This commentary has several aims: (1) to discuss terminology; (2) to explain editorial remarks; (3) to suggest an alternative reading or interpretation; (4) to verify the quotations to which Ms. Escorial refers; (5) to offer background into the medical framework; and (6) to suggest further reading when some central medical statements are only briefly mentioned in Ms. Escorial. Drugs, potions and other remedies can be found in the index of materia medica and List of Prescriptions. The commentary follows the logical order of the paragraphs in the edition of Ms. Escorial.
0:1 â®â .....................â â¬â: It is most likely that a phrase praising Allah has been erased from the manuscript. This may have occurred during the manuscriptâs adaptation to a Christian context when it was brought to Europe1âthe manuscript is, after all, preserved in a Spanish monastery. Despite using UV technology while consulting the physical copy of Ms. Escorial, no trace of the original wording could be recovered.
0:13 Phlebotomised veins: The fifth chapter concerns the phlebotomised veins, not the blood in them, as Ms. Escorial reads: â®
1:1 Nutriment: For Galenâs account of how food becomes nutriment, see e.g., Galen, On the Usefulness of the Parts of the Body, translated into English by Margaret Tallmadge May (1996); and Galen, On the Properties of Foodstuffs, translated into English by Powell (2003).
1:2 Blood is the most balanced of the humours: Galen: âOf the humors, the most useful and most familiar is the blood.â2 See also Maimonides, Aphorisms 2: âBlood is something composed of all the humors according to a natural ratio. It is called âbloodâ because of its dominance over the other humors. And this is 2what comes out through venesection and cupping. When we say that the body contains four humorsâblood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bileâby blood we do not mean something composed of all the humors, but something existing, in our conception, unmixed with the other humors.â3
Humours: Hippocrates explains the principle of the humours as follows: âThe body of man has in itself blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile; these make up the nature of his body, and through these he feels pain or enjoys health.â4 Different humours dominate in different seasons: âPhlegm increases in a man in winter; for phlegm, being the coldest constituent of the body, is closest akin to winter. [â¦] And in spring too phlegm still remains strong in the body, while the blood increases. For the cold relaxes, and the rains come on, while the blood accordingly increases through the showers and the hot days. For these conditions of the year are most akin to the nature of blood, spring being moist and warm. [â¦] And in summer blood is still strong, and bile rises in the body and extends until autumn. In autumn blood becomes small in quantity, as autumn is opposed to its nature, while bile prevails in the body during the summer season and during autumn.â5
Innate heat: Innate heat in Galenâs system: âThere are two kinds of heat; the ordinary variety, which burns things up, and the innate heat of living creatures, which makes the body grow instead of consuming it, and also has the power of generation. The innate heat is often equated with nature in Galenâs works; it is the life of the body, which dies when it is extinguished. Since it is distributed to every part with the arterial blood, it is often also equated with blood. The innate heat, as its name suggests, is not acquired from outside; it comes to the embryo through the semen, which contains the hot principle, and resides in the arterial blood of the left ventricle when the heart is formed.â6
As wood for the fire: Corresponds to Galen: âNot only do the parts of the animal derive their nourishment from the blood, but the innate heat also owes its continuance to it, just as the fire on the hearth does to the burning of suitable logs, by which we see whole houses made warm.â7
As Galen said: This is clearly a quotation from Galen, although I have not been able to identify the source.
Motion: Galen explains this term as follows: âWhen, therefore, such and such a body undergoes no change from its existing state, we say that it is at rest; but, if it departs from this in any respect we then say in this respect it undergoes motion. Accordingly, when it departs in various ways from its pre-existing state, it will be said to undergo various kinds of motion.â8 This can happen with respect to colour, flavour, quality, transference, growth and decay, genesis and destruction.9
1:3 Erasistratus: Ms. Escorial reads â®
â®
إ٠جاÙÙÙÙس Ø°Ùر اÙعÙاج باÙÙصد ÙÙ Ùتاب٠اÙ٠س٠٠âØÙÙØ© اÙبرء âÙÙÙ Ùتاب٠âÙ٠تدبÙر اÙأصØاء âÙÙÙ Ù ÙاÙØ© Ù Ùردة ÙاÙض ÙÙÙا أراسسطراطس ÙبÙÙ ÙÙÙا بÙاÙا ÙاضØا Ø£ÙÙ Ùا٠٠خطئا Ù٠ترÙ٠اÙعÙاج باÙÙصد .â11â¬â¬â
1:4 Hippocrates ⦠three kinds of nutriment: âNutriment is what nourishes, what can nourish, and what will nourish.â12 Galenâs views on this topic, based on Hippocratesâ statement above and introducing the terms âquasi-nutrimentâ and âdestined nutrimentâ used in this edition, are discussed in detail in Galen, Nat. Fac., I. XI: âFor to that which is already being assimilated he gave the name of nutriment; to the similar material which is being presented or becoming adherent, the name of quasi-nutriment; and to everything elseâthat is, contained in the stomach and veinsâthe name of destined nutriment.â13
That which is constantly dissolved from them: Ms. Escorial reads ââ®
1:5 Inflation: According to Galen, inflation (intifÄḫ) is a swelling that arises from thin phlegm. The term is a translation of the Greek
1:7 He said: Galen is most likely intended, as this passage and those that follow continue with Galenic material: âAnd if one considers along with this the adjacent viscera, like a lot of burning hearths around a great cauldronâto the right the liver, to the left the spleen, the heart above, and along with it the diaphragm (suspended and in a state of constant movement), and the omentum sheltering them allâyou may believe what an extraordinary alteration it is which occurs in the good taken into the stomach. How could it easily become blood if it were not previously prepared by means of a change of this kind?â15
Large omentum: Galen on omentum: âWhy is this part [the omentum] so very extensive in man, covering all the intestines? Is it that in man the concoctions are very feeble and the skin very soft, devoid of hair, and very easily injured? In other animals, to be sure, the omentum does not cover the stomach alone, but spreads over the intestines to a greater or lesser extent in accordance with the nature of each animal.â16
1:8 Whenever the stomach feels the need for nutriment: understood as it is the attraction (imtiá¹£Äá¹£) that brings the food to the stomach, and then the stomach clings to the food and thus receives nutriment. Galen says: âAnd this cannot possibly take place in any other way than by the stomach drawing the food to itselfâ.17
1:9 Porta: Galen discusses this topic in UP, IV, 1, pp. 204â¯ff.
Had it not been for the watery fluid that mixes with the blood: Galen: âFor the chyle resulting from the food could not be taken up successfully from the stomach into the veins and could not pass easily through the many fine veins in the liver unless some thinner, watery fluid were mixed with it as a vehicle. In fact, this is the reason why water is useful to the animal; for although no part can be nourished by water, nutriment could not be distributed from the stomach if it were not conducted in this way by moisture of some sort.â18
Straight veins: What is meant with this is unknown. It may be that Ms. Escorial should read al-Ê¿urÅ«q al-Ê¿aáºÄ«ma, âgreat veinsâââgreat vesselsâ are mentioned in Galen, UP;19 âgreat arteryâ features in Galen, Meth. Med. III.20
1:10 A large vein: i.e., vena cava. Galen: âAnother vessel, a vein, which is called hollow because of its size [the vena cava], passes from the convexity of the liver upward and downward and resembles a sort of double trunk; for some parts of our body are higher than the liver and some are lower.â21
Convexity of the liver â¦: Hippocrates: âRoot of veins, liver; root of arteries, heart.â22 Corresponds to al-RÄzÄ«âs al-KitÄb al-ManṣūrÄ«: âAll the veins arise from the convexity of the liver, the liver being concave on the interior side, convex on the exterior side. A large vein grows from its convex side.â23 For a complete chapter on veins, see De Koning, Trois Traités dâAnatomie Arabes (pp. 36â43).
By the instruments assigned for it: probably the kidneys. Galen: âWhen these thin fluids have finished their work, they should no longer be retained in the body because they would become an alien burden to the veins. This is the purpose for which the kidneys have been formed, hollow instruments that attract this thin, watery residue through one set of canals and expel it through another.â24
They take from each other, because they are connected: The closest parallel I have found in Hippocratesâ Nutriment is: âThere is one flowing together, one breathing together: all things are in accord. All things belong to one system, but part by part the parts of each part fulfill their functions.â25 See also Hippocrates, Places in Man: âAll vessels communicate and flow into one another.â26 See also Galen, UP: âAll over the body the arteries and veins communicate with one another by common openings and exchange blood and pneuma through certain invisible and extremely narrow passages.â27
2:1 The circumstances that must be considered: This corresponds to what Galen and also Qusá¹Ä ibn LÅ«qÄ have written on the topic.28 In his KitÄb al-IklÄ«l, al-RÄzÄ« states that unlike phlebotomy, cupping may be used during all seasons, for whomever and wherever.29
2:2 Disposition: Diathesis, in Greek
Unbalanced: The word in Ms. Escorial is corrupt, but Ms. Parma reads â®
2:3 Nutriment at the time of the paroxysm intensifies the fever: Galen: âWhen movement to the depths prevails without inflammation of a viscus or a surplus of humors, you will do no harm if you nourish a little more quickly during the paroxysms whereas, if there is either some inflammation or abundance, you must guard against nourishment prior to the paroxysm as this is a very harmful thing [to do].â35
Hippocrates â¦: âAbstain from food at the time of the paroxysmâ: Hippocrates: âAnd if through lack of forethought there is an attack of fever, nothing should be given for three days except water. If the fever go down in that time, well and good; if it does not, treat the patient with barley water, and on the fourth or the seventh day he will sweat and be quit of the trouble.â36
2:4 Physician: The Arabic word â®
Fourteen days: Hippocrates: âAcute diseases come to a crisis in fourteen days.â38 This period also marks a critical limit for prognosis: regarding jaundice, Hippocrates states that the âpatient generally dies within fourteen days; if he survives that many, he recovers.â39 For a thorough explanation of how this can be concluded, and how the regimen should be applied, see Galen, Opt. Med. Ex., p. 67 (4, 6â10).
[In the case of] a very acute illness, one has to apply a very restricted regimen: This concept is confirmed both by Hippocrates and Galen. Hippocrates: âWhere the disease is very acute, immediately, not only is the pain extreme, but also it is essential to employ a regimen of extreme strictness.â40 Galen referring to Hippocrates: âWhen the disease is at its height a very restricted regimen must be used.â41
A very restricted regimen: Ms. Escorial reads: â®
Regimen: Cf. Powell in Galen, Alim. Fac.: âThe way to this state of excellence, many believed, was through diaita, which we usually translate as regimen, and which meant much more than the word diet that is derived from it, embracing as it did virtually everything to do with the lifestyle of the individual. According to Celsus it was one of three forms of therapy available to the physician (although therapy was only a part of its purpose)âthe others being surgery and pharmacology. The concerns of regimen were with the whole of an individualâs activities, covering such things as how often and when one should bathe; the nature of oneâs work and leisure; sexual activity; and, of course, the food one ate and its preparation. This was a holistic approach to personal health two millennia before the word was coined and the concept popularized in the twentieth century.â44
2:5 Barley broth: also translated as gruel. It was considered a suitable dish for many ailments. Hippocrates: âNow I think that gruel made from barley has rightly been preferred over other cereal foods in acute diseases, and I commend those who preferred it; for the gluten of it is smooth, consistent, soothing, lubricant, moderately soft, thirst-quenching, easy of evacuation should this property too be valuable, and it neither has astringency nor causes disturbance in the bowels or swells up in them. During the boiling, in fact, it has expanded to the utmost of its capacity.â45
Bread pith: Ms. Escorial reads â®
2:6 As to the age, boys â¦: Corresponds to Galen: âThose who have large veins, who are moderately slender and neither fair nor soft-fleshed, you will evacuate freely. Those of the opposite type, however, must be sparingly evacuated, since they have little blood and flesh that transpires well. For the same reason you will not phlebotomise children up to the age of fourteen.â47
Old men, i.e., from the beginning of sixty years: Corresponds to Galen: âSome sixty-year-olds can no longer bear phlebotomy, while some people of seventy still can. But obviously you will remove less from these, even if they appear to be in the same condition as a body in the prime of life.â48
Galen mentioned that he phlebotomised old men in the age of seventy years: Galen: âYou have learned to trust the strong, regular pulse as an infallible sign of strength of the faculties; this applies even more strongly to the large pulse. Thus you will phlebotomise even the seventy-year-olds, if the kind of pulse I have mentioned is present, whenever their condition demands it.â49
2:7 Al-Fusá¹Äá¹: Ms. Escorial reads MadÄ«nat Miá¹£r, referring to al-Fusá¹Äá¹, that was the capital of Egypt.50 However, this location is commonly not connected to al-RÄzÄ«. As discussed in the introduction, Ibn al-NadÄ«m does mention al-RÄzÄ« visiting various countries,51 offering a general indication of wider travels that aligns with a claim by al-Khalidi, who in his book Al-KÄ«miyÄʾ Ê¿ind al-Ê¿Arab specifically mentions Iraq, Syria, Egypt, and al-Andalus as regions that al-RÄzÄ« visited in search of knowledge: âirtaḥala fÄ« á¹alab l-Ê¿ilm ilÄ l-Ê¿IrÄq, wa-l-Å Äm, wa-Miá¹£r wa-l-Andalusâ.52 However, the lack of additional support and immediate sourcing for al-Khalidiâs claim necessitates a cautious approach to this information. Another indication of the authorâs familiarity with Egypt is evident in §â¯11:5, where he briefly notes some Egyptian customs and habits, and their distinct terminology in comparison to Iraq.
