Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik ibn Abi al-Ala Zuhr (1091-1161)

Name Of Scientist-Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik ibn Abi al-Ala Zuhr

Life period- 1091-1161 (or 1092-1162)


Profession-:Surgeon and Physician


Contribution- Al-Taisir Fil-Mudawat Wal-Tadbeer (Book of Simplification Concerning Therapeutics and Diet)


Ibn-Zuhr  also called as AVENZOAR born in Sevilla (Spain) one of the medieval Islam's foremost thinkers and the "Greatest Medical Clinician" of the western caliphate.

In his Taysir fi al-mudawat wa al-tadbir (“Practical Manual of Treatments and Diet”), later translated into Hebrew and Latin, he described serious pericarditis (inflammation of the membranous sac surrounding the heart) and mediastinal abscesses (affecting the organs and tissues in the thoracic cavity above the diaphragm, excluding the lungs) and outlined surgical procedures for tracheotomy, excision of cataracts, and removal of kidney stones. He also discussed excessive contraction and dilation of the pupil (miosis and mydriasis) and advocated use of the narcotic plant Mandragora for treatment of ocular disease.

Ibn Zuhr 's unique experiment performing a tracheotomy on a goat, proved the safety of this operation in humans and represented a further step in the development of the experimental school started by Al-Razi (Rhazes) of Baghdad in the ninth century who is known to have given monkeys doses of mercury to test it as a drug for human use. Ibn Zuhr also performed post mortems on sheep in the course of his clinical research on treatment of ulcerating diseases of the lungs. Same as all his predecessors in the Islamic Era, he stressed the importance of a practical and sound knowledge of anatomy for surgical trainees. Furthermore, Ibn Zuhr insisted on a well supervised and structured training program for the surgeon-to-be, before allowing him to operate independently. He also drew the red lines at which a physician should stop, during his general management of a surgical condition; a step forward in the evolution of general surgery as a specialty of its own. He believed in prophylaxis against urinary stone disease and reported the importance of dietary management for that purpose.

Ibn Zuhr made several breakthroughs as a physician. He was the first to test different medicines on animals before administering them to humans. Also, he was the first to describe in detail scabies, the itch mite, and is thus regarded as the first parasitologist. He was also the first to give a full description of the operation of tracheotomy and practiced direct feeding through the gullet in those cases where normal feeding was not possible. As a clinician, he provided clinical descriptions of intestinal phthisis, inflammation of the middle ear, peri carditis, and mediastinal tumors among others.

'The Book of Simplication concerning Therapeutics and Diet. It contains many of his original contributions. This book discusses pathological conditions and therapy in detail. the second book 

'Kitab al-Iqtisad fi Islah Al-Anfus wa al-Ajsad (translated as the 'Book of the Middle Course concerning  the Reformation of Souls and the Bodies') summarizes differnt diseases, therapeutics and the hygiene. It also discusses the role of psychology in the treatment. The third book 'Kitab al-Aghziya (Book on Foodstuffs) discusses numerous drugs, and the importance of food and nutrition.