Islamic Medicine History and Current Practice - International Society ...

Abdul Nasser KAADANCHILD HEALTH AS VIEWED BY IBN-SINAwritten. This book is considered a unique reference ordocument containing all medical knowledge, as itaccumulated through many civilizations until thetime of Ibn-Sina himself.In his way of explanation Ibn-Sina was very closeto the way which modern medical textbooks followregarding classification, causes of diseases, epidemiology,symptoms and signs, treatment and prognosis.In this respect we can say that the excellence in itsarrangement and comprehensiveness made al-Qanunbook the most widespread in the Islamic andEuropean countries. Al-Qanun book was known tothe Europeans through the Latin translations ofGerard of Cremona in the 15 th century, and remainedin use in medical schools at Louvain and Montpellieruntil the 17 th century, and according to the Journal ofUNESCO, October issue, 1980, the Qanun bookremained in use in Brussels University until 1909.By the 12 th century awareness set in that thesecompendia were too large to be really useful forready reference. Consequently, epitomes of theQanun were produced to make the ideas more quicklyaccessible, and commentaries were written to clarifythe contents. The most popular of all the epitomeof the Qanun was that called Kitab al-Mujiz fil Tibbor the Concise Book in Medicine. It was written inSyria by Ibn-al-Nafis, who died in 1288.Ibn-Sina begins his book al-Qanun by definitionmedicine by saying: Medicine is a science, fromwhich one learns the states of the human body, withrespect to what is healthy and what is not, in order topreserve good health when it exists, and restore itwhen it is lacking.Al-Qanun book consists of five books, the firstconcerned with general medical principles. The secondwith materia medica. The third with diseasesoccurring in a particular part of the body. The fourthon diseases not specific to one bodily part (such asfevers), in addition, to traumatic injuries such as fracturesand dislocations of bones and joints. With thefinal book containing a formula giving recipes forcompound remedies.In the first book Ibn-Sina devoted a special partfor talking about children bringing up and their diseases,and he called it (The first education in bringingup). This part consists of four chapters:The first chapter is for the management of thenewborn until the walking age. In this chapter we canfind the concepts of Ibn-Sina and all other physiciansbefore him regarding issues, which are necessary tobe carried out for every newborn baby. He says thatafter delivery the umbilical cord should be cut for adistance of four fingers breadth, and ligated by usinga wool string, then a bandage dipped by oil appliedon. All of his body should be washed, with a necessityof dropping inside his eyes, and the nose orificesshould be cleaned. Then Ibn-Sina talked about thenewborn bathing, dressing and sleeping.In the second chapter he talks about milk feeding,the characters of the good wet nurse and weakling. Inthis regard Ibn-Sina stresses on the necessity of doingall efforts to keep the newborn on his mother milkfeedingas possible, because it is in its essence likehis feeding during the embryonic stage. Regardingweakling Ibn-Sina says that it should be gradually,and should be given first light foot such as light meetwith soup. Then he stressed on the necessity of notenforcing the baby to sit or stand before he could performthat by him self.In the third chapter he talked about pediatric diseasesand their treatments. Among these diseases are:gum tumors, aphtha, xophthalmous, thrush, ear painand discharge, difficult breathing, cough, commoncold, throat tumors, diarrhea, vomiting, hiccup,abdominal cramp, rectal prolapse, tenismus, worms,crying, sleeping disorders, bad dreams.The fourth chapter was devoted to children managementuntil adulthood. In this chapter Ibn-Sinatalks about the moral and emotional education of thechildren, revealing his opinions in this regard.In the other chapters of al-Qanun book we canfind some remarks related to pediatric diseases suchas: bed wetting, convulsions, measles, smallpox andsome congenital deformities.When he talked about traumatic dislocation of thehip, Ibn-Sina says that this dislocation may developbefore or just after delivery, mentioning to what isknown now congenital dislocation of the hip.Al-orjozah fi-ttib (Medicine in a poem)This is considered the second most importantmedical works of Ibn-Sina after al-Qanun. Ibn-Sina38 JISHIM 2003, 2