Verjuice: âAn acidic juice obtained by pressing unripe grapes, or a juice of other unripe fruitsâ.53
Syrup: According to Temkin, syrups were âan Arabic contribution to pharmacology.â54
Syrup of both [types of] pomegranates: What is meant by this is both sweet (ḥulw) and sour (ḥÄmiá¸) pomegranates.55
SikbÄǧ, ḥiá¹£rimiyya, rummÄniyya, summÄqiyya, Ê¿adasiyya: For more on these dishes, see commentary for §â¯11:5.
2:8 There is no fixed limit: Corresponds to Galen: âwe cannot lay down in black and white a fixed amount to be removed in each of the conditions mentioned.â56 Furthermore, Qusá¹Ä ibn LÅ«qÄ mentions that there is no specific amount of blood one shall extract, but instead, one has to take into account all the distinguishing features of each case, i.e., body type, nature of the illness, mixture of the country, the present time, the age of the patient and their strength.57 The weights and measures mentioned in Ms. Escorial depend on time and place, introducing a degree of uncertainty regarding their equivalence. For a brief overview of weights and measures, see index of weights and measures.
Galen mentioned â¦: Galen: âI have known myself remove as much as six pounds of blood from some patients, extinguishing the fever forthwith and doing the faculties no harm; yet in others one and a half could not be taken without some slight injury to the faculties, and if two had been taken from these patients, the gravest damage would have resulted.â58
In his treatise, On Strength and Weakness, Qusá¹Äs reported â¦: Ms. Escorial refers to Qusá¹Ä ibn LÅ«qÄ, who indeed wrote the aforementioned treatise which was preserved in the Aleppo ḤakÄ«m collection and could not be consulted.59 That Ê¿AbdullÄh al-RÄzÄ« phlebotomised a patient is supported by Ms. Parma: â®
2:9 Hard-working: Ms. Escorial reads â®
Rational thinking in sciences that require concentration: Ms. Escorial reads al-Ê¿ulÅ«m al-daqÄ«qa, âexact sciences,â understood as âexacting sciences,â i.e., sciences that require concentration.61 On the other hand, in their book Islamicate Occult Sciences in Theory and Practice, Liana Saif and Francesca Leoni mention that the term al-Ê¿ulÅ«m al-daqÄ«qa, i.e., âthe intricate sciences,â is synonymous with the occult sciences.62 This sort of an interest comes with a risk: âNo-one who devotes too much effort to thinking about a certain science (fikr fÄ« Ê¿ilm mÄ) can avoid ending up with melancholy.â63
2:10 Those who have not yet undergone this procedure: Galen: âsomeone who is not used to bleeding [should not proceed to perform venesection].â64
2:11 The most tolerant bodies for phlebotomy are â¦: Galen: âThose who have large veins, who are moderately slender and neither fair nor soft-fleshed, you will evacuate freely. Those of the opposite type, however, must be sparingly evacuated, since they have little blood and flesh that transpires well.â65
We may also see bodies that are fat â¦: Galen in Maimonides, Aphorisms 24: âThere are bodies that are extremely emaciated and [yet] have much blood, and there are other bodies that are obese and fat and [yet] have little blood.â66
2:12 A woman who suffered from amenorrhea for eight months: I have not been able to consult this specific book in Galenâs commentary on Hippocratesâ Epidemics, but the case is documented in other sources. âGalen reports [the case] of a woman whose menstruation was retained for eight months and who was extremely emaciated. When he saw that the blood was flowing copiously in her vessels but that it had a livid color, he bled her and extracted on the first day a quantity of one and a half raá¹l of dark blood resembling liquid tar. On the second day he extracted one raá¹l and on the third day eight ounces. And he said that she was cured and her body returned to its [normal] condition in a short time.â67
2:13 Muḥammad ibn Ê¿Abd al-Malik al-ZayyÄt: Ms. Escorial reads Aḥmad Ê¿Abd al-Malik al-ZayyÄt, probably referring to Muḥammad ibn Ê¿Abd al-Malik al-ZayyÄt (d. 243/847), who was a vizier in the Abbasid period under the caliphs al-MuÊ¿taá¹£im and al-WÄṯiq, and an important sponsor of the translation of the works of Galen.68
2:14: Experience: It was highly important that the physician was educated and has experience, as already Hippocrates mentioned: âLife is short, the Art long, opportunity fleeting, experiment treacherous, judgment difficult. The physician must be ready, not only to do his duty himself, but also to secure the co-operation of the patient, of the attendants and of externals.â69 In Epidemics I, he says: âThe art has three factors, the disease, the patient, the physician. The physician is the servant of the art. The patient must cooperate with the physician in combating the disease.â70
Scammony: The Arabic word in Ms. Escorial, â®
2:16 Spring is the most optimal season for phlebotomy: Galen: âThe first point is that the health of the primary body parts consists on the balance of the mixture of hot, cold, dry and wet. The second is that spring is the most balanced season in (terms of) mixture when it maintains its characteristic mixture, and blood therefore increases during it.â72
Galen mentioned ⦠Rome: I have not managed to locate this quotation.
2:17 Countries: Content identical to information given in several long passages in Hippocratesâ Airs, Waters, Places (LCL 147), chapters III, IV, and V. See also Galen, Meth. Med. G., Book I, chapter 15 (LCL 523: 402â¯ff.).
The Big Dipper: The asterism of Big Dipper consists of seven bright stars that belong to the larger constellation of Ursa Major, i.e., Dubhe (
Ursa Minor: The constellation of Ursa Minor consists of three bright stars,
Canopus: Canopus (
2:18 Blood increases by eating young meat and confections, and by drinking wines: Foodstuffs discussed in detail in Galen: On the Properties of Foodstuffs, edited and translated by Powell (2003). According to Galen, the flesh of animals from the pig family is the best meat,76 but it is understandable that al-RÄzÄ« due to Islamic influences does not hold this view. Young meat in general, according to Galen, is superior to the meat of older animals.77 Of wines, thick, red wines are the most beneficial for producing blood.78
Wine: Wine, in Arabic â®
2:19 Hippocrates declared this â¦: I have not managed to locate this quotation.
The humours in the body are [not] balanced: Since the principle of phlebotomy is to restore the balance in the body when the humours are out of balance, most likely a negation was missing.
As Galen said in his book On Simple Drugs: I have not been able to locate this quotation.
3:2 The causes that make phlebotomy necessary: Galen in Cur. Rat. Ven. Sec.: âThose who intend to use phlebotomy must consider first of all how many states of the body there are that call for evacuation. The next question is, which of these states require evacuation by phlebotomy; for there are many conditions, some of which need some other sort of evacuation, and certainly not bloodletting.â80
3:3 Overfilling: In Galen on Bloodletting, Brain translates this as plethos, or plethora, from the Greek
Overfilling, which is divided into two parts: i.e., overfilling relating to vessels, and overfilling affecting the strength. In Galen on Bloodletting, Brain translates these as plethos by filling and dynamic plethos: âIt has been shown in my book on plethos that plethos is of two kinds, both in origin and in terminology. One set of signs indicates dynamic plethos, another the variety due to dilatation of the vessels containing the humours, which some call plethos by filling.â84
Overfilling relating to vessels: Galen: âThe other sort, which is known as plethos by filling, also frequently rushes down into parts, leading to swellings, but it is a cause of apoplexies and rupture of veins as well; it is therefore essential to try to evacuate plethos quickly, before it has a chance to do the patient some grave harm.â85
Pneuma: Galen identifies three types of pneuma: vital pneuma that is generated in the heart and the arteries, that is produced from the inhalation and vaporisation of the humours; psychic pneuma, that is generated from a further refinement of the vital pneuma in the retiform web through the carotid arteries, reaching the ventricles of the brain;86 and natural pneuma, generated in the liver and distributed through the veins.87
The body is healthy: Galen: âwhen the faculties are oppressed by plethos, it may be that the person has not yet become ill.â88
Magnitude of pulse: In general, pulse is a strong prognostic sign. For more about pulse in prognostics, see, e.g., Maimonides, Aphorisms 4, âContaining aphorisms concerning the pulse and the prognostic signs to be derived from itâ.89
Urine: Urine in general is a bodily fluid from which prognostic signs can be derived. See, e.g., Hippocrates, Prognostics, IyÅbÌ UrhÄyÄâs KitÄb fÄ« l-Bawl in al-RÄzÄ«âs The Comprehensive Book,90 and Maimonides, Aphorisms 5 âContaining aphorisms concerning the [prognostic] signs to be derived from the urineâ.91
Indication: Galen attests that the term âindicationâ is âthe discovery of the truth about the thing in question arising out of the nature of the thing and made through following out the clues given by what is clearly observableâ.92 Kieffer writes that the term âindication,â in Greek endeixis, is âa medical term and is preserved in the modern medical use of the wordâ.93
3:4 These dreams, as Hippocrates mentioned: In Epidemics I, Hippocrates gives a story of Erasinus, who manifested a fever after supper, and suffered from delirium, distress, exacerbation, convulsions with sweating, discomfort, fear, and dreams. His urine was dark with round particles in it, and towards the end of the fifth day he died.94 The symptoms resemble the indications of overfilling described in this paragraph. Dreams indicating multitude of blood are not mentioned in Dreams or Regimen IV by Hippocrates. In Epidemics VI, Hippocrates mentions the following: âOverfullness is apparent, the blood vessels are visible.â95 Perhaps the word âdreams,â â®
Whoever sees snow and rain, this indicates the large quantity of phlegm: The quoted part in Ms. Escorial does not correspond to the content of Rufusâ Medical Questions. On the contrary, the passage does look very similar to Galen in his commentary on Hippocratesâ Humours: âDreams belong to the things that regularly indicate the disposition of the body. If someone see fire in a dream, then this man suffers from yellow bile. If rain appears, then know that cold liquid is in overabundance. Likewise also if [someone see] snow, ice, or hail, this indicates cold phlegm; if he thinks that he is in a malodorous place, this indicates the putrefaction of the humours. If he sees the crests of cocks, or something flaming red, this indicates that blood is in overabundance. If he sees something dark-coloured or thinks that he is in a dark place, then this indicates breaths [i.e., flatulence.].â96
Dreams: Dreams too are a strong prognostic sign. âFor Rufus the way melancholy affects the mind is not simply that it leads to odd, morbid, anxious thoughts or dreams.â97 In the quoted work, Medical Questions, Rufus of Ephesus provides many examples in which dream interpretation has been used in diagnostics of overfilling.98 Cf. Mattern: âFollowing Hippocrates and other predecessors, Galen recognized several sources of dreams, including some that might make sense to modern readers. A dream could reflect an imbalance of the humours, and a wrestler suffering from an excess of blood, for example, dreamed of standing in a cistern of blood; snow or ice would represent the cold, wet humour of phlegm, and so on.â99
3:5 Overfilling affecting the strength: Galen: âIf, then, some people who are still engaging in their usual occupations complain of feeling heavy, slow, lazy and sluggish, this is dynamic plethos.â100
3:6 Even if these signs [occur] â¦: Understood as even if the signs that are characteristic for overfilling affecting the strength occur, it may be the case of overfilling relating to the vessels, and whether it is the first or the second, the two can be differentiated in the urine, pulse, and other things already mentioned.
Yellowish green: Ms. Escorial reads â®
3:7 Both of these ⦠evacuation: Galen: âBoth kinds call for evacuation, whether they occur in a sick man or in one in health.â103
Raw humours: âCrude or raw humour is material, derived from nutriment, that has not been properly cooked or concocted by the innate heat.â104
Especially if it is summer: Ms. Escorial clearly reads ââ®
3:8 Stomachics: â®
Bitter hiera: iyÄraǧ fiqrÄ, from the Greek
Entering the bathhouse: For more on bathing, see Galen, Meth. Med. III, X (LCLÂ 518).
