ISLAMIC HISTORY ON HOSPITAL DEVELOPMENT
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Islamic History on Hospital Development
Modern medicine is rooted in various traditional procedures that used sophisticated procedures as the individuals sought to combat multiple diseases. The cost of medical care was free for all individuals irrespective of social class or religion, as witnessed around one thousand years ago.[1] Islam hospitals account for one of the oldest medicine developments documented by the Medieval Islam hospitals. Therefore, it is said to be the forerunner of the United Kingdom’s National Health Service. These Islamic hospitals were custom-designed and used sophisticated instruments that account for the various developments in medicine, such as surgical instruments. Islamic hospitals also carried out multiple procedures such as internal stitching, bone setting, and regular vaccinations, as still used today. Therefore, the scope of this essay accounts for the history of the Islamic hospital developments.
Islamic hospital development is based on 18th century and was propelled by the charitable nature of religious endowments. The Islamic hospitals were partly funded through charities and the government catered for maintenance costs, hence the superiority in scientific medicine. [2]Cairo boasts of the first Islamic hospital built between 872- 874 and offered free medical services; therefore, explaining the resemblance of the Islamic hospitals to the Byzantine traveler’s hotels, which used to take care of the lepers and less privileged in the society. This first Islamic hospital was unique as patients entrusted hospital authorities with their clothing as they dressed in the special wards clothes and bed assigned as the hospital had both men and women wing in addition to psychiatric wing. Baghdadi was the second Islamic hospital constructed in 1982 and had more extensive expertise coverage (24 physicians) and larger hospitals with comprehensive healthcare practitioners in the subsequent centuries.
Islamic hospital success is accounted by the nature in which they competed amongst themselves to provide better and state of the art accommodative health care. [3]Egyptian ruler Al- Mansur Qalawun received an exclusive healthcare service at Nuri Hospital in Damascus following his diagnosis of renal colic, a feeling that motivated his passion for building the Al- Mansuri Hospital in Cairo in the 13th century. [4]Through charitable endowments (waqfs), the hospital was equipped with modern fountains as the technology allowed, fountains, staffed with physicians as well as support staff to maintain the various wards. In addition, the various Islamic hospitals were well maintained through proper maintenance of patient registers, expenditures, and timely and executive delivery of healthcare services by the physicians.
The foundation of the Islamic hospitals led to the emergence of medical schools in the 12th century. Universities used the newly built hospitals to teach medical school students and provide firsthand practicals. [5]The different conference halls within the hospitals were used as lecture halls. The development of the Islamic school led to the students learning on patient history taking and prescriptions administration which later led to students developing the skill and starting their private medical schools such as Al- Dakhwar with more medical teaching schools; being developed since 800 years ago.
The modern surgical instrument has been modified from the previously Islamic discovered medical devices such as; scalpels, knives, scrapers as well as forceps. Al-Zahrawi is credited as the Islamic surgeon who invented at least 200 medical instruments during his medical practice in Spain during the 13th century, hence spearheading the Islamic medical civilization. In his 30 volume book, he has accounted for and demonstrated the essentials and methods of the particular medical instruments alongside lecturers’ writings on other inventions he made such as mineral, herbal, and animal product-based drug discovery and dental surgical techniques. His procedures are still used today, such as using the catgut to stitch a patient internally following surgery. [6]He is also credited for the medical methods revolutionizing surgical methods in treating urinary bladders stones in both genders. Al-Zahrawi’s work is also acknowledged in gynecology through his input in the unusual birth deliveries as he trained the various midwives on how to undertake the procedures. [7]Ibn Sina, an Arabic-based Muslim doctor in the 13th century, also advised on the different techniques used to treat the multiple tumors and malignancies, such as his advocacy for copper or lead oxide in preventing the spread of cancer r recognized in treating kidney stones. Islamic doctors invented the various previous medical procedures; hence, having more success rates that revolutionized medicine.
The various postulations also accredited Islamic hospital developments on blood circulations. Galen, a Greek physician, postulated that the blood that reached the right side of the heart had passed through the various pores until William Harvey’s discovery on blood circulation in the 17th century, which discredited earlier postulation. He discovered the heart is the center of circulation which correlated to the manuscript edited by Ibn al Nafis of Damascus and publicly advocated by the Egyptian physician, Muhyi al-Daneel Tattawi, on the pulmonary circulation[8]. Ibn Nafi’s work is dated to 1210, and Andrea Alpago documents translate the physician works and inventions on blood circulation after almost 300 years. However, the physician’s appointments were credited to his discovery in 1957.
Islamic hospital developments are also aligned with the Islamic inventions by the Muslim doctors in history, such as the physiology works by Galen Greek-based physician. [9]He has published various books based on medicine and was thus celebrated in 1980 as a pathology revolutionist. Galen, alongside Ibn al Nafis, has revolutionized treatment through their works and discoveries on the medical principles, human diseases, traumatic injuries such as fractures and dislocations, and compound therapies. [10]A physician based in London, George Perkins, pioneered delayed splintage theory following a fracture. Bennett’s fracture of 1882 is also credited to Ibn Sina’s works as he undertook a thousand years before Bunnet’s publication. Various journals on diseases and their epidemiology as developed by different Muslim doctors have also been in use since 12th century.
