Journal of Research on History of Medicine
Volume:13 Issue: 3, Aug 2024

The Islamic Maghreb, encompassing modern-day North African countries, was a vast land. It had a rich history of medical practice.  Since the beginning of the arrival of Islam in the Maghreb lands, the medical profession was common and the healers who came to this land with the Islamic armies called “fuqaha al-badan” (lit. “body jurists”), practiced the profession of medicine. The Bani Aghelab Muslim rulers pioneered hospital establishments in the Islamic Maghreb, founding the Damneh Qairwan. After them, the Touloni and Akhshidi rulers and others continued the tradition of building hospitals by building Damneh in Tripoli, Fes, Sousse, and Safaqas in today’s eastern Tunisia. Ibn Tulun also founded Atiq Hospital and Al-Asfal Hospital in Fostat, Egypt. The Muslim rulers stationed great doctors, such as Yohanna bin Maswayh, Ishaq bin Imran Israeli, Ain bin Ain, Ahmad bin Jazzar, Muhammad Jabali, Saeed bin Noufal, and Muhammad bin Abdulrahman Masri in these hospitals.This article employs a descriptive-analytical approach to examine the role and contributions of Muslims in advancing medical knowledge, institutions, and hospitals within the Islamic Maghreb. The primary research question explores the extent of Muslim influence in this development.  The findings of the study show that medicine in the Islamic Maghreb was predominantly experimental from the Muslims’ arrival until the third century of Hijri. However, between the third and fourth centuries of Hijri, in the light of the efforts of doctors, medical knowledge evolved into a science-based practice. This contributed to significant improvements in medical care, facilities, and services, as hospitals expanded and became increasingly effective.

The persistent presence of the plague, following the first wave of the Black Death in the 14th century AD, continued to affect human societies. In the 15th century, this disease had destructive effects on the social situation of the cities of Herat during the Timurid period and Cairo during the Mamluk era, as they were administrative centers of government and centers of various social classes. The present research, employing a descriptive-analytical approach, aims to compare the social consequences of the disease in these two cities. The findings of this study show that, despite the absence of a well-equipped hospital like the one in Cairo, Herat suffered less devastation from the disease due to the construction of a hospital after estimating the plague casualties and its geographical extent. The mortality rate in Herat was significantly lower, and its population structure underwent fewer changes. This is because Herat had recently been chosen as the capital under Shahrukh’s rule, which led to a transition from a nomadic to a settled lifestyle, resulting in a lower population density than Cairo. Herat’s mountainous climate and limited trade accessibility through land routes made it less susceptible to recurrent disease outbreaks and their enduring adverse effects. Conversely, Cairo’s hot, humid climate, flourishing maritime trade, and dependence on land and agriculture contributed to its economic recession during the plague. The economy of Herat, still a young city in the 15th century, was less vulnerable to economic recession due to the plague.

World War I not only resulted in a total of far more than 16,000,000 dead soldiers and civilians but also left countless soldiers with severe wounds and impairments.  The present article focuses on the medical assessments of wounded soldiers during and after World War I. As many official files, including medical records of German World War I soldiers, were destroyed during World War II in April 1945, finding original materials on this topic is challenging. The following article examines an original correspondence between the surgeon, Georg Benno Schmidt (1860 – 1935), and the ophthalmologist, August Wagenmann (1863 – 1955), who were both full professors at Heidelberg University, which took place approximately 15 months after the end of World War I in 1919. This correspondence demonstrates the immense workload faced by physicians responsible for assessing World War I veterans, even more than a year after the war had ended.

“Dracunculus medinensis” or “Guinea worm” disease is transmitted to humans through drinking contaminated water, leading to symptoms such as ague, muscular weakness, and infection. This disease is endemic to arid and warm regions with minimal rainfall and no safe and running water access. The northern bank of the Persian Gulf is one of the regions that has always faced water shortages due to its geographical location and climatic conditions. Hence, people had to rely on stored water in reservoirs, using stagnant water for a long time. This practice contributed to the widespread prevalence of Guinea worm disease in the region until the late 20th century (1996 AD). European travelers and commercial forces faced significant challenges when contracting this non-native and unfamiliar disease; Europeans required a better understanding of the nature, treatment methods, and prevention measures associated with Guinea worm disease to maintain the health and safety of their human resources in the region; Therefore, in this research, we utilize an analytical-descriptive approach to examine travelogues and library resources, assessing the evolution of European coping strategies for this disease from the Safavid to Qajar periods.  The findings of this research show that Europeans initially did not have much clinical information about this disease and relied on indigenous treatment methods. However, as their understanding of the disease’s nature gradually improved, more effective preventative measures were adopted.

The culture of practicing massage therapy in Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM) dates back more than a thousand years. In this article, the authors have tried to evaluate sports massage as a culture while reviewing massage in TPM texts. The types of massage, their functions, and their effects are presented in this study. There is also a brief comparison of the effects of sports massage in current studies. Today, massage has become a widely popular complementary medicine approach. Every year, 18 million Americans receive massages. There are different types of massage in various complementary medicine schools, such as Tuina massage (in Traditional Chinese Medicine) and abhyanga (in Ayurveda), which are related to Chinese and Indian medicine, respectively. In addition, modern therapeutic methods, such as chiropractic and Osteopathy, have their roots in massage.Massage is used in Traditional Persian Medicine under the titles of Dalk (to rub) and Ghamz (to squeeze). In Traditional Persian Medicine, massage serves as both a preventive and therapeutic measure for a variety of health conditions.