Moderate oils: Ms. Escorial reads only âmoderate oils.â Ms. Parma adds ââ®
scarcely nourishing foods: Cf. Nasrallah, Annals of the Caliphsâ Kitchens: Foods with poor nutrition include those low in density, excessively dry foods like salted meat, and those producing too much excretion such as trotters, tripe, intestines, tallow, ears, lungs, poultry, barley bread, bread with bran, and all vegetables. Astringent foods such as olives, pistachios, walnuts, and almonds also offer poor nourishment. Fish, gourd, pomegranate, mulberry, plums, and apricot are poor sources of nutrition due to their high moisture content and rapid nutrient dissolution.112 This is in contrast with highly nourishing foods that are dense and nourishing when fully digested, even in small amounts. Travellers and convalescents who cannot eat a lot need such foods. Highly nourishing foods include beef, brain, heart, gizzards of all birds, fish with thick flesh, fine white flour, fava beans, chickpeas, beans, lentils, dates, acorn, chestnut, turnip, milk, and red sweet wine.113
3:9 Whoever has suffered from haemoptysis â¦: Galen: âThose who have been temporarily cured by spitting blood, but nevertheless have a condition in the parts round the chest and lungs by a virtue of which, if a slightly increased amount of blood should accumulate in them, some vessel will again have its mouth forced open or be rupturedâthese patients must be phlebotomised at the beginning of the spring, even if there are as yet no symptoms anywhere in the body.â114
In the same manner, for anyone â¦: Galen: âit is better to phlebotomise in advance rather than wait for some clear sign of plethos to show itself.â115 In general, according to Qusá¹Ä ibn LÅ«qÄ, one has to phlebotomise the patient before a severe illness is being generated, given that the symptoms of plethos suggest that one of the mentioned illnesses would befall.116
[Swollen] veins in the anus: Ms. Escorial reads âveins in the anusâ, while Ms. Parma reads â®
Continuous and sanguine fevers: Maimonides in Aphorisms 23: ââ¯âContinuousâ fevers and âperpetualâ [fevers] are synonyms. Similarly, the [fever] called âsynonchousâ is continuous, as is the continuous burning [fever]. The term âburningâ has been given to it only because of severe heat.â117 According to Bos, blood fever is synochous fever.118 See also Hippocrates in Critical Days: âAbout critical days, I have already spoken before. Fevers have their crises on the fourth day, the seventh, the eleventh, the fourteenth, the seventeenth, and the twenty-first; and subsequent to these acute diseases, on the thirtieth, the fortieth, and then the sixtieth. When it goes beyond these numbers, the state of the fevers is already chronic.â119
3:10 Spring: Galen: âAnd as for those who go down every year in summer with plethoric diseases, they too should be evacuated at the onset of spring.â120 For more on the impact of seasons, see commentary for §â¯1:2.
Purgation: This can be done in two manners, either per os, or per rectum. Galen: âThis is also what we were taught from the position of the parts: to insert something per rectum for the intestines situated below and to give something from above (per os) for those structures aboveâthe stomach itself, the spleen, and the esophagus.â121 âUlcers in the large intestines have a greater need for medications inserted per rectum because this is nearer. Ulcers in the small intestines need both because this is further on and is in the middle in terms of position for medication taken from above (per os) and inserted from below (per rectum).â122
Phlebotomy may also be beneficial â¦: Galen in Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect.: âNot only is phlebotomy of great benefit in the presence of plethos, either of the dynamic variety or of the kind known as plethos by filling, but it is useful also when inflammation is beginning in the absence of plethos, as a result either of a blow, or pain, or atony of the parts; for the pain attracts blood to itâ.123 Galen in Meth. Med. III: âPhlebotomy, since it does not dissipate the capacity, is not among those [treatments] directed against a symptom, but is one of those which eradicates the whole condition.â124
Weakness of a part: Galen in Meth. Med. III: âI call a weak part either one that is very dyskratic in nature (for such parts are different in different ways), or one that has become dyskratic during some preceding disease, or one brought to a dyskrasia at the present time.â125
4:2 Really knowing the quantity: Galen: âNothing shows so clearly that the medical art is in practice a matter of guesswork as the question of the amount of each remedy. We often know exactly that the time for administering food or drink, whether cold or hot, is at hand; we cannot be sure, however, of how much we ought to give. It is the same with purgatives; we sometimes know for certain that a drug purging yellow bile, black bile, phlegm or serous superfluities should be given to the patient; yet we do not know with any certainty the amount that should be administered. A dose of such preparations cannot be corrected. Once the drug has been swallowed and has entered the belly it must of necessity all be digested; nor can one, if the patient has already been purged more than is desirable, remove any part of what has been administered. The greatest advantage of phlebotomy is that you can stop the evacuation when you wish, and afterwards at any time you choose allow it to flow again up to whatever quantity may seem good to you.â126
4:3 When there is a lot of blood in the body ⦠vital parts: Corresponds to overfilling relating to vessels; see commentary for §â¯3:3. Galen: âFor in those patients who appear to you to have a plethos of seething blood, you must try to evacuate it as quickly as possible, before it descends on some vital partâ.127 According to Temkin, the principal parts are âbrain, heart, liver, and testesâ.128 For the dangers of too much blood in the body, see Qusá¹Ä ibn LÅ«qÄ, KitÄb fÄ« l-Faá¹£d, pp. 304â305.
This fever, even if it is continuous â¦: Maimonides identifies four periods of illness:129 â.â®
Evacuation should [last] until the patient loses consciousness: Galen: âWhen, however, there is a plethos of seething blood, enkindling a very acute fever, there is need for copious evacuation. One must try to evacuate this blood to the point of faintingâ.130
The body becomes cold immediately after unconsciousness: âVenesection can extinguish the flame of continuous fevers, in which it is particularly useful if the veins are distended. It cools the body and abolishes or reduces the fever, particularly if pressed to the point of loss of consciousness.â131
4:4 Examining the pulse: Galen: âIt is good, however, to pay attention to the diminution of the pulse, feeling it while the blood is still flowing, as is usually done in all patients who are being phlebotomised, so that you will never negligently cause your patient death instead of loss of consciousness, a thing I know has happened to three doctors.â132
Colour and consistency: âIt is often possible to judge it from a change in colour, which may be of two kinds: sometimes from the actual colour of the blood as it flows, sometimes from the colour of the patientâs complexion.â133
4:5 Whoever has a swelling⦠change: Galen: âIn patients who have a large inflammatory focus near the vein that has been opened, it is best to await a change both in the colour and in the consistency of the blood, as Hippocrates has also explained in his book Regimen in Acute Diseases, speaking of pleurisy.â134 Hippocrates in Regimen in Acute Diseases: âVenesection, however, does not relieve the pain so well unless it extends to the collarbone. If the pain does not give way before the hot applications, do not continue them for long; continued heat dries the lungs and is apt to cause empyema. Should, however, the pain show signs of extending to the collarbone, or should there be a weight in the fore-arm, or in the region of the breast, or above the diaphragm, you must open the inner vein at the elbow, and do not hesitate to take away much blood until it flows much redder, or until it becomes livid instead of clear and red. Either of these may occur.â135 The same is stated in Qusá¹Ä ibn LÅ«qÄ, KitÄb fÄ« l-Faá¹£d, where Qusá¹Ä refers to Hippocrates.136
Henna: â®
5:2 That originate â¦: Hippocrates confirms that the pulsatile veins originate from the heart, and the non-pulsatile veins from the liver. See Hippocrates: âRoot of veins, liver; root of arteries, heart.â138 Corresponds to al-RÄzÄ«âs al-KitÄb al-ManṣūrÄ«: âThe arteries arise from the left cavity of the heart.â139 For a complete chapter on arteries, see De Koning, Trois Traités dâAnatomie Arabes, chapter 6 (pp. 42â47).
Benefits: Understood as âand the benefits of phlebotomising them.â
I begin from the head: Arranging the diseases from head to foot, as seen in Ms. Escorial, was common for Graeco-Arabic medical literature.140
5:3 Four veins behind the ears: Possibly posterior auricular vein, that is behind the ear, and superficial temporal vein, that is on the other side. The two connect above the ear.141 Qusá¹Ä ibn LÅ«qÄ mentions that phlebotomising the veins behind the ears is beneficial for treating vertigo, as well as other chronic illnesses in the head.142
Leprosy: Ullmann143 defines the Arabic term â®
5:4 Three veins that are arteries: Ms. Escorial reads â®
Phlebotomising them is beneficial: Ms. Escorial seems to refer to the latest mentioned artery, i.e., the visible one. Ms. Parma reads â®
Whoever had these [veins] cut, will not procreate: Hippocrates talking about the Scythians: âThey cure themselves in the following way. At the beginning of the disease they cut the vessel behind each ear. After the blood flows out, sleep comes over them from their weakness, and they go to bed. Later they wake up, some being cured and others not. Now, in my opinion, by this treatment their seed is destroyed; for by the side of the ear are vessels which, when someone cuts them, make the person cut sterile, and so I believe it is these vessels they are cutting.â145 I have not been able to consult Galenâs commentary on the work in question. According to Nutton (2004), the account of the infertility of the Scythians can be traced back to an eyewitness report, likely written by the author himself, and could potentially be explained by modern medical knowledge regarding the high iron content in certain local rivers.146
5:5 Two veins in the back of the head near the hollow of the neck: Possibly occipital artery and occipital vein, or alternatively occipital vein, and mastoid emissary vein or meningeal branch of occipital artery.147
The hollow of the neck: the Arabic word â®
Watery discharge: Johnston explains the term âdischargeâ as âA disease of the eye causing continual watery discharge.â151
IntiÅ¡Är: This term requires a thorough discussion. Both intiÅ¡Är and intiṯÄr appear in Ms. Escorial. Ullmann translates the Arabic term intiÅ¡Är as Liderweiterung.152 The term is spelled as intiÅ¡Är in al-RÄzÄ«âs al-KitÄb al-ḤÄwÄ«, book II, âOn the illnesses of the eye.â153 However, in one instance, we find the term â®
â®
Ùأ٠ا اÙتثار اÙأشÙار Ùضربا٠إ٠ا ٠٠رطÙبة Øادة ÙصÙر Ø¥ÙÙÙا ÙاÙØا٠Ù٠داء اÙثعÙب Ùإ٠ا Ùعد٠غذائÙا ÙاÙØا٠Ù٠اÙصÙع ÙÙذا٠Ùا Ø٠رة ÙÙا صÙابة ٠عÙ٠ا Ù٠اÙأجÙا٠ÙÙ ÙÙ ÙÙع آخر Ùعرض ٠ع٠غÙظ اÙأجÙا٠ÙØ٠رة ÙصÙابة ÙÙÙا .â154â¬â¬â
âAs for intiṯÄr [i.e., dispersal] of the palpebral margin, it is of two kinds: either due to acute moisture that reaches it as in the case of alopecia, or either due to the lack of its nutriment as in the case of baldness, and no redness nor hardness in the eyelids occurs with these two, and there is another type with which coarseness of the eyelids with redness and hardness occurs.â
This is similar to that described by Ḥunayn ibn IsḥÄq in his book On the Symptoms of Eye-Diseases, where intiṯÄr is translated as âfalling out of the lashes,â and two kinds are given: one with acrid moisture resulting in alopecia, in Greek madarosis; or the other accompanied by thickening, hardness and ulceration of the lids, in Greek ptilosis.155 The ailment in question has other explanations too: â(synchysis, lit. âwidening/extensionâ) of the eye is a dilation (ittisÄÊ¿) of the pupil (ḥadaqa). [â¦] In modern ophthalmology the term synchysis stands for an ailment of the vitreous body. This is in accordance with a definition in another writing by Galen. The Arabic term intishÄr, which was regularly defined as a dilation of the pupil, may also stand for other diseases of the eye with similar symptoms, such as amaurosis and mydriasis.â156 In Aphorisms 23, Maimonides defines intiÅ¡Är as follows: âThe cataract that occurs in the eye and that the physicians call âextensionâ lies between the crystalline humor and the hornlike tunic.â157 In his book, AmrÄḠal-Ê¿ayn wa-Ê¿ilÄǧÄtuhÄ min kitÄbay al-MuÊ¿ÄlaǧÄt al-BuqrÄá¹iyya wa-Firdaws al-Ḥikma, al-ṬabarÄ« explains intiÅ¡Är as tawassuÊ¿ al-ḥadaqa, i.e., mydriasis, as the editors of the work in question have added.158
5:6 A vein comes to the forehead: The frontal vein, vena frontalis.159
Phlebotomising the two: Galen: âSimilarly when a vein in the forehead is cut, heaviness of the head and pains that have become chronic as a result of plethos are usually noticeably relieved. [â¦] In the same way pains in the back of the head, whether incipient or already established, are relieved by cutting the vein in the forehead.â160
Phlebotomising the two is beneficial: Ms. Escorial reads â®
5:7 Two curved veins in the temples: Probably the frontal branches of superficial temporal artery, or one branch of the superficial temporal artery and zygomaticoorbital artery.161 Qusá¹Ä ibn LÅ«qÄ mentions that the arteries in the temples should be phlebotomised in case warm, fine matter is flowing into the eyes,162 which corresponds to what al-RÄzÄ« states in his The Book of the Crown (KitÄb al-IklÄ«l): âbleeding them is useful against a thin, hot residue inside the eye, and chronic headacheâ.163
Phlebotomising the two is done by â¦: Cf. al-RÄzÄ«, KitÄb al-IklÄ«l, âin order to prevent unstoppable bleeding caused by a retraction of their two ends, these veins must only be punctured, and opened up with an arrowheadâ.164
5:8 Hot, fine, pricking matter in the membranes: What in Ms. Escorial is called âfine,â Galen calls âspirituous.â These, among many other medical statements found in Ms. Escorial, sound very much like Galenâs words: âThese experiences persuaded me often to open arteries in the extremities of the limbs, and indeed in the head too, in the case of all pains that seemed to have their origin from a hot and spirituous quality, and particularly in the membranes. In these, the pain has a pricking quality and spreads out gently, since the pricking sensation is located in one part as if this were the centre of the affected region, and the whole part round this centre has a sensation of tension.â165
5:9 Two veins in the inner corners of the eye: By Spink and Lewis translated as âlachrymal veinsâ.166 Galen: âSo too cutting the vein alongside the greater canthus is good for the crusts on the eyes that remain after inflammations.â167
Ophthalmia: The Arabic word â®
Rhyas: Maimonides: âIf the flesh in the inner angle of the eye disappears, it is an illness that is called damÊ¿a [rhyas].â169 The term ârhyadesâ features in Galen, Meth. Med. III: âAlso from this same class are the rhyades involving the greater canthus [of the eye] when the canthus is either reduced still more or destroyed altogether. When it is destroyed altogether, the disease becomes completely incurable; when it is reduced, it is treated by moderate astringents along with prior purging, first of the whole body and second of the head.â170
5:10 One vein in the tip of the nose: Possibly external nasal artery or lateral nasal artery.171
Polyps: Ms. Escorial reads âhaemorrhoids,â in Arabic bÄsÅ«r, in plural bawÄsÄ«r, in the nose, but probably what is meant is polyps, in Arabic nÄsÅ«r, in plural nawÄsÄ«r. Cf. Maimonides, Aphorisms 23: âThe tumor that forms inside the nose as if it were a fleshy excrescence is called nÄṣūr and also âpolypusâ.â For the sake of clarity, I have chosen to limit the usage of bÄsÅ«r to haemorrhoids, and use the term nÄsÅ«r for polyps in this edition.
