



hi' in irivt.icu inltiibciomiiTi. Infiillaclo vcro tua vcl oiforiiin \c\ hr 

 dicamcntorum in aurem, cum hujus fornix inrtrunit-nto i^it ; 



n^ 



fii;iit vities. Ex nrgento vc] sre id conficiasi inferne sngu^Dni (in iiio 

 loramcn lie parviiinj ampluin et Jatiim a parte lup^noti, lie fi vis 



Figure 8. — Syringe with metal plunger-pump. 

 Top, from original Arabic manuscript 

 (Ali 2854), courtesy Suleymaniye Umumi 

 Kiitiiphanesi Mudurlugu. Bottom, from 

 Channing, Albucasis. 



Al-Zahrawl frequently introduces his treatises with 

 brief instructive and sometimes informative preludes. 

 However, in launching the last treatise of al- Tasrlf he 

 expounded in a most interesting and illuminating 

 manner the status of surgery during his time. He also 

 explains the reasons that forced him to write on this 

 topic and why he wished to include, as he did, pre- 

 cautions, advice, instructional notes, and beautifully 

 illustrated surgical drawings. For example, the prel- 

 ude to the treatise mentions four incidents that he 

 witnessed, all ending with tragic results because of the 

 ignorance of physicians who attempted to operate on 

 patients without the proper training in anatomy and 

 surgical manipulation. "For if one does not have the 

 knowledge of anatomy," al-Zahrawi protests, then 

 ". . . he is apt to fall in errors that lead to death as 

 I have seen it happen to many." '^ 



Al-Zahrawi divides his surgical treatise into three 

 sections (abwab). In the first section (56 chapters)'* 

 he elaborates upon the uses and disadvantages of 



'^ See introduction to the treatise; for example, Bes. 502, fol. 

 522v-523v and Vel. 2491, fol. 104r-105v. See also K. P. J. 

 Sprengel, Versuch einer pragmatischen Geschichte der Arzneikunde, 

 Halle, 1823, vol. 2, pp. 449-451. George J. Fisher, in "Abul- 

 Casem Chalaf Ibn Abbas al-ZahrawI, Commonly Called 

 Albucasis," Annals of Anatomy anf/^ur^cy, July-December, 1883, 

 vol. 8, pp. 24—25, gives a translation of only the first part of 

 the introduction. 



" There are 56 chapters listed in almost all manuscripts and 

 commentary works I checked except Tiib. MS. 91 and Esc. 876, 

 where only 55 chapters are listed. 





~^«*«* 



/ ' 



J H,TC aucem eft forma i:irundibuli fternutatorii quo inftillensur nafo ^^^^" 

 II oka vcl medicins. —^ 



Ex argento, vel ex ^re, fiat, lampadi parva: fimile, uti Lecytlius, 

 apertiim, ct canalis ejus ad eundem modum. Et fi vis, facias cannu- 

 km chiifam, ficot arundincm, ct kcythus infundibuli fternutatorii 



Figure 9. — Metal nose dropper. Top, from 

 original Arabic manuscript (Tiib. MS. 91), 

 courtesy Universitatsbibliothek Tiibingen. 

 Middle, from Channing, Albucasis {Smithsonian 

 photo 468gi-C). Bottom, from Sudhoff, 

 Chirurgie, courtesy National Library of 

 Medicine. 



cautery in general. And on the ground that "fire 

 touches only the ailing part . . . without causing 

 much damage to surrounding area," as caustic medi- 

 cine does, he prefers cautery by fire (al-kay bi al-nar) 

 to cautery by medicine (bi al-dawa).'^ This, he adds, 

 "became clear to us through lifelong experience, dili- 

 gent practice, and thorough investigations of facts." '^ 



'* Al-Zahrawi mentions several caustic medicines used in 

 cautery, among which are garlic, mustard, melted lead, slaked 

 or unslaked lime with or without "common" soap, Thapsia 

 (Ruta graveolens Linn.), and juice of the Oriental cashew nut 

 (Senecarpus anacardium Linn.). 



16 Vel. 2491, fol. 106; Bes. 502, fol. 523r-524v. 



PAPER 22: DRAWINGS AND PHARMACY IN AL-ZAHRAWI S SURGICAL TREATISE 



87 