Muslim eye surgeons and researchers revolutionized the eye medical procedures and the vaccination program, respectively. [11]Some eye-related medical procedures in use today are accredited to Arabic doctors, such as a hollow needle to remove cataracts by suctioning and freezing before suction. Al-Mawsili is also credited to eye diseases documentation which is still used today.Ibn Isa is also credited for documenting almost 130 eye diseases. The vaccination process described as inactive dose containing disease-causing micro-organism was accredited for use in various Muslim countries in protection against multiple diseases since the 1700s after submitting the vaccination process to Royal society by Dr. Emmanuel Timoni.
Ultimately, Islamic hospital developments are accredited to the various incentives granted to the hospitals, the charitable services offered to sustain the hospitals, and the discoveries made by the muslim medical expertise. The Islamic inventions in physiology, vaccination and surgical instruments have supplemented the considerable investment made by the various princes in building multiple health centers. The high-end hospitals also pioneered the medical schools as established by numerous doctors. Some Islamic inventions have revolutionized modern healthcare based on the designs described above. Currently, more Islamic hospitals are being developed under charity funding and the finances accrued from the medical costs on patients globally.
Bibliography
Abu, Bakar, Nursalam Nursalam, Merryana Adriani, Kusnanto Kusnanto, Nur Qomariah Siti, and Efendi Ferry. “The development of Islamic caring model to improve psycho-spiritual comfort of coronary disease patients.” Indian Journal of Public Health Research and Development 9, no. 10 (2018): 312-317. doi:10.5958/0976-5506.2018.01362.1.
Aligabi, Zahra. “Reflections on Avicenna’s impact on medicine: his reach beyond the middle east.” Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives 10, no. 4 (2020): 310-312. doi:10.1080/20009666.2020.1774301.
Fares, Jawad, Mohamad Y. Fares, Hussein H. Khachfe, Hamza A. Salhab, and Youssef Fares. “Molecular principles of metastasis: a hallmark of cancer revisited.” Signal transduction and targeted therapy 5, no. 1 (2020): 1-17. doi:10.1038/s41392-020-0134-x.
Qurrata, Vika A., Linda Seprillina, Bagus S. Narmaditya, and Nor Ermawati Hussain. “Media promotion, Islamic religiosity and Muslim community perception towards charitable giving of cash waqf.” International Journal of Monetary Economics and Finance 13, no. 3 (2020): 296-305. doi:10.1504/ijmef.2020.108825.
Roudgari, Hassan. “Ibn Sina or Abu Ali Sina (ابن سینا c. 980–1037) is often known by his Latin name of Avicenna (ævɪˈsɛnə/).” Journal of Iranian Medical Council 1, no. 2 (2018). doi:10.21474/ijar01/10263.
[1] Bakar Abu, Nursalam Nursalam, Merryana Adriani, Kusnanto Kusnanto, Nur Qomariah Siti, and Efendi Ferry, “The development of Islamic caring model to improve psycho-spiritual comfort of coronary disease patients,” Indian Journal of Public Health Research and Development 9, no. 10 (2018): 312
[2] Zahra Aligabi, “Reflections on Avicenna’s impact on medicine: his reach beyond the Middle East,” Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives 10, no. 4 (2020): 311
[3] Hassan Roudgari, “Ibn Sina or Abu Ali Sina (ابن سینا c. 980–1037) is often known by his Latin name of Avicenna (ævɪˈsɛnə/),” Journal of Iranian Medical Council 1, no. 2 (2018).
[4] Bakar Abu, Nursalam Nursalam, Merryana Adriani, Kusnanto Kusnanto, Nur Qomariah Siti, and Efendi Ferry, “The development of Islamic caring model to improve psycho-spiritual comfort of coronary disease patients,” Indian Journal of Public Health Research and Development 9, no. 10 (2018): 313
[5] Zahra Aligabi, “Reflections on Avicenna’s impact on medicine: his reach beyond the Middle East,” Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives 10, no. 4 (2020): 312
[6] Bakar Abu, Nursalam Nursalam, Merryana Adriani, Kusnanto Kusnanto, Nur Qomariah Siti, and Efendi Ferry, “The development of Islamic caring model to improve psycho-spiritual comfort of coronary disease patients,” Indian Journal of Public Health Research and Development 9, no. 10 (2018): 315
[7] Jawad Fares, Mohamad Y. Fares, Hussein H. Khachfe, Hamza A. Salhab, and Youssef Fares, “Molecular principles of metastasis: a hallmark of cancer revisited,” Signal transduction and targeted therapy 5, no. 1 (2020): 2
[8] Hassan Roudgari, “Ibn Sina or Abu Ali Sina (ابن سینا c. 980–1037) is often known by his Latin name of Avicenna (ævɪˈsɛnə/),” Journal of Iranian Medical Council 1, no. 2 (2018).
[9] Jawad Fares, Mohamad Y. Fares, Hussein H. Khachfe, Hamza A. Salhab, and Youssef Fares, “Molecular principles of metastasis: a hallmark of cancer revisited,” Signal transduction and targeted therapy 5, no. 1 (2020): 4
[10] Vika Qurrata, Linda Seprillina, Bagus S. Narmaditya, and Nor Ermawati Hussain, “Media promotion, Islamic religiosity and Muslim community perception towards charitable giving of cash waqf,” International Journal of Monetary Economics and Finance 13, no. 3 (2020): 297
[11] Vika Qurrata, Linda Seprillina, Bagus S. Narmaditya, and Nor Ermawati Hussain, “Media promotion, Islamic religiosity and Muslim community perception towards charitable giving of cash waqf,” International Journal of Monetary Economics and Finance 13, no. 3 (2020): 299