The Past
Medicine of the Middle East
CAPTION: An Islamic pharmacist and his apprentice
Islam is started in the 7th century. As the Muslim conquest other land, they not only spread their religion Islam, but also their advanced medicine knowledge. The Islamic medicine was influenced by Greek medicine. By learning about Greek medicine, the Islamic medicine was able to become the one of the most advanced at its time. They knew how to perform many kinds of surgery. Besides amputation and treating fractures, they knew how to remove hemorrhoid, kidney stones, and even cataract. To free the patient from pain of the surgery, they developed two forms of anesthesia; one is the oral kind that used narcotic, and the other is by inhaling a special fume from a sponge. Their alchemy advances help them to extract drugs from plants. Moreover, they also discovered the use of alcohol as antiseptic. They knew that bacteria and viruses are what cause diseases. Besides these advances on knowledge, they treated their patient very well. In dry hot Middle East, they put a fountain in the ward for patients to use the water vapor to relieve the fever and make them feel batter by playing music in the wards.