5:11 Two veins inside the tongue: possibly deep lingual artery and vein.172 As to phlebotomising them, see Galen: âParts in the region of the throat and trachea which are much inflamed are greatly benefited at the beginning by venesection at the elbow, but after the beginning by letting blood from the tongue; both the veins in it are cut.â173
5:12 Two veins inside the chin: Possibly lingual vein, one on each side.174
5:13 Jugular veins: vena jugularis interna, and vena jugularis externa, discussed in Galen, UP, II, 436, p. 723.
Two veins that are connected to the throat: possibly common carotid arteries, arteria carotis communis, discussed in Galen, UP, II, 436, p. 723.
5:14 Axillary veins: â®
5:15 A Greek name: It surely means âheadâ in Greek:
Jugular fossa: In 5:17 Ms. Escorial reads â®
5:16 Basilic vein: in Ms. Escorial described as â®
RiʾÄsa: The Greek term for basilic vein is derived from the Greek word basilikos, that translates to kingly, regal, royal.185
5:17 Median cubital vein: also known as median antebrachial vein.186 Galen: âThe middle site sometimes has both the branching veins extending to the end of the arm, and uniting there, and sometimes running to unite quickly with each other at the bend of the elbow. Sometimes one of them is prominent, the other indistinct. When, therefore, the vein that ought to be used for the parts affected is indistinct, you may have recourse to one of the middle ones; try, for preference, to cut the one that branches from the proper vein.â187
5:19 Vena cephalica pollicis: ḥabl al-á¸irÄÊ¿, lit. âcord of the arm,â188 in Latin vena cephalica pollicis, or funis brachii.189
5:20 A branch of the basilic vein: Possibly one of the intercapitular veins.190
Phlebotomising it is beneficial: Galen is more specific on which side to phlebotomise in order to treat the spleen and liver. Galen: âWhen the liver is starting to become inflamed, [cut] the veins in the right arm and, when the spleen is involved, the opposite (i.e. in the left arm).â191
5:21 Vena salvatella: i.e., â®
5:22 Two veins in the popliteal fossae: Possibly popliteal vein, one in each leg.197
Phlebotomising them: Galen: âIn respect to the kidneys, bladder, genitalia and uterus, [cut] those in the legs, especially those in relation to the popliteal fossa; if not, cut those beside the ankle.â198 Qusá¹Ä ibn LÅ«qÄ mentions that phlebotomising the veins in the arm for problems of the uterus, on the contrary, causes severe damage, as drawing the blood to the opposite direction causes the menstrual blood to be withheld.199
⦠makes the menstruation flow: Galen: âWhen the menses are suppressed, however, those [veins] in the legs are invariably used.â200 See also commentary for §â¯14:9.
Chronic ulcers: Galen says doctors call these kakoethical ulcers. Galen: âIt is not actually this chronicity itself, or being called and being chronic, which indicates the appropriate treatment, but from this [chronicity] it is possible to infer the bad state of the ulcerated part. [---] Chronicity in ulcers is, then, a sign of kakochymia. The discovery of what is useful is not, however, from the chronicity but from the kakochymia. Therefore, there are these three signs that follow each other: the sign, the condition, and the treatment. Chronicity is the sign, kakochymia is the condition, and the evacuation of the kakochymia is the treatment.â201
5:23 Sciatic vein: in Arabic â®
Phlebotomising the sciatic vein at the ankles: In this case al-RÄzÄ« seems to differ from Galen, as al-RÄzÄ« seems to suggest phlebotomising the ankles, while Galen has stated rather the contrary. Galen: âI have known diseases of the hip cured in one day by an evacuation through the legs; such of them, that is, as have not arisen as a result of cold, but through blood having collected in the veins in the ischial region. Hence phlebotomy from the ham is more effective than from the ankles in patients thus affected, and scarification brings them no obvious benefit.â204
5:24 Saphenous vein: al-á¹£Äfin, i.e., vena saphena,205 by which most likely the great saphenous vein, running along the inner side of the leg, is meant.206
⦠makes the menstruation flow: see commentary for §â¯5:22 and §â¯14:9. Specifically for the ankles, see Galen: âBy evacuations from the legs, however, it is possible not only to revulse, but also to urge on the menses. When you wish to achieve this at the time when the womanâs period is due, start about three or four days in advance by cutting a vein or scarifying the malleoli of one leg, and draw off a little blood; then on the next day evacuate in the same way from the other leg, at the same time prescribing a reducing diet for the days on which you evacuate thus, and in the four or five days preceding them.â207
5:25 Al-madaniyya: i.e., Guinea worm. Cf. Ullmann, Islamic medicine: âAmong the parasites, bilharziasis, intestinal roundworms, pineworms and Guinea worms (al-Ê¿irq al-madanÄ«) were the most common.â208 Ullmannâs study reveals that Arab physicians consistently called this al-Ê¿irq al-madanÄ«, âthe Medinan veinâ due to its prevalence in the area. Moreover, he cites Ê¿AbdallÄh ibn YaḥyÄ, a ninth-century physician, who in his KitÄb al-Iḫtiá¹£ÄrÄt connected the Medinan vein to hot climates and the consumption of bad water.209 For a full chapter on the treatment of Guinea worms, see Qusá¹Ä ibn LÅ«qÄâs Medical Regime for the Pilgrims to Mecca, The RisÄla fÄ« TadbÄ«r Safar al-Ḥaǧǧ, edited with translation and commentary by Gerrit Bos (1992), and al-RÄzÄ«, ḤÄwÄ« XI, pp. 291â296.
6:2 Danger in phlebotomising the pulsatile: Galen: âSince, however, the arteries are hard to stanch, doctors do not dare to cut them, and where some, while performing phlebotomy, have inadvertently wounded an artery, they have had difficulty in stopping the haemorrhage. When they do the best they can, an aneurysm develops in the incision scar.â210
They are composed of two tunics, apart from the vein that nourishes the lungs: Galen: âIt is perfectly evident to everyone that an arterial vessel cannot possible [sic] be derived from a venous one; for a vein has one tunic, and that a thin one, whereas the tunic of an artery is neither single nor so thin. It has, in fact, two tunics. The inner one is exceedingly thick, dense, and hard, and is divisible into transverse fibers; the outer one is soft, fine, and loose-textured, like that of a vein.â211 Ms. Escorial reads âirrigates the lungâ, understood as a vein that nourishes the lung, bringing nutriment to it, and what is meant with it is arteria pulmonalis, cf. Galen: âthe vein that nourishes the lung itself [a. pulmonalis].â212 Galen: âNow when Nature, who is wise in all things, interchanged the tunics of the pulmonary vessels, making the vein [a. pulmonalis] like an artery and the artery [v. pulmonalis] like a vein, she was not acting in any idle or haphazard manner, any more than she ever does in making any other structure in any animal. Though an artery may be similar to a vein in all its other parts, in the thickness of its tunics it is not the same. On the contrary, it is so different that Herophilus seems to have calculated correctly when he declared that an artery is six times as thick as a vein. Of all the instruments and parts the lung is the only one in which the artery has the tunics of a vein and the vein those of an artery.â213 There is a reason why the ancients thought the aforementioned; cf. Hankinson: âthe ancients, lacking the concept of circulation of blood, confused the pulmonary veins with the pulmonary arteries, hence the problem of accounting for why they resembled veins rather than arteries in the first place.â214
It was shown to him in his dream: Galen: âUrged by certain dreams I had, two of which were particularly vivid, I went for the artery in the space between the index finger and thumb of the right hand, and allowed the blood to flow until it stopped of its own accord, as the dream commanded. Not quite a pound escaped. Forthwith a long-standing pain was relieved which had oppressed chiefly the part where the liver meets the diaphragm. This happened to me in my youth.â215 As seen earlier, dreams were considered highly beneficial in diagnostics, and Galen followed this too: âLike most people, Galen believed that the gods spoke in dreams and he followed their commands.â216
The pulsatile vein that is between the index finger and the thumb: Possibly radial artery or one of the two dorsal metacarpal arteries that flow between the index finger and the thumb.217
6:3 The best way of phlebotomising them â¦: Perhaps a continuation of an indirect Galenic quote that started in §â¯6:2. Galen: âEven if the artery is larger, however, it will also cicatrise without an aneurysm if it is cut completely through, and this procedure also often prevents the danger of haemorrhage. It can be clearly seen that the whole artery is cut obliquely right through its whole substance, and the two parts are drawn up away from each other, the one above the site, the other below it. This also happens with veins, but only to a moderate degree, and always far more with arteries than with veins.â218
6:4 Rub: About rubbing, see Galen, Hygiene, Part II, 91K (LCL 535: 132â133â¯ff.).
6:9 narrow: Al-RÄzÄ«, Faá¹£d Alukah, has similar content, yet instead of á¸ayyiqan, it reads á¹£ayfan, âin the summer.â However, like Ms. Escorial, Ms. Parma reads ânarrow.â See also commentary for §â¯3:7.
6:10 Better: Ms. Escorial: â®
6:12 ⦠and the like: Galen: âYou must draw off and evacuate by phlebotomy the blood carried to the liver, incising the inner vein in the right antecubital fossa, since this is on a level and connects by a wide channel with the so-called [inferior] vena cava. If this [vein] is not visible, cut the medial vein, and if this is not visible, the remaining third vein.â219
6:13 It is a nerval vein: Ms. Escorial reads â®
6:14 A fine scalpel that has a blade: understood as a scalpel with a sharp blade.
A scalpel with no blade: understood as a scalpel that has a blunt blade, that does not cut. Perhaps a similar tool that is featured in §â¯6:12 as âhook.â A variety of scalpels presented in Bliquez, The Tools of Asclepius, p. 72â¯ff.
6:16 When I want it to heal quickly: It is possible that the phrase âif I want it to heal quicklyâ is copied twice by mistake. The three manners of phlebotomy are present in al-RÄzÄ«, KitÄb al-IklÄ«l as well: lengthwise as the most recommendable procedure; widthwise, possible for broad veins not overlying a nerve, very risky and requires caution; and crosswise, much less risky than cutting widthwise.221
Nerve spreading: Ms. Escorial reads â®
6:17 Hot compress: Cf. Maimonides, Aphorisms 23: â[The term] âhot compressâ applies to everything that warms the body externally. There are five kinds of it: moist, dry, biting, intermediate, and moderate.â223
Be careful: In contrast, Albucasis recommends the surgeon to wipe the scalpel with some olive oil.224
6:19 â®
6:21 When the illness is not visible to the eye: An invisible swelling could refer to inflammations (see entry below). It is also possible that the negation here is a mistake, thus the passage should be read âwhen the illness is visible to the eye,â if a visible swelling is meant. Thus, it is worth looking at the term.
