The otorhinolaryngologic concepts as viewed by Rhazes and Avicenna.

Iran has a longstanding history and a rich heritage of medicine. Two reputable Persian medical scholars of the Middle Ages are Razi (Rhazes) and Ibn-Sina (Avicenna). Their most important otorhinolaryngologic contributions based on the relevant data from two major medical books i.e., al-Hawi (Liber Continens) and Qanun fi-Tebb (Canon of Medicine) are discussed. *** he “Golden Age of Medicine” in Iran was between nineteenth and fourteenth centuries A.D. During this period, the most influential scholars in medicine were flourished. They collected and systematically expanded the Greek, Indian, and Persian ancient medical heritage and made further discoveries. The most illustrious physicians of this era were Mohammad ibn-Zakariyay-e-Razi (251 – 313 A.H. /865-925 A.D.) called Rhazes and Abu-Ali alHossein ibn Abdullah better known as Ibn –Sina or Avicenna (370 – 428 A.H./980 – 1037 A.D.). The chief medical work of Rhazes was Kitab alHawi fi-Tebb (the Comprehensive Book of Medicine) known in Europe under the title Liber Continens. The Qanun fi-Tebb or as known in the West the Canon of Medicine was the greatest work of Avicenna. It remained as a standard medical textbook in Europe for nearly 700 years. Despite the availability of the valuable studies on history of medicine including otolaryngology, the profound effect of these medieval outstanding medical works on further development of medicine is less discussed. Mohammad ibnZakariyay-e-Razi (Figure 1) was born in Rayy near Tehran. He was the most celebrated clinician of Islamic medicine who gave the first accurate description of smallpox and measles. A. Muller (1848 – 1892), the German Orientalist, called him "the most creative genius of medieval medicine". Razi was a prolific scholar, and according to S.H. Nasr he initially studied music, then at the age of 30, turned to alchemy and finally relatively late in his life, he learned and practiced medicine. Several innovations including the discovery of alcohol, sulfuric acid preparation, and making surgical sutures from animals’ gut are attributed to Razi. Razi was the director of a hospital in his native city Rayy and later he was appointed as the director-in-chief of the main hospital in Baghdad, Iraq. He wrote on various subjects including medicine, philosophy, theology, astronomy, alchemy, and mathematics. He was a hard working teacher and the author of more than 100 medical books, but his gigantic work in 22 volumes was Kitab al-Hawi. He finished al-Hawi in fifteen years. Actually it was a medical encyclopedia written in Arabic, which was regarded as a classic textbook in European academic centers up to the seventeenth century. It was translated into Latin in 1297 A.D. – 8 The otorhinolaryngologic concepts of al-Hawi In al-Hawi, various aspects of diseases including ear, nose, and throat disorders are comprehensively discussed (Figure 2). It also contains 33 clinical case reports of those patients who were referred to Razi. Some of the Razi’s otorhinolaryngologic views are as follows: The clinical observations of Razi were precise. For instance, a complicated case of chronic otitis media is the third clinical case report in al-Hawi. Razi described the symptoms and sings of a patient History of Ancient Medicine in Iran