Islam's forgotten contributions to medical science

Al-Zahrawi's work had a profound influence on the emerging medical science in medieval and early modern Europe, where the author was known as Abulcasis or Albucasis. However, for centuries the quality of the translations from Arabic into Latin and the accompanying illustrations were less than satisfactory. For example, al-Zahrawi's treatise contained an illustration of a vaginal speculum and 2 types of forceps for extracting a dead fetus (Fig. 1). The speculum was operated by a screw mechanism (at the top; see illustration) and had functional blades. The Arabic caption informs us that the spear-like feature suspended behind the right side of the speculum is a separate instrument, namely a double-edged scalpel (and therefore not connected with the speculum). A 14th-century Latin copy of al-Zahrawi's work, however, shows that the Western illustrator was entirely unfamiliar with the speculum and its mechanical principles (Fig. 2). He drew it upside down, with the blades being mistakenly depicted as a decorative bar. The 6-lobed shape at the foot of the illustration, which ought to be the screw, clearly had no mechanical function. The lantern-shaped device suspended at the right misrepresents the scalpel, which has now been integrated into the speculum.7,8 Such distortions show that, in the 14th century, the Western world had much to learn from the physicians of the Islamic world. In the introduction to his book, alZahrawi pointed out that good practice in surgery requires a sound knowledge of anatomy.9 He also emphasized his religious convictions as a Muslim believer. Al-Zahrawi, as well as many of his colleagues, would have considered the study of anatomy not only as indispensable to their professional advancement, but also as a means to understand the wisdom of God's design and, in particular, the perfection of the human being, God's supreme creation.10 This mode of thinking was best expressed by the 12th-century physician and philosopher from Muslim Spain Ibn Rushd, known in Latin as Averroes, who stated: "He who is engaged in the science of anatomy, increases his belief in God."11 However, the anatomical study of the human body was problematic because it required dissection. A number of scholars - religious scholars in particular - seem to have been opposed to the practice since it implied mutilation of God's most noble creation. The medical texts on the other hand - particularly those of the nth and 13th centuries - make frequent references to dissection