The reason for that: The Arabic word â®
7:4 The one who led to this [conclusion] â¦: Corresponds to Galen, Meth. Med. I, in which Galen refers to Hippocrates in his work On Wounds (Ulcers): âIn every recent wound, other than in a body cavity, it is of benefit for blood to flow immediately from the wound more rather than less, for the wound itself and the surrounding parts become less inflamed. [â¦] Because of this, he was right to also add [the recommendation] to withdraw blood from chronic wounds. But if we have learned that from him in generalâthat is, when fluxes are beginning it is appropriate to draw them in the opposite direction, whereas when they are fixed in the affected part, it is appropriate to make the evacuation from the affected part itself, or those parts particularly close to itâwe are now ready to draw a conclusion about the removal of blood. [This is that], in the beginning, it is appropriate to make the removal of blood from what is distant, but later from the wounded [parts] themselves.â226
Deflection away from the affected site: this is what is called revulsion or diversion. Galen: âThus [the blood] is diverted to places nearby and is held back in places lying oppositeâfor example, diversion is through the nose for what is emptying out via the palate, while revulsion is downward, just as in fact for an emptying out via the anus, diversion is through the uterus whereas revulsion is upward.â227 Brain uses the term âderivationâ instead of diversion: âIf bleeding from the mouth is brought to an end by a haemorrhage from the nose, this is derivation, since the flow is diverted to a nearby part; but if the haemorrhage that stops it is from the lower part of the body it is revulsion, since the part to which the blood is attracted is far from the site of the haemorrhage.â228
7:5 Many disagreements: Understood as physicians have differing opinions on how this should be done.
7:6 ⦠so that the matter is drawn correctly: â®
7:8 Leeches: Albucasis: âLeeches are mostly used on those parts of the body to which application of cupping-vessels is impossible, either because of their smallness, such as the lips, the gums, and so on; or because the part is bare of flesh, like the finger, the nose, and so on.â229 Several kinds of leeches described by Indian authors in Sanskrit sources in Rhazesâ Comprehensive Book.230 As to the application of leeches, see Albucasis on Surgery and Instruments, chapter 97 âOn the application of leeches.â231
7:9 The drugs that are put in the nose: Apparently al-RÄzÄ« both treated the patient with these drugs, despite them being recognised as useless, and also phlebotomised her. It seems to be a general view that these drugs are of little worth. Galen: âWhen we do this, as you know, we invariably check the haemorrhage from the nostrils, in spite of having previously tried the drugs recommended in the literature for stuffing up the nose and rubbing on the forehead, and found them all ineffective.â232 A few prescriptions for drugs used for treating epistaxis are presented in the index of prescriptions in this book.
The cephalic vein on both sides: Corresponds to Galen: âYou ought not to despise phlebotomy as a revulsive remedy, since you have often seen me, when there is a copious haemorrhage from the nostrils, making use of the remedy and stanching the flow forthwith. It is expedient, then, as you have seen, not to delay until the patientâs strength has reached the last stages of collapse, but, when it appears that the appropriate amount has been evacuated, and the force of the rush of blood continues strong, to cut a vein at the elbow, in the right arm if the right nostril is bleeding, in the other side for the left one.â233 The same thought features even in Galenâs Meth. Med. II: âIf the patient is still not relieved, it is necessary to cut a vein in the antecubital fossa on the side of the hemorrhage, drawing off a little blood, and then, after an interval of one hour, drawing it again, then repeatedly, according to the capacity of the patient.â234
8:2 The best time for extracting blood is the spring: See commentary for §â¯1:2.
8:3 Hot disposition⦠hurry up to phlebotomise him: This logic may be related to what al-RÄzÄ«, according to Ibn AbÄ« Uá¹£aybiÊ¿a, has said about hot illnesses: âHot illnesses are deadlier than the cold ones due to the speed of the movement of fire.â235
8:4 In its proper place: i.e., chapters 10 and 11 in Ms. Escorial.
8:5 Whoever is cautious: understood as someone who is cautious about keeping a strict diet.
8:7 ⦠[when a surplus of semen] has collected: Most likely something is missing in this passage. Ms. Parma supports a different reading, as it says: â®
Coitus: For more on al-RÄzÄ« on sex, see e.g., The Spiritual Physick of Rhazes, pp. 83â84; and Pormann, Al-RÄzÄ« (d. 925) on the Benefits of Sex: A Clinician Caught between Philosophy and Medicine, in A. Vrolijk, & J.P. Hogendijk (Eds.), O Ye Gentlemen: Arabic Studies on Science and Literary Culture, in Honour of Remke Kruk (pp. 134â145), Brill.
Hotter or colder than customary: Qusá¹Ä ibn LÅ«qÄ mentions that the parts can become hot or cold either due to the increase of hot or cold humours, or due to dyscrasia.239
Drunk: âDrunken and intemperate people, however, accumulate an excess of undigested humours, and do not benefit from such treatment [i.e. venesection or purgation]; the physician should not undertake the management of such patients.â240
Full of food: Cf. Maimonides, Aphorisms 12: âBeware of letting blood while food is still present in the stomach and as long as the humors in the stomach and first [nonpulsatile] vessels are not [completely] cocted.â241
Raw humours: Cf. Maimonides, Rules: âIf the body contains a very raw humor, do not even consider bleeding, lest the innate heat become too weak to concoct [the humor].â242
8:8: Day or night: Corresponds to Galen: âyou will not shrink from sometimes opening a vein even during the night.â243
8:9 If you see the blood black and slightly foamy: Corresponds to Galen talking about quartan fevers: âAnd if, when you open a vein, the flow is black and thick, which is the kind of thing you find particularly in those who are splenetic, be confident about the purging. However, if it appears yellow and thin, stop immediately.â244
8:10 Hippocrates ⦠eighth day of his illness: Corresponds to Hippocrates in Epidemics III, in which he talks about a patient with acute fever: âEighth day. I bled him in the elbow. There was an abundant, proper flow of blood: the pains were relieved, although the dry coughing persisted.â245
Galen says: Corresponds to Galen: âFor on whatever day you observe the indications for phlebotomy in the patient, on that day you will apply the remedy, even if it is the twentieth day from the onset. And what are the indications? The disease severe; strength of the faculties; except in the stage of childhood, and when the ambient air is very hot. Since, in most diseases, the patientâs strength will already have been diminished with the passage of time, the opportunity for phlebotomy is lost because of the number of days that have elapsed; this, however, is not a primary effect, but is due to the intervention of another factor, namely the antecedent dissolution of the faculties. Hence, if even on the second day after the onset the powers should appear to be dissolved, we shall refrain from phlebotomy.â246
9:2 Whoever is phlebotomised â¦: The principles of epaphairesis confirmed by Galen: âAs for the time for epaphairesis, in those patients in whom we decide simply to evacuate, this should take place on the same day; but for those who are revulsed, it is better that it should be done on two successive days. You should monitor the strength of the patient in all such cases, by feeling his pulse, since some patients are sensitive where strength is concerned, so that they cannot bear copious evacuation. In such cases, the patient should be allowed to recover on the first day, and epaphairesis should be performed on the second.â247
9:6 MadÄ«nat al-SalÄm: â®
9:7 Al-MaʾmÅ«n: Al-MaʾmÅ«n, Ê¿AbdullÄh bin HÄrÅ«n al-RaÅ¡Ä«d (d. 833), who was an Abbasid Caliph.249
9:9 Pulse: Usually in this edition I have translated the word â®
10:2 High ceiling: The unclear Arabic word in Ms. Escorial looks like â®
Fragrant herbs: Cf. Albucasis: âThere should also be in the place where he is sitting such things as are customary for men to enjoy, such as various perfumes, aromatics, and music, and the like, as each one may.â251 In general, the atmosphere should be pleasant and relaxed, as discussed in chapter 95 in Albucasis on Surgery and Instruments.252
10:3 Oxymel: A syrup prepared of vinegar and honey or sugar, beneficial for its cooling effects.253 For its uses, see e.g., Hippocrates, Regimen in Acute Diseases (LCL 148), LVIII. ff. (p. 112â¯ff.). For more, see list of prescriptions and index of materia medica.
Julep: A syrup prepared of rose water and sugar or honey, served as a refreshing drink either diluted in water or served on ice, known for its cooling effects.254 For more, see list of prescriptions and index of materia medica.
Soft-boiled eggs: The Arabic term for soft-cooked eggs is al-bayḠal-nīmbarišt.255 According to Galen, soft-boiled eggs provide the best nutriment to the body, compared to other means of preparation.256
The food should consist of dishes made from goat, mutton, or soured pullets: Galen regards the meat of both goats and sheep as unwholesome due to the humours and residues they produce, but, when they grow up eating food from the soil or trees, they become more suitable for human consumption. Hence, sheep are the best during early and mid-spring, and goats in the early and mid-summer. Galen sees pork meat as the superior, most nutritious of all foods.257 It is understandable that pork is not included in Ms. Escorial due to the influence of Islam. As to pullets, al-IsrÄʾīlÄ« states that their meat is the finest among domesticated birds, as it is compatible with all temperaments, digests quickly, and generates good humours.258 However, Galen regards all winged animals as poorly nutritious, especially when compared to pigs, yet their meat is easier to concoct.259 For more on the meat of terrestrial animals, see Galen, Alim. Fac., III, entries 1â13 (pp. 114â123).
SikbÄǧ, ḥiá¹£rimiyya, rummÄniyya, zÄ«rbÄǧa, and isfÄ«á¸bÄǧ: The dishes mentioned in this paragraph are all sour. Sour stews are generally considered appropriate for people with hot temperaments, while those who have a cold temperament are recommended to consume white, simple stews, such as isfÄ«á¸bÄǧ, and desserts prepared with honey after consuming sour stews, in order to balance their cold properties.260 SikbÄǧ is a stew mainly cooked with beef, soured with vinegar;261 ḥiá¹£rimiyya a stew that is soured with juice of unripe grapes;262 rummÄniyya a stew made of pomegranate and chicken;263 zÄ«rbÄǧa a delicate stew made of birds, lightly seasoned, and soured with vinegar and balanced with sugar, praised by many for its perfectly balanced properties;264 and isfÄ«á¸bÄǧ a white dish, notorious for being a balanced dish fit for all.265
10:5 Melicratum: Cf. Riddle, Dio. Pharm. Med.: âVery popular as a drink and as a medicine in antiquity was melicraton, or water mead (V. 9). This was a mixture of honey and water allowed to ferment. Among its usages was one for coughs.â266 It is synonymous to hydromel, a mixture of honey and water.267 For Hippocrates on hydromel, see Hippocrates, Regimen in Acute Diseases (LCL 148), LIII. ff. (p. 108â¯ff.).
10:6 Animal faculty: One of the three central faculties. âThere are three basic faculties: 1) the natural faculties (al-quwÄ aá¹-á¹abÄ«Ê¿iyya) are the effects of nature which manifest themselves in conception, growth and nourishment; 2) the animal faculties (al-quwÄ al-ḥayawÄniyya) ensure life; they manifest themselves in the systole and diastole of the heart and arteries; 3) the psychical faculties determine the reason, the power of discernment, emotion and voluntary movement.â268
A humour has flowed into the stomach: This seems to be what Galen calls dyskrasia of the stomach, and its treatment is discussed in detail for example in Galen, Meth. Med. II, VII, Chapters 8â10, 503Kâ511K (LCLÂ 517: 306â317).
10:11 But if not: Treatment with fragrances and musical instruments, that are used to strengthen the animal faculty, are described in detail in Maimonides, On the Regimen of Health.269
Ä Äliya: A menâs perfume that comes in various types, the basic components of which are musk, ambergris, and balsam oil.270 For its preparation, see al-KindÄ«, KitÄb kÄ«miyÄ al-Ê¿iá¹r wat-taṣʿīdÄt, pp. 56â57.
MudaqqaqÄt, á¹abÄhiǧÄt, muá¹aǧǧanÄt, laqÄniq: MudaqqaqÄt is spicy, ground meat cooked into casserole-like dishes;271 á¹abÄhiǧÄt, a dish made of red meat, seasoned with spices and herbs;272 muá¹aǧǧanÄt, dish made of poultry, seasoned with spices and herbs;273 and laqÄniq, small, spicy sausages.274
Spices: The Arabic term â®
10:9 Iron pot: Ms. Escorial reads â®
10:10 Grape jelly: The Arabic term, Ê¿aqÄ«d al-Ê¿inab, is most likely an arabicised version of what Galen refers to as âinpissated mustâ or âgrape jelly.â277
11:1 Foods: In general, al-RÄzÄ« reckons the role of food and diet important. He said: âIf a wise man is able to treat [a patient] with foods, without drugs, he achieves bliss.â278
11:2 Fatigue: Cf. Maimonides, Rules: âWhen the body of the patient is weak, when he suffers from indigestion, or when his body contains a crude humor that has not concocted, one should not bleed [that patient].â279
11:3 QÅ«qÄyÄ pill: In Meth. Med. II, Galen describes this as âour own little pills compounded from aloes, scammony, colocynth, agaric, bdellium and gum arabicâ,280 while in Meth. Med. III, where the story of the man with the swollen tongue can be found as well, Galen refers to âthe customary little pills which I compound from aloes, scammony and colocynthâ.281 For a full prescription, see the index of prescriptions.
