The versatile scientist, philosopher (B.
1210, Kaş / Turkestan – D. 1288, Zilkade /
İbn-i
Nefis, who knew the high sciences in Shafii sect, learnt the science of
medicine from İbn-üd-Dahvân in the hospital that was founded by Nureddin Zengî
in
İbn-i
Nefis spent a large part of his life with medical research. He worked to make
this science progress theoretically and practically. Firstly he focused his
works on anatomy by taking cognizance of the similarity of systems in between
human and animal body. He achieved certain conclusions regarding to anatomy as
a result of his studies on animals. He
opened new horizons regarding to the human body and its structure with
comparative anatomy studies.
İbn-i Nefis was noted as the first
discoverer of capillaries and coronary circulation along with “pulmonary
circulation”. They form the basis of the circulatory system. Thus, he was seen
as the father of the circulatory physiology and "The greatest physiologist
of the Middle Ages" due to these discoveries he made. In addition, he is
one of the early proponents of experimental medicine, postmortem autopsy (after
death), and human dissection (cutting and organ extraction techniques). İbn-i
Nefis, who was the first person that defines the concept of metabolism,
developed the new physiology, anatomy, psychology, and pulse systems which were
separated from the anatomical and medical systems of Avicenna and Galen. He
didn’t give place to the various errors proposed or accepted by his
predecessors in these systems and used various diagrams, figures in order to
describe body parts in the new physiological system.
İbn-i Nefis, who was one of the famous
physicians of the 13th century, wrote a book titled as “Anatomi Kısmı İçin Açıklama” (T.N. Explanation
for the Anatomy Section ) for the book of Avicenna titled as “Kanun” and contested the views of
Galenos on the blood stream.
Galenos was thinking that there were holes in the wall
between the left and right ventricle of the heart and the blood passes from the
right to the left side. İbn-i Nefis identified that there were no visible or
invisible holes in the wall between the right and left ventricle as a result of
the investigations he had made. Accordingly, the blood that arrived to the
right side of the hearth was required to arrive to the left side of the heart
after going to and cleaning in the lungs, which we call small blood
circulation.
The “Anatomi Kısmı
İçin Açıklama” work of İbn-i Nefis was known in the Islamic world and the
İbn-i Nefis was a good observer as can be
understood from the above discovery. He was particularly interested in
infectious diseases and gave satisfactory explanations for the diagnosis and
treatment of diseases which were undetermined until then. These include
vitiligo (the white spots seen as the result of the loss of pigment in the
skin) and some skin diseases.
İbn-i
Nefis clarified the structure of eye and vision by review as close to their
modern meaning. According to him, the eye organ was the device of vision and
the eye itself did not see. Visual experience, in fact occurred with the
detection of the visions formed in the eye by the understanding part of the
brain and which arrived to the brain through the nerves. The eye itself did not move, it moved through
the nerves that it was connected. The two nerves carrying the image from the
eye were combined in the brain. İbn-i Nefis who also examined the eye diseases,
reported the treatment procedures and medication of inflammation. He was using
fresh and natural foods as medicines rather than using chemical substances.
In addition to his contributions to medical
science, he wrote the books in the subject of Islamic religious sciences.
Especially his book “Muhtasar fî İlm-i Usûl el-Hadîs” (A Brief Description of the Procedure
of Hadith) which he wrote in the science of hadith, was important, he
introduced a more rational and logical classification for hadith science in his
book. In addition, he produced Arabic literary works, and contributed to the
fictional literature. The most significant of them is “er-Risaletü’l-Kâmiliyye
fi’s-sîreti’n-nebeviyye” (Theologus
Autodidactus). The book addresses process of a child reaching puberty. İbn
Nefis presented various religious, philosophical and scientific themes and his
ideas by using the basic causes of his book.
İbn Nefis,
who was a great scientist of medicine of his era, mostly researched the factors
that affected the human organism. He focused on the main causes of the diseases
rather than the treatments. He was also one of the founders of orthopedics
branch. İbn-i Nefis, who also produced valuable works in fiqh styles and logic
along with medicine, wrote his works in medicine subject himself and had not
referred to other works since he knows the subtlety of the sciences he was
engaged. His most important work is “El-Mûciz”.
The first section of this work that consists of four main sections is about the
scientific and functional, in other words the theoretical-practical rules and
procedures of medicine science. The second section is about the regulation and
medical definition of drugs and food products. The third section is about the
diagnosis and treatment of diseases that can be seen in the human body; the
fourth chapter is about the diseases that are not particular to certain organs
their diagnosis and treatment. The work was published for the first time in
WORKS:
Eş-Şâmil fit-Tıb (He could only complete the eighty volumes of the work which had he
planned as three hundred), Kitâb-ül-Mühezzeb
fil-Kuhl (About eye diseases), Şerh-ut-Tenbîh
liş-Şîrâzî fi fürû-il-Fıkh-ış-Şâfiî (The annotation of the work Tenbih written by Şîrâzî.), El-Muhtâr fil-Egdiye, Şerhu Fusûli Hipokrat (The annotation of
the work he wrote for the Fusûl of
Hippocrates), Şerh-ut-Takaddüm li
Mâ’rifeti Hipokrat (The annotation of the work of Hippocrates on infectious
diseases), Şerh-ul-Hidâye fit-Tıb
li-İbn-i Sînâ, Şerhu Tasrîh-ul-Kânûn (Anatomy), Şerhu Kânûnî İbn-i Sînâ, El-Mûciz, Tefsîr-ul-İlel ve Esbâb-ul-Emrâz (The
diagnosis and treatment of diseases.), El-Verakât
fil-Mantık, El-Muhtas fî İlm-il-Usûl-il-Hadîs
(A work that explains the principles of the hadith science), Kitâbun fir-Remed (About eye diseases), Kitâbun fit-Ta’lîk alâ Kitâb-il-Evbieti li Hipokrat,
Tarîk-ul-Fesâhati, Buğyet-üt-Tâlibîn vel-Huccet-ül-Müteabbibîn,
Şerh-ul-Külliyât, Er-Risâlet-ül-Kâmiliyye fis-Sîretin Nebeviye
(The life of Hz. Muhammad), Kitâbun
fit-Tevhîd (About akâid and kalam sciences).
REFERENCE: Prof.
Dr. Esin Kâhya / “İbn Nefis ve Eseri, El-Mucez” (Ankara Üniversitesi Dil ve
Tarih-Coğrafya Fakültesi Felsefe Bölümü Dergisi Cilt: 14 Sayfa: 189-200, 1992), İhsan Işık / Ünlü Devlet Adamları (Türkiye Ünlüleri
Ansiklopedisi, C. 1, 2013) - Encyclopedia of Turkey’s Famous People (2013).