



ir&<^tt«< diftcripriom»vdic«cmrnUpftdrti.£ap.ti». 

 I Umdo acddif ft? wfira vtcm t out fangni* In 

 Irt ron jdator : aoi (oamamr hi ca poerr «f* 

 loWIIUrc In cam tqoss 7 mf (KdnaenoiK l!st 

 I cam inftnimcm qood nomtnafur cUpicdrat 



^i:sii.S!li'ih^(tii-3i:':\\s'rr,\r,rotirsinu 



foi»ndnitouoaff< vntii vnu ctfft aUtn:6ait vtdt»:t 

 ionie cvrauuKiii quo <i) illud qo impducm po ^ruitcv 

 q6 opiia ipAi t Ant addkiotK ocr.tc Qt'i triibtf iu co •llgd 

 « bamidkjribua.anrabaf » oii impdlif cu cu orpi l!«>ir 



Figure 15. — Metallic syringe for injecting solu- 

 tions into the bladder. Top, from original 

 Arabic manuscript (Bes. 503), courtesy 

 Siileymaniye Umumi Kiitiiphanesi Miidiir- 

 liigii. Bottom, from Argellata 1531, courtesy 

 National Library of Medicine. 







Figure 16. — Metallic or porcelain syringes for 

 injection of enemas. Top, from original 

 Arabic manuscript (Ali 2854), courtesy 

 Siileymaniye Umumi Kiitiiphanesi Miidiir- 

 liigii. Bottom, from Argellata 1531, courtesy 

 National Library of Medicine. 



breast. Therefore, he confesses that neither he nor 

 any one else he knew of ever applied surgery with 

 success on advanced cancer. ^^ 



Of special interest in chapter 59 is the metallic 

 "syringe" (fig. 15) used to inject medicinal solutions 

 into the bladder: "The hollow passage [of the syringe] 

 should be exactly equal to the plunger it contains and 

 no more, so that when such fluids from an excess of 

 humors are aspirated they will be drawn out, and 

 likewise when the solutions are injected they will be 

 pushed in easily." Such description of the use of a 

 "bladder syringe" in the late 10th century clearly 

 points to the practical and interesting approach to 

 surgery in al- Tasrif. Moreover, his description of the 

 removal of a stone from the bladder — an operation 

 we now call lithotomy — is considered a contribution 

 to bladder surgery. 



One of the earliest recorded operations for the 

 extractions of two dead fetuses from the womb is 

 clearly described in chapter 76. The account of this 

 case shows not only al-ZahrawI's intelligent approach 

 as a shrewd observer but also his clinical and surgical 

 ability. 



Drawings of bulb-syringe instruments used for ad- 

 ministering enemas in ailments of the rectum and for 

 the treatment of diarrhea and colic are depicted in 

 chapter 83. The text describes several kinds of 

 syringes made of silver, porcelain, and copper in 

 various sizes (fig. 16). Of particular interest is an 

 illustration of a syringe, especially recommended for 

 children, to which a piece of leather (jildah) is 

 attached (fig. 17). This instrument is a precursor of 

 our modern bulb syringe. 



In chapter 84 al-Zahrawi turns to the treatmnet 

 of various wounds. He prescribes the following 

 powder formula for use: "Take olibanum [frankin- 

 cense] and dragon's blood,-' two parts of each, and 

 three parts of slaked or unslaked lime. Pound them 

 well, pass through a sieve and apply the powder to 

 the wound." In cases of damaged blood vessels, he 

 tied the arteries by ligature, a practice of which he 

 was a pioneer. In another chapter he describes four 

 methods for suturing the intestines. 



Al-Zahrawi, being associated with war castialties 

 and writing his treatise about the end of the 10th 



2«Tub. MS. 91, fol. 99v. 



2" Dragon's blood is a resin obtained from the scales covering 

 the surface of the ripe fruits of "Daemonorops draco Blume" 

 (Heber W. Youngken, Textbook of Pharmacognosy, ed. 6, Phila- 

 delphia, 1948, p. 175). See also Renaud and Colin, op. cit. 

 (footnote 25), pp. 54-55. 



PAPER 22: DRAWINGS AND PHARMACY IN AL-ZAHRAWl's SURGICAL TREATISE 



91 