⦠thus, I purged him with a qÅ«qÄyÄ pill in the evening: According to Galen himself, he advised to use a cooling agent as the first measure, while purgative pills (in Ms. Escorial: a qÅ«qÄyÄ pill) given towards the evening was a secondary measure, but the other physician wanted to use purgative pills instead. Galenâs preferred treatment was later supported by a dream that the other physician had, and the patient was successfully treated with lettuce juice. Cf. Galen:
I have in fact seen a tongue so swollen that it could not be contained in the mouth of the personâsomeone aged sixty who had never been phlebotomized. It was almost the tenth hour of the day when I first saw him, and he seemed to me to be someone who must be purged with the customary little pills which I compound from aloes, scammony and colocynth, the medication being given toward evening. However, I advised that one of the cooling [agents] be placed on the affected part itself as the first measure. Later, I said, we will adapt according to what happens. But to one of the doctors this did not seem good and because of this, the patient took some of the little pills. Consideration of the topical medication was put off to the next day when he hoped something which was tried might be effective after prior evacuation of the whole body and a revulsion downward had occurred. However, during the night, a very clear dream appeared to him, which approved my advice and determined the material of the medication, ordering a thorough washing with the juice of lettuce. And certainly, when he used this alone, the man benefited completely so as to no longer need anything else.282
Misunderstanding may also be caused by Galenâs verbosity and long-windedness; that, combined with the depth of the thought and uncertainty of the text, may have led to misinterpretations.283 Being criticised for his verbosity, Galen seemingly replied by writing: âI should not be accused of the fact that my lectures are too long. It is the fault of those who write books full of erroneous arguments.â284
11:4 Sucking the honey-like, glossy pod of cassia fistula: Ms. Escorial reads â®
11:5 MuzawwarÄt: vegetarian dishes, lighter than meat dishes and easier to digest.286 The dishes listed here, Ê¿adasiyya, ḥiá¹£rimiyya, summÄqiyya, and rummÄniyya, are known as dishes containing meat. As we are talking about muzawwarÄt, vegetarian dishes, most likely these are vegetarian versions of the dishes known as dishes with meat. With sikbÄǧ, that also is a dish containing beef, this is evident, as Ms. Escorial reads âof fresh fish the small prepared as sikbÄǧ.â
Sandalwood and rose water: Sandalwood and roses appear as common ingredients in poultices for liver and spleen in al-KindÄ«, AqrÄbÄá¸Ä«n.287
11:7 Tamarind: Maimonides in On the Regimen of Health: âAbÅ« MarwÄn ibn Zuhrâmay God have mercy with himâhas said that the best thing for softening the stools is an infusion of rhubarb with tamarind.â288 As to rhubarb, see commentary for §â¯11:12.
Half a raá¹l of clear water: The prescription does not mention more than half a raá¹l of water as a part of the decoction. Most likely the ingredients should be cooked in a larger amount of water as the water is supposed to turn red and the decoction thicker before adding the additional half a raá¹l of water.
11:8 Pith of cassia fistula: Ms. Escorial reads â®
11:9 Barley broth cooked with peeled lentils: Galen: âbarley is not only far from warming (such as some foods are betwixt warming and cooling, such as starch and light bread) but it actually seems to be cooling in every way it is usedâ.290 As to lentils cooked with barley, Galen says it is best to mix lentils with less ptisane (i.e., barley gruel) for the best result.291
11:10 The prescription of barley broth: The prescription of barley broth, as it appears in the manuscript, seems to be incomplete. For a suggestion of a prescription of barley broth, see the index of prescriptions.
11:11 Seedless raisins: could refer to kišmiš, a variety of seedless raisins (or grapes).292
11:12 Chinese rhubarb: Chinese rhubarb, Da huang, has been used in Chinese medicine for over two thousand years. It was first documented around 200â¯A.D.. Through trade it reached the rest of the world, and herbalists in Europe recommended it for gastrointestinal issues, in large doses as a laxative, and small doses for diarrhoea. Thus, it was used both as a laxative and as a diuretic. It was also used to treat liver diseases, kidney stones, and gout. Three varieties of the species, Rheum officinale, Rheum palmatum, and Rheum tanguticum, are still widely cultivated and used as medicinal plants in China. It is a powerful, yet mild laxative that evacuates the intestines and purges the bowels efficiently. As the leaves are poisonous, the roots and the stalks are consumed.293 The rhubarb root, Radix et Rhizoma Rhei, is among the earliest and most recognised Chinese herbal medicines.294
12:1 Illnesses: For how several of these illnesses are created, and for their treatment through means other than phlebotomy, see ZÄd al-musÄfir wa-qÅ«t al-ḥÄá¸ir by Ibn al-ǦazzÄr.
12:3 Phlebotomising the frontal vein Galen: âSimilarly when a vein in the forehead is cut, heaviness of the head and pains that have become chronic as a result of plethos are usually relieved.â295
12:3 Callous hardenings of the face: â®
Polyps: See commentary for §â¯5:10.
12:4 Phlebotomising the cephalic vein and its benefits:
Eyes: Galen: âWhen the eyes are affected, cutting the vein called the humeral, or the one branching from it at the elbow, quickly brings clear benefit.â297 For Galen, the humeral vein is the cephalic vein.298
Throat: Galen: âParts in the region of the throat and trachea which are much inflamed are greatly benefited at the beginning by venesection at the elbow, but after the beginning by letting blood from the tongue; both the veins in it are cut.â299
â¨the eye combined with pain, throbbing pain and itchingâ©: This part is written in the margin. Where it belongs is not marked in the Ms., but it is likely to be a description of qurūḥ al-Ê¿ayn al-mutaÅ¡aqqiqa.
Ptilosis: Cf. Maimonides, Aphorisms 23: âThe eyelids that become thick and hard and whose color turns red and whose hairs fall off is an illness that is called sulÄq [ptilosis].â300 The term features in Galenâs Meth. Med. III as ptili, which, according to Galen, âdestroy the eyelashesâ.301
Lining of the mouth: Ms. Escorial reads literally âinterior oblong covering,â â®
Prolapse of the uvula: Cf. Maimonides, Aphorisms 15: âThe uvula can be affected by the illness of extreme relaxation without an inflammation, in which case we generally cut it off. But when the uvula is affected by this illness, remedies that heat and that cleanse the phlegm are really beneficial for it, because, at that time, the uvula mostly tends to turn white, as if it were lacking blood.â302
12:5 Pleurisy: â®
Pleuritis: â®
12:6 Phlebotomising the basilic vein:
Fleshy-dropsy: The term in Ms. Escorial is istisqÄʾ laḥmÄ«. IstisqÄʾ is one of the Arabic translations of the Greek word for dropsy,
Haemorrhoids: Galen: âIf you have recourse to phlebotomy because of suppression of a haemorrhoid, and wish to restrain the bleeding further, you should cut the veins in the arms; but to urge it on, those in the legs.â306
Melancholy: the term for melancholy, in Greek
Colic: In the era of al-RÄzÄ«, colic signified abdominal pain arising from intestinal obstruction.310 According to Ibn SÄ«nÄ, it is a disease that causes abnormal retention in the large intestine.311
Ileus, which means âLord, have mercyâ: Ms. Escorial states that ileus (Ä«lÄwus), in Greek
Gout: Ms. Escorial reads that gout appears especially in the joints of a man â®
Varicose veins: Ms. Escorial offers the word â®
Elephantiasis: It is worth discussing the terms âleprosyâ and âelephantiasis.â Ullmann defines the term â®
When I speak of opposites to those things mentioned, I refer to the liver being adapted to the generation of such a superfluity, a diet consisting of those foods which by nature generate blood that is thick and muddy, and a spleen that is weaker in nature and more unable to draw all that is generated to itself. In such a body, the blood becomes turbid and thickened in the veins. But sometimes the veins themselves are provided with a separative capacity for getting rid of what is abnormal, just as all other parts are, and pour this humor out through hemorrhoids. Often it rushes down to dilated (varicose) veins and is sometimes thrust toward the skin as a whole. This is the genesis of the affection people call elephas/elephantiasis.325
In Meth. Med. G, Galen recommends purging the melancholic humour and phlebotomy for treating elephantiasis;326 and IÅ¡limÅ«n notes: âUseful against elephantiasis is to bleed the (small) saphenous vein in both shanks, and to keep shaking off (matter) by (using) that which purges the black bile.â327
12:7 Galen phlebotomised in putrid blood feverâ¦: In Meth. Med. III, Galen talks about âevacuating the abundanceâ328 in order to cure the fever and stop the putrefaction. He also says: âIt is best, then, as I said, to open a vein, not only in the continuous fevers but also in all the other fevers due to putrefaction of humors, at least whenever the factors of age and capacity do not prevent this.â329
Bad smell of urine: Hippocrates: âIf the urine contain blood, pus and scales, and its odour be strong, it means ulceration of the bladder.â330 See also commentary for §â¯3:3.
Small particles in the urine: Ms. Escorial reads something that looks like â®
Lassitude: Ms. Escorial offers an uncertain reading of â®
12:9 Phlebotomising the popliteal fossa and the saphenous vein: Galen: âYou should always evacuate women who suffer from suppression of the menses from the legs, either by opening a vein or by scarifying.â332
13:2 & 13:3 Galenâs preparation: This prescription and the instructions of its usage correspond to Galen in Meth. Med. II. Galen:
the best of all the medications I know, and the one which is safer to use for hemorrhages from the meninges, is the one I shall speak of. Mix one part of frankincense with half a part of aloes, and then, when it comes to the time for use, mix in the white of an egg to such a degree that the whole has a honeylike consistency. Next, let this be taken up by the softest hairs of a hare, and then let it be applied in abundance to the vessel and to the whole wound. Bind externally with a linen cloth in an underbandage, making the first four or five turns on the hemorrhaging vein itself, and from that point, distribute it to the root of the vessel in those parts where it is possible to distribute to the root, which is almost all parts except for the meninges. Then, when you release it on the third day, if the medication is still adhering safely to the wound, apply another encircling bandage, moistening the tampon from the hairs, as you bound it initially. If the first tampon should fall off spontaneously, gently compress the root of the vessel with your finger until there is no further flow, then remove your finger carefully and apply another tampon.333
See also Maimonides, Rules:
If you want to stop a hemorrhage, you should first of all put a medicine on it that stops the bleeding; then apply a bandage and observe: if it still bleeds a little bit, you should not untie the bandage; but if it bleeds a lot, you should untie the first bandage and repeat this procedure after you let the patient rest for a little while. You should leave on the bandage until the third day, then untie it gently, and if you find the medicine [still] adhering to the wound, you should add [some more medicine] to it and put a [new] bandage on it. And if you find that [the wound] has healed, you should remove it [the bandage] gently and do the same thing again.334
More aloe for the bodies that are dominated by dryness: Galen in Meth. Med. II: âObviously, we must apply aloes more to hard bodiesâ.335
Processed cotton: Ms. Escorial reads â®
13:4 And if he develops fever: This could be understood in two ways: either as âif he [i.e., the patient] develops a fever,â alternatively as âif it [i.e., the phlebotomised site] becomes warmâ. The first reading is deemed more plausible, suggested in Ms. Parma: ââ®
13:5 Burned chalcitis: According to Galen, chalcitis is a very strong medication to cicatrise wounds.336 For more on the topic of healing wounds, see Galen, Meth. Med. III and IV.
Its prescription: In al-RÄzÄ«âs work on alchemy, KitÄb al-AsrÄr, the prescription is as follows: âYou take vitriol, purify it, add the liquid of a distilled egg yolk in the amount of a quarter of the vitriol and let it solidify.â337
The three vitriols: In Ms. Escorial al-RÄzÄ« states that there are three vitriols. In his book on alchemy, al-RÄzÄ« lists five vitriols: black, white, yellow, red, and green vitriol.338 For producing vitriols artificially, see al-RÄzÄ«, AsrÄr, pp. 107â108.
13:8 Roman earth: Another name for terra sigillata.339
Red and white sandalwood: The term â®
14:2 The lateral parts of the neck: Fonahn defines the term â®
14:3 Cupping takes the blood from small veins: Cf. Qusá¹Ä ibn LÅ«qÄ, Numbness: âby cupping, the blood is extracted from narrow, invisible passages.â342
14:5 It relieves the head: possibly what is meant is that cupping relieves the pain in the head and the other mentioned parts. Galen: âuse a cupping glass affixed to the occiput to drive [the blood] back.â343
14:9 ⦠it also makes the menstruation flow: Galen: âYou know that I have the same opinion concerning women whose menstrual purgation has been suppressed. Evacuation should not be deferred in these patients either; it is not essential, however, to open a vein, for in fact scarifications of the ankles are sufficient to eliminate the excess, since they possess some other power to urge on the menstrual changes, just as venesections at the ankles and hams do. You should always evacuate women who suffer from suppression of the menses from the legs, either by opening a vein or by scarifying.â344 In Meth. Med. II, XIII, Galen writes: âAnd if we wish to set in motion the menstrual flow, we place the cupping glass on the pubes and the inguinal glands.â345
For women â¦: Ms. Escorial reads: âwhoever is of the women, the appearance of her face is beautiful, and her colour is whiteâ. Qusá¹Ä ibn LÅ«qÄ also refers to women in similar words: âwho was of women, her colour white.â346 This, according to Galen, is because âThose of them who are of fairer complexion collect thinner blood, and hence derive the greatest benefit from scarification at the ankles. But treat those who are darker by phlebotomy, since they accumulate thicker and more melancholic blood, particularly if they appear to have large veins; these are found in the more slender and darker women, while smallness of the veins is characteristic of those who are plump and fair, and in these it is better to scarify the ankles than to cut a vein. And indeed these women have small veins in their legs, so that the right amount does not escape even if they are well phlebotomised.â347
14:10 Gradually: Understood as increasing the strength of the suction gradually. It is the vacuum caused by the heat that causes the cup to adhere, and this could be controlled by the degree of heating the cup.348
14:15 These cupping vessels may be made of copper or silver: For more on cupping vessels, see Bliquez, The Tools of Asclepius, p. 56â¯ff.
