Publication Date
8th-9th / 14th-15th century
Publication Place
-
The National Museum in Damascus
Subject
Paper written on with ink.
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
Yes
Physical Dimensions
الطول: 20 سم؛ العرض: 15 سم؛ السمك: 3 سم
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Library Asset ID
ع/359
Record ID
object;ISL;sy;Mus01;31;ar
Library Location
The National Museum in Damascus
Date
8th-9th / 14th-15th century
Notes
This manuscript is a copy of a book on medicine and surgery entitled “Al-Tasrif for those who are unable to compose” by the Andalusian surgeon Abu Al-Qasim Khalaf bin Al-Abbas Al-Zahrawi (ca. 329 - 404 / 940 - 1013). The book is divided into arts, as he considers the method of treating any disease an art. In each art, he mentions what the doctor who preceded him said in treating this disease and was famous and creative in treating it, and presents how to treat each case. It also displays the tools that the doctor needs during treatment, draws them, and mentions how to use them, whether they are syringes, cups, cauterization machines, bone saws, scissors, scalpels (surgical scalpels), pliers for extracting teeth, etc. An example of this is what was stated on page 29 that the largest arts in size are Art One, Art Two, and Art Thirty. It is concerned, respectively, with basic medical concepts, symptoms and treatments of 325 diseases, and how to perform surgical operations. These three arts constitute more than half of the book's contents. The remaining twenty-seven arts talk about some topics in the manufacture and description of drugs. Some of the ideas presented in this book are quite innovative. It is believed to be one of the first books containing drawings of medical instruments. This book had a great impact in the Arab, Turkish, and European world as well. It was translated into Latin by “Gerard of Cremona” (d. 1187), and influenced scholars such as “J. Chauliac” (d. 1370) and his followers. An example of one of the arts in the book: (The forty-first art from his sayings by Bulq al-Qurbis on treating gout and joint pain). I wrote this phrase in red, and it is considered a title for what comes next. Then Al-Zahrawi begins by explaining the condition and how to treat it. He draws the used ironing machine, then identifies the places that can be ironed on the feet, then shows the methods of treating the burn resulting from ironing.
Sample Text
Mona al-Moadin “Manuscript on Surgery” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;sy;Mus01;31;ar
Bu sayfanın künyesi
Prepared by:Mona AL-MOADIN
Seçili bibliyografya
Abu al-Faraj al-Ush, M.,A Concise Guide to the National Museum of Damascus,Damascus, 1969, p.216.Savage-Smith, E., “al-Zahrawi, Abu'l Kasim Khalaf b. al-'Abbas,”Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol. XI, Leiden, 1979, pp.398–9.