http://www.britannica.com/biography/al-Razi

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Avicenna

https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-medicine/Hellenistic-and-Roman-medicine#toc35652

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Judaism

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Moses-Maimonides

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Zoroastrianism/Practices-and-institutions

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3252723/



http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/techniques/unanitibb

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