14:16 When they are fastened ⦠they stanch epistaxis: Galen: âOn the same basis too, very large cupping glasses, when applied to the hypochondrium, stop hemorrhages from the nose. However, when [blood] flows from the right nostril, it is necessary to place [the cupping glass] over the liver, while when it flows from the left nostril, it is necessary to place it over the spleen, and when it flows from both nostrils, over both viscera.â349 Qusá¹Ä ibn LÅ«qÄ confirms that cupping the false ribs is beneficial for ending epistaxis, adding that it should be conducted on the same side as the bleeding nostril.350
14:17 If they are fastened on the breasts: Hippocrates: âTo restrain menstruation in women, apply a very large cupping instrument to the breast.â351
14:20 â®â .....................â â¬â: The text is corrupt beginning from the words â®
Penn, Monks, Manuscripts, and Muslims: Syriac Textual Changes in Reaction to the Rise of Islam, Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies, Vol. 12.2, 235â257, 2009 by Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute and Gorgias Press.
Galen, Temp., II, 3, 603K (LCLÂ 546: 158â149).
Maimonides, Aphorisms 2, 1, p. 26.
Hippocrates, Nat. Hom, IV (LCLÂ 150: 10â11).
Hippocrates, Nat. Hom. VII (LCLÂ 150: 18â21).
Brain, Galen on Bloodletting, p. 8.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 72.
Galen, Nat. Fac., I, II (LCLÂ 71: 4â5).
Galen, Nat. Fac., I, II (LCLÂ 71: 4â7).
Both works, Galeni de Venae Sectione adversus Erasistratum Liber (pp. 15â37), and Galeni de Venae Sectione Adversus Erasistrateos Romae Degentes (pp. 38â66) extant in Brain 1986, Galen on Bloodletting.
Qusá¹Ä ibn LÅ«qÄ, KitÄb fÄ« l-Faá¹£d, p. 290.
Hippocrates, Nutriment, 8 (LCLÂ 147: 328â329). For an Arabic translation of the same work, see Hippocrates, De alimento.
Galen, Nat. Fac., I. XI (LCLÂ 71: 42â43).
Ibn ǦanÄḥ II, pp. 786â787.
Galen, Nat. Fac., III.VII, 163â164 (LCLÂ 71: 254â255).
Galen, UP, Fourth Book, 210, p. 215.
Galen, Nat. Fac., III, VIII (LCLÂ 71: 270â271).
Galen, UP, Fourth Book, 1, p. 207.
Galen, UP, Sixteenth Book, II, p. 713.
Galen, Meth. Med. III, XI, 800K (LCLÂ 518: 208â209).
Galen, UP, II, 378, p. 682.
Hippocrates, Nutriment, XXXI (LCLÂ 147: 352â353).
De Koning, Trois Traités dâAnatomie Arabes, p. 36 (my translation).
Galen, UP, Fourth Book, p. 207.
Hippocrates, Nutriment, 23 (LCLÂ 147: 332â333).
Hippocrates, Places in Man, 3 (LCLÂ 482: 26â27).
Galen, UP, Sixth Book, p. 303.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 67; Qusá¹Ä ibn LÅ«qÄ, KitÄb fÄ« l-Faá¹£d, pp. 330â331.
Al-RÄzÄ«, KitÄb al-IklÄ«l, p. 145 (f. 31a).
Brain, Galen on Bloodletting, p. 178.
Montanari, The Brill Dictionary of Ancient Greek, p. 486.
Brain, Galen on Bloodletting, p. 177.
Montanari, The Brill Dictionary of Ancient Greek, p. 1171.
Galen, Meth. Med. Hankinson, p. 30.
Galen, Meth. Med. III, XI, 21. 809K (LCLÂ 518: 220â223).
Hippocrates, Regimen III, LXXII (LCL 150, pp. 390â393).
Temkin, Galenism, p. 72.
Hippocrates, Aphorisms, XXIII (LCLÂ 150: 112â113).
Hippocrates, Critical Days, 9 (LCLÂ 509: 308â309).
Hippocrates, Aphorisms, I.VII (LCLÂ 150: 102â103).
Galen, Opt. Med. Ex., p. 81.
Translated from Galen by Ḥunayn ibn IsḥÄq in Galen, Opt. Med. Ex., pp. 80â81.
Translated from Galen by Ḥunayn ibn IsḥÄq in Galen, Opt. Med. Ex., pp. 66â67.
Galen, Alim. Fac., pp. 4â5.
Hippocrates, Regimen in Acute Diseases, X (LCLÂ 148: 70â71).
Nasrallah, Annals of the Caliphsâ Kitchens, p. 570.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 87.
Brain, Galen on Bloodletting, p. 131.
Galen Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 87.
Minorsky, ḤudÅ«d al-Ê¿Älam, p. 151.
Ibn al-Nadīm, Fihrist, p. 701.
Al-Khalidi, Al-KÄ«miyÄʾ Ê¿ind al-Ê¿Arab, p. 21. However, al-Khalidi does not provide sources for this statement.
Liddell & Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, p. 1229a.
Temkin, Galenism, p. 127.
Ibn al-ǦazzÄr, ZÄd al-MusÄfir, I.10.4 no: 174 (p. 107).
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 89.
Qusá¹Ä ibn LÅ«qÄ, KitÄb fÄ« l-Faá¹£d, p. 364.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 89.
Sezgin, Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums, Bd. 3, p. 273.
Lane, An Arabic-English Lexicon, book 1 part 1, p. 218.
For clarifying what is meant by this term, I want to thank Professor Tzvi Langermann.
Saif, Islamicate Occult Sciences in Theory and Practice, p. 2.
Swain, Social Stress and Political Pressure: On Melancholy in Context, pp. 121â122.
Quote from Galenâs Method of Medicine to Glaucon in Maimonides, Aphorisms 12, 5, p. 29. In Method of Medicine to Glaucon, Galen seems to be talking about purging in this statement. See Galen, Meth. Med. G, 15, 45K (LCL 523: 404â407).
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 87.
Maimonides, Aphorisms 24, 17, p. 79.
This story features in book 6 of Galenâs commentary of Hippocratesâ Epidemics, see Maimonides, Aphorisms 24, 17, p. 79.
Ibn Abī Uṣaybiʿa, Literary History of Medicine, 9.49, p. 554, footnote 62.
Hippocrates, Aphorisms I, 1 (LCL 150: 98â99).
Hippocrates, Epidemics I, 11 (LCL 147: 170â171).
Dietrich, Dioscurides Triumphans, IV 160, pp. 674â675.
Galen, Com. Hip. Ep., I, p. 77.
Bakich, The Cambridge Guide to the Constellations, p. 300.
Bakich, The Cambridge Guide to the Constellations, p. 302.
Bakich, The Cambridge Guide to the Constellations, p. 168.
Galen, De Alim. Fac., III:1.
Galen, De Alim. Fac., III:18.
Galen, De Alim. Fac., III:39.
Al-KindÄ«, AqrÄbÄá¸Ä«n, p. 339. For more on wines, see Galen, Alim. Fac., III:39 (pp. 149â150); Galen, Meth. Med. II, XII, chapter 4; Dioscorides, GHD, Book V; and Hippocrates, Regimen III (LCL 150: 324â327).
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 67.
Montanari, The Brill Dictionary of Ancient Greek, p. 1681.
Galen, Meth. Med. III, XIII, 891K (LCLÂ 518: 344â345).
Hippocrates, Aphorisms II, LI (LCL 150: 120â121).
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 71.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 74.
Galen, PHP VII 3, pp. 444â445. For an explanation how this works, see Galen, PHP VII 3â4, pp. 442â453.
Galen, UP, p. 48.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 71.
Maimonides, Aphorisms 4.
Kahl, The Sanskrit, Syriac and Persian Sources in the Comprehensive Book of Rhazes, p. 276â¯ff.
Maimonides, Aphorisms 5, p. 71â¯ff.
Galen, Inst. Log., p. 42.
Galen, Inst. Log., p. 100.
Hippocrates, Epidemics I (LCL 147: 207â209).
Hippocrates, Epidemics VI, Section III, 17. (LCL 477: 230â231).
Galenâs Commentary on Hippocratesâ Humours, 2.2 [16.219.9â220.3 Kühn]. I am very grateful to Professor Peter Pormann for his help with identifying the quote in this passage.
Swain, Social Stress and Political Pressure: On Melancholy in Context, p. 121.
Rufus, Quaestiones medicinales, §§â¯28â33 (pp. 74â77).
Mattern, Prince of Medicine, p. 174.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 71.
Dozy, Supplément aux dictionnaires arabes, p. 242.
Kahl, The Sanskrit, Syriac and Persian Sources in the Comprehensive Book of Rhazes, p. 298.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 71.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 76, footnote 29.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 76.
Qusá¹Ä ibn LÅ«qÄ, KitÄb fÄ« l-Faá¹£d, p. 314.
Fellmann, Das AqrÄbÄd̲īn al-QalÄnisÄ«, p. 216.
Kahl, SÄbÅ«r ibn Sahl; The Small Dispensatory, p. 72.
Liddell & Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, Vol I, p. 820.
Kahl, SÄbÅ«r ibn Sahl; The Small Dispensatory, p. 72.
Galen, Meth. Med. II, VII 491K (LCLÂ 517: 288â289).
Nasrallah, Annals of the Caliphsâ Kitchens, p. 735.
Nasrallah, Annals of the Caliphsâ Kitchens, p. 732.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 77.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 77.
Qusá¹Ä ibn LÅ«qÄ, KitÄb fÄ« l-Faá¹£d, pp. 332â333.
Maimonides, Aphorisms 23, 30, p. 35.
Maimonides, Rules, p. 15.
Hippocrates, Critical Days, 11 (LCLÂ 509: 310â311).
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 88.
Galen, Meth. Med. II, XIII, 922K (LCLÂ 518: 390â391).
Galen, Meth. Med. I, IV, 297K (LCLÂ 516: 450â451).
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 78.
Galen, Meth. Med. III, XII, 819K (LCLÂ 518: 238â239).
Galen, Meth. Med. III, XI, 805K (LCLÂ 518: 214â217).
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., pp. 84â85.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 85.
Temkin, Galenism, p. 102.
Maimonides, Aphorisms 11, 1, p. 20.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 85.
Brain, Galen on Bloodletting, p. 128.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 86.
Brain, Galen on Bloodletting, p. 30.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 88.
Hippocrates, Regimen in Acute Diseases, XXII (LCLÂ 148: 80â81).
Qusá¹Ä ibn LÅ«qÄ, KitÄb fÄ« l-Faá¹£d, p. 358â¯ff.
Wehr, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, p. 244.
Hippocrates, Nutriment, XXXI (LCLÂ 147: 352â353).
De Koning, Trois Traités dâAnatomie Arabes, p. 42.
Perho, The Prophetâs Medicine, p. 63.
Netter, Atlas of Human Anatomy, plate 10.
Qusá¹Ä ibn LÅ«qÄ, KitÄb fÄ« l-Faá¹£d, pp. 401â402.
Ullmann, Islamic Medicine, p. 88.
Netter, Atlas of Human Anatomy, plate 10.
Hippocrates, Airs, Waters, Places, Chapter 22. (LCL 147: 132â133).
Nutton, Ancient medicine, p. 76.
Netter, Atlas of Human Anatomy, plate 10.
Albucasis, Albucasis on Surgery and Instruments, p. 656â¯ff.
Fonahn, Arabic and Latin Anatomical Terminology: Chiefly from the Middle Ages, 103.
Galen, Meth. Med. II, V, 6., 332K, LCL 517: 40â41 (pp. 40â41).
Galen, Dis., p. 60.
Ullmann, Die Medizin im Islam, p. 142.
Rhazes, ḤÄwÄ« II, p. 168â¯ff.
Rhazes, ḤÄwÄ« II, p. 36.
Ḥunayn ibn IsḥÄq, Ê¿AÅ¡r maqÄlÄt fÄ« l-Ê¿ayn, Book 6, p. 61âArabic equivalent p. 133.
Ibn ǦanÄḥ II, pp. 785â786.
Maimonides, Aphorisms 23, p. 53.
Al-ṬabarÄ«, AmrÄḠal-Ê¿ayn, p. 201. I would like to express my gratitude to Scarlett Wood for identifying this source.
Fonahn, Arabic and Latin Anatomical Terminology: Chiefly from the Middle Ages, p. 76.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 94.
Netter, Atlas of Human Anatomy, plate 10.
