Qajars period, the Golden Age of Western physicians in Iran

Yohan Louis Schlimmer (Yohannes Lodewik Schlimmer born Rotterdam 1818) who studied medicine in the University of Leiden had an excellent and effective reputation in the Iranian modern medicine during the reign of nãser al-dĪn shah Qajar. After about two years practicing and studying medicine in Syria and Iraq, Schlimmer arrived Gilan (Rasht), where he continued his medical work. Ultimately, the magnetic attraction of Tehran attracted him to this city, the place where he taught medicine at Dãr al-Funūn, did research, practiced medicine, married, owned some children, died (1876) and was buried there. Schlimmer’s masterpiece is his influential medical work "Terminologie Medico-Pharmaceutique et Anthropologique FrançaisePersane" (1874), a major pharmacopoeia. It became his legacy and the cherished guide for future smooth, fluent and easy style writing. As a valuable medical work it was republished in 1970 and again in 2001. Schlimmer with Mirza Aliakbarkhan Nafisi also authored a medical dictionary in Persian under the title "Loghat-nãma" (PersaneFrançaise) which became famous as "Schlimmer’s Dictionary". He created and modified much of the medical terminology used in Iran today. Being a public health officer Schlimmer was the first to define the concept of “public health” (hifz al-sihha) in medical history of Iran.