The
practical experience gained at the well-known Muqtadari Hospital helped him in
his chosen profession of medicine, IranChamber reported.
Known
in the West as Rhazes, he studied in Baghdad, Palestine, Egypt and Spain.
At
an early age, he gained eminence as an expert in medicine and alchemy, such
that patients and students flocked to him from distant parts of Asia.
Razi
was first made in-charge of the first Royal Hospital at Rey, from where he soon
moved to a similar position in Baghdad where he remained the head of its famous
Muqtadari Hospital for along time.
He
traveled to various cities, especially between Rey and Baghdad, but finally
returned to Rey, where he died around 930 A.D. The vaccine institute near
Tehran has been named after Razi.
Achievements
Razi
was a physician, alchemist and philosopher. In medicine, his significant
contribution can only be compared to that of Ibn Sina or Avicenna.
Some
of his works on medicine, e.g. Kitab Al-Mansoori, Al-Hawi, Kitab Al-Mulooki and
Kitab Al-Jadari wa Al-Hasabah, earned him everlasting fame.
Kitab
Al-Mansoori, which was translated into Latin in the 15th century AD, comprised
ten volumes and dealt exhaustively with Greco-Arab medicine.
Some
of its volumes were published separately in Europe. His Al-Jadari wa Al-Hasabah
was the first treatise that drew clear comparisons between smallpox and
chickenpox, and is largely based on Razi’s original contribution. It was
translated into various European languages.
Al-Hawi
was the largest medical encyclopedia composed. On each medical subject, it
contained important information from Greek and Arab sources.
A
special feature of his medical system was that he greatly favored treating
diseases through correct and regulated food. This was combined with his
emphasis on the influence of psychological factors on health.
He
also tried remedies first on animals to evaluate their effects and
side-effects. He was an expert surgeon and the first to use opium for
anesthesia.
In
addition to being a physician, he compounded medicines and, in his later years,
embraced experimental and theoretical sciences. It seems possible that he
developed his chemistry independently of Jabir ibn Hayyan.
Razi
has presented in great detail several chemical reactions and also given full
descriptions of and designs for about 20 instruments used in chemical
investigations.
His
description of chemical knowledge is in plain and plausible language. One of
his books called Kitab Al-Asrar deals with the preparation of chemicals and
their utilization.
Chemistry
and Philosophy
Another
one was translated into Latin under the name Liber Experimentorum. He went
beyond his predecessors in dividing substances into plants, animals and minerals,
thus in a way opening the way for inorganic and organic chemistry.
By
and large, this classification of the three kingdoms still holds. As a chemist,
he was the first to produce sulfuric acid with some other acids and he also
prepared alcohol by fermenting sweet products.
His
contribution as a philosopher is also well known. The basic elements in his
philosophical system are the creator, spirit, matter, space and time. Razi
discusses their characteristics in detail and his concepts of space and time as
constituting a continuum are outstanding.
His
philosophical views were, however, criticized by a number of other scholars of
the era. He was a prolific author who has left monumental treatises on numerous
subjects.
Razi
has more than 200 outstanding scientific contributions to his credit, out of
which about half deal with medicine and 21 concern alchemy.
The
philosopher also wrote on physics, mathematics, astronomy and optics, but these
writings could not be preserved.
A
number of his books such as Jami-fil-Tib, Kitab Al-Mansoori and Al-Hawi have
also been published in various European languages.
About
40 of his manuscripts are still extant in the museums and libraries of Iran,
France, Britain and India.
His
contribution has greatly influenced the development of science, in general, and
medicine, in particular.
Iran
commemorates his birth anniversary on Aug. 27 as Pharmacy Day.
Source:
IBNA News Agency