Qusá¹Ä ibn LÅ«qÄ, KitÄb fÄ« l-Faá¹£d, p. 401.
Al-RÄzÄ«, KitÄb al-IklÄ«l, p. 143 (f. 30b).
Al-RÄzÄ«, KitÄb al-IklÄ«l, p. 143 (f. 30b).
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., pp. 98â99.
Albucasis, Albucasis on Surgery and Instruments, p. 630.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 94.
Ullmann, Die Medizin im Islam, p. 235.
Maimonides, Aphorisms 23, 71, p. 55. The word ârhyasâ appears in brackets in the cited edition.
Galen, Meth. Med. III, XIVÂ 1002K (LCLÂ 518: 508â511).
Netter, Atlas of Human Anatomy, plate 42.
Netter, Atlas of Human Anatomy, plate 65.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 94.
Netter, Atlas of Human Anatomy, plate 70.
Fonahn, Arabic and Latin Anatomical Terminology: Chiefly from the Middle Ages, p. 72.
Netter, Atlas of Human Anatomy, plate 419.
Galen, Meth. Med. III, XIII, 904K (LCLÂ 518: 362â363).
Montanari, The Brill Dictionary of Ancient Greek, p. 1120.
Fonahn, Arabic and Latin Anatomical Terminology: Chiefly from the Middle Ages, p. 81.
Ullmann, Wörterbuch zu den griechisch-arabischen Ãbersetzungen des 9. Jahrhunderts, p. 926.
Liddell & Scott, An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon, p. 784.
Qusá¹Ä ibn LÅ«qÄ, KitÄb fÄ« l-Faá¹£d, p. 371.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 91.
Fonahn, Arabic and Latin Anatomical Terminology: Chiefly from the Middle Ages, p. 75.
Montanari, The Brill Dictionary of Ancient Greek, p. 379.
Netter, Atlas of Human Anatomy, plate 406.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 91.
Albucasis, Albucasis on Surgery and Instruments, p. 651.
Fonahn, Arabic and Latin Anatomical Terminology: Chiefly from the Middle Ages, p. 67.
Netter, Atlas of Human Anatomy, plate 406.
Galen, Meth. Med. III, XIII, 904K (LCLÂ 518: 362â363).
Lane, An Arabic-English Lexicon, p. 1416.
Netter, Atlas of Human Anatomy, plate 406.
Wehr, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, p. 496.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 90.
Qusá¹Ä ibn LÅ«qÄ, KitÄb fÄ« l-Faá¹£d, p. 369.
Netter, Atlas of Human Anatomy, plate 475.
Galen, Meth. Med. III, XIII, 904K (LCLÂ 518: 362â363).
Qusá¹Ä ibn LÅ«qÄ, KitÄb fÄ« l-Faá¹£d, pp. 377â378.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 95.
Galen, Meth. Med. I, IV, 276K (LCLÂ 516: 418â419).
Albucasis, Albucasis on Surgery and Instruments, p. 652.
Fonahn, Arabic and Latin Anatomical Terminology: Chiefly from the Middle Ages, p. 76.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., pp. 93â94.
Fonahn, Arabic and Latin Anatomical Terminology: Chiefly from the Middle Ages, p. 130.
Netter, Atlas of Human Anatomy, plate 475.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 93.
Ullmann, Islamic Medicine, p. 1.
Ullmann, Islamic Medicine, p. 82.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 97.
Galen, UP, Sixth Book, p. 304.
Galen, UP, Sixth Book, p. 303.
Galen, UP, Sixth Book, pp. 296â297.
Hankinson, Galenâs Theory of Causation in ANRW II 37:2 (1994), pp. 1757â1774, footnote 46.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 98.
Mattern, Prince of Medicine, p. 38.
Netter, Atlas of Human Anatomy, plate 459.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 98.
Galen, Meth. Med. III, XIII, 901K (LCLÂ 518: 358â359).
Netter, Atlas of Human Anatomy, plate 405.
Al-RÄzÄ«, KitÄb al-IklÄ«l, p. 145 (f. 31a).
Dozy, Supplément aux dictionnaires arabes, p. 253.
Maimonides, Aphorisms 23, 33, p. 37 (In Hippocratis De acutorum morborum [victu et] Galeni commentarius 2.)
Albucasis, Albucasis on Surgery and Instruments, p. 642.
Galen, Meth. Med. Hankinson, 1.7.1., p. 26âA stands for aition / aitia, E for energeia / energesthai / energÄma (ibid., p. xii).
Galen, Meth. Med. I, IV, 293Kâ294K (LCLÂ 516: 444â447).
Galen, Meth. Med. II, V, 16. (LCLÂ 517: 16â17).
Brain, Galen on Bloodletting, pp. 129â130.
Albucasis, Albucasis on Surgery and Instruments, p. 674.
Kahl, The Sanskrit, Syriac and Persian Sources in the Comprehensive Book of Rhazes, pp. 78â83.
Albucasis, Albucasis on Surgery and Instruments, p. 674.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 84.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 84.
Galen, Meth. Med. II, V, 316K (LCLÂ 517: 16â19).
Ibn AbÄ« Uá¹£aybiÊ¿a, ṬabaqÄt, p. 761, my translation.
Swain, Social Stress and Political Pressure: On Melancholy in Context, p. 120.
Aristotle, Problems IV, 30 (LCL 316: 172â173).
Galen, De locis affectis, Book VI, 417â421, pp. 184â185.
Qusá¹Ä ibn LÅ«qÄ, KitÄb fÄ« l-Faá¹£d, p. 299.
Brain, Galen on Bloodletting, p. 132.
Maimonides, Aphorisms 12, 25, p. 34.
Maimonides, Rules, 23, p. 10.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 86.
Galen, Meth. Med. G, Book I, 12, 38K (LCL 523: 392â393).
Hippocrates, Epidemics III, 8 (LCL 147: 268â269).
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 96.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 97.
Wehr, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, p. 496.
Nasrallah, Annals of the Caliphsâ Kitchens, p. 534.
Galen, Meth. Med. II, VI, 385K (LCLÂ 517: 120â121).
Albucasis, Albucasis on Surgery and Instruments, p. 642.
Albucasis, Albucasis on Surgery and Instruments, p. 642.
Nasrallah, Annals of the Caliphsâ Kitchens, p. 555.
Nasrallah, Annals of the Caliphsâ Kitchens, p. 552.
Nasrallah, Annals of the Caliphsâ Kitchens, p. 830.
Galen, Alim. Fac., III:21 (p. 134).
Galen, Alim. Fac., III:1 (pp. 114â115).
Nasrallah, Annals of the Caliphsâ Kitchens, p. 724.
Galen, Alim. Fac., III:18 (pp. 131â132).
Nasrallah, Annals of the Caliphsâ Kitchens, p. 607.
Nasrallah, Annals of the Caliphsâ Kitchens, p. 617.
Nasrallah, Annals of the Caliphsâ Kitchens, p. 607.
Nasrallah, Annals of the Caliphsâ Kitchens, p. 614.
Nasrallah, Annals of the Caliphsâ Kitchens, p. 620.
Nasrallah, Annals of the Caliphsâ Kitchens, p. 608.
Riddle, Dio. Pharm. Med., p. 144.
Montanari, The Brill Dictionary of Ancient Greek, p. 1305.
Ullmann, Islamic Medicine, p. 60.
Maimonides, RH, p. 84.
Nasrallah, Annals of the Caliphsâ Kitchens, p. 770.
Nasrallah, Annals of the Caliphsâ Kitchens, p. 611.
Nasrallah, Annals of the Caliphsâ Kitchens, pp. 617â618.
Nasrallah, Annals of the Caliphsâ Kitchens, p. 612.
Nasrallah, Annals of the Caliphsâ Kitchens, p. 610.
Ibn ǦanÄḥ I, p. 338.
Dozy, Supplément aux dictionnaires arabes, p. 81.
Ibn ǦanÄḥ I, no. 566 (p. 429). The Arabic word Ê¿aqÄ«d stands for a beverage prepared by evaporating the serous part of milk; the residue is formed into cakes or pieces with the hand, and spread on a horsehair sack to dry (Dozy, Supplément aux dictionnaires arabes, p. 151).
Ibn AbÄ« Uá¹£aybiÊ¿a, ṬabaqÄt, p. 774, my translation.
Maimonides, Rules, 38, p. 17.
Galen, Meth. Med. II, V, 15, 374K (LCLÂ 517: 104â105).
Galen, Meth. Med. III, XIV, 8, 971K (LCLÂ 518: 464â465).
Galen, Meth. Med. III, XIV, 8. 971Kâ972K (LCLÂ 518: 462â465).
Temkin, Galenism, p. 67.
Siegel, Galenâs System of Physiology and Medicine, p. 11.
Alam, Houshang, âCassiaâ, in Encyclopædia Iranica,
Nasrallah, Annals of the Caliphsâ Kitchens, p. 433.
Al-KindÄ«, AqrÄbÄá¸Ä«n.
Maimonides, RH, p. 88.
Alam, Houshang, âCassiaâ, in Encyclopædia Iranica,
Galen, Alim. Fac., I, 9, 501 (p. 47).
Galen, Alim. Fac., I, 18, 526â527, (p. 58).
Ibn ǦanÄḥ I, 488 (p. 368).
Clementi & Misiti, Potential Health Benefits of Rhubarb, pp. 407â423.
Tang & Eisenbrand, Chinese Drugs of Plant Origin, p. 855.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 94.
Maimonides, Aphorisms 23, 72, p. 55.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 90.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 91, footnote 69.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 94.
Maimonides, Aphorisms 23, 71, p. 55.
Galen, Meth. Med. III, XIV, 1017K (LCLÂ 518: 532â533).
Maimonides, Aphorisms 15, 27, pp. 61â62.
Lane, An Arabic-English Lexicon, p. 465.
Kahl, The Sanskrit, Syriac and Persian Sources in the Comprehensive Book of Rhazes, p. 208.
Ibn ǦanÄḥ, I, no. 402, p. 570.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., pp. 94â95.
Montanari, The Brill Dictionary of Ancient Greek, p. 1300.
Brain, Galen on Bloodletting, p. 179.
Dozy, Supplément aux dictionnaires arabes, p. 565.
Al-RÄzÄ«, KitÄb al-Qawlanǧ, p. 14.
Ibn SÄ«nÄ, RisÄla fÄ« l-Qawlanǧ, p. 157.
Ibn ǦanÄḥ I, no. 98, p. 294.
Ibn SÄ«nÄ, RisÄla fÄ« l-Qawlanǧ, p. 157.
Ibn ǦanÄḥ I, no. 98, p. 295.
Ibn ǦanÄḥ I, no. 98, p. 295.
Maimonides, Aphorisms 23, p. 63.
Galen, Nat. Fac., III. XIII, 193 (LCLÂ 71: 299).
Rhazes, Naqras, p. 20.
Rhazes, Naqras, p. 35.
Ullmann, Islamic Medicine, p. 88.
Galen, Dis., p. 54.
Galen, Dis., p. 50.
Galen, Dis., pp. 50â51.
Galen, Dis., p. 56.
Galen, Meth. Med. G, Book II, 140K (LCL 523: 550â551).
Galen, Meth. Med. G, 12 (LCLÂ 523: 335).
Kahl, The Sanskrit, Syriac and Persian Sources in the Comprehensive Book of Rhazes, p. 169.
Galen, Meth. Med. III, XI, chapter 10 (LCL 518).
Galen, Meth. Med. III, XI, chapter 15, 785K (LCL 518).
Hippocrates, Aphorisms IV, LXXXI (LCL 150: 156â157).
Brain, Galen on Bloodletting, p. 123.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 83.
Galen, Meth. Med. II, V, 320Kâ321K (LCL: 517: 22â25).
Maimonides, Rules, 75, p. 28.
Galen, Meth. Med. II, V, 322K (LCLÂ 517: 26â27).
Galen, Meth. Med. I, III (LCLÂ 516: 304â305).
Al-RÄzÄ«, AsrÄr, p. 108.
Al-RÄzÄ«, AsrÄr, p. 102.
Käs, Mineralien II, pp. 845â847.
Schmucker, Firdaws, no. 461.
Fonahn, Arabic and Latin Anatomical Terminology: Chiefly from the Middle Ages, p. 6.
Qusá¹Ä ibn LÅ«qÄ, Numbness, p. 59.
Galen, Meth. Med. II, V, 332K (LCLÂ 517: 40â41).
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., p. 83.
Galen, Meth. Med. III, XIII, 971K (LCLÂ 518: 396â397).
Qusá¹Ä ibn LÅ«qÄ, KitÄb fÄ« l-Faá¹£d, p. 339.
Galen, Cur. Rat. Ven. Sect., pp. 83â84.
Bliquez, The Tools of Asclepius, p. 59.
Galen, Meth. Med. II, V, 316K (LCLÂ 517: 16â17).
Qusá¹Ä ibn LÅ«qÄ, KitÄb fÄ« l-Faá¹£d, p. 342.
Hippocrates, Epidemics II, 16 (LCL 477: 80â81).