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Abstract
The influence of Arab Medicine on Western science has recently been challenged. Using the example of two Flemish surgeons, Jan Yperman in the early 14th and Thomas Fijens in the late 16th century, this article argues that Arab physicians and surgeons have imposed a long lasting influence on the surgical practitioners in the Low Countries.
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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
Notes
1 Communication, presented at the 6th International Congress of Medicine in Muslim Heritage, held in the University of Fez, Morocco, 2018 Oct 3–6.
2 Gouguenheim Citation2008.
3 Protagonist and antagonists in this debate were, amongst others, Thomas F. Bertonneau, Max Lejbowicz and Pieter Seuren. See their respective references. See also Jozef Janssens’s negative comment on Sylvain Gouguenheim’s statement in his book ‘Spiegel van de Middeleeuwen. In woord en beeld’, 200–203.
4 With one million population one of the greatest cities in the world at that time!
5 Named after the Arab mathematician al-Khwarizmi (ca.790–ca.845).
6 Sournia, 163.
7 Encyclopedias seem to be a Western ‘invention’. It was not a habit in the Arab world to compile knowledge in encyclopedias (Sournia, 136) like it had been the case in Roman times (e.g. Celsus 1st c.A.D.). It took a new revival only in Salerno with Warbod Gariopontus (fl. 1020–1050).
8 For a detailed biography of Yperman, see Tricot Citation1990. See also Huizenga 133–135.
9 After being married in 1285.
10 Blondeau, 128 ff.; Huizenga, 136–142.
11 Huizenga, 500.
12 Van Leersum 1912.
13 Huizenga 136–142.
14 Both this book on surgery and that on medicine heavily draw on Arabic sources, going from Mesue to Avicenna. See Blondeau, 159.
15 Green Citation2011, 340.
16 Ibidem.
17 Green Citation2008, and 2011, 334.
18 Green Citation2011, 339.
19 Idem 340.
20 Scellinck says so in his ‘Boec van Surgien’, part of the cited articella with the London copy of Yperman.
21 It contained not less than 175 references to Albucasis.
22 Green Citation2011, 340–341. See also Sournia, 167.
23 The Low Countries got their first university rather late, namely in 1425. It was instituted by pope Martinus V and duke Jan of Brabant in Louvain, a town actually located in Flanders.
24 See the facsimile of the orignal manuscript by de Vesalia. For a comment, see Bracke 1999.
25 Van Hee Citation2014 a, 17–18.
26 Like ‘siphac’ and ‘zirbus’ for peritoneum and omentum.
27 For a detailed biography of Thriverius, see Van Hee Citation1991.
28 Thriverius Citation1532.
29 For a detailed biography, see Van Hee Citation2000.
30 Gysel Citation1984.
31 Who produced the first Dutch translation of Vesalius’ Epitome!
32 In this renewed form, Fijens got assistance of different associated medical professors namely Gerard de Villers for Materia Medica, Michel Ophemius for Anatomy, Pieter van de Casteele for Greek, Jan Baptist van Helmont for Surgery, and a number of others. See Gysel Citation1990, 54.
33 Namely: (1) (with Froidmont). A work on comets. 1618–1619. (2) Disputationem am Coelum quiescat ac terra noveatur. s.d. (3) De formatrice liber. 1620. (4) Pro sua de animatione foetus tertia die opinione adversus Ant.Ponce Santa Cruz. 1621. (5) De formatione liber secundus, 1624. (6) De viribus imaginationis tractatus, 1608 (reissued in 1635,1657, 1658). (7) Simiotice sive de signis medicis tractatus, 1664 (posthumously). (8) De urinis: never published. (9) De febribus : never published. (10) De cauteriis Libri V. 1598 (reissued 1601, 1607, and commented by H.J.Follinus 1618). (11) Libri chirugici XII. 1649 (posthumopusly), reissued 1669, 1733 and translated in German and in Middle Dutch in 1659. Concerning Fijens’s foetal formation analysis, see Rather Citation1967.
34 See Fijens 1598.
35 And not 1602! See Fijens 1649. See for a detailed description of this book: Pauli and Van Hee Citation1999.
36 Such as cough, headache, epilepsia, melancholy, cataract, ozaena, gastritis, hepatitis, pleuritis, ascites, diarrhoea, hemorrhoids, metritis, arthritis, ischialgia, gout, herniation, leprosis, etc. See Huard and Grmek, 70 and 73.
37 See Huard and Grmek, 70 and 73.
38 And not in 1602, as prviously accepted!
39 See Fijens 1685.
40 See Fijens: 20–33.
41 Such use of hot iron prevents indeed possible bleeding of the subcutaneous tissues. Idem: 36–37.
42 Idem, 40–42.
43 See Brasavola 1546.
44 For a comment on Avicenna’s cataract treatment, see Nejabat et al. Citation2012.
45 Fijens, 73–74.
46 Bartisch Citation1583.
47 Avicenna: On the Visual Organs. See Bakhtar Citation2013.
48 Fijens, 129.
49 Baten Citation1592.
50 See for a comparison of the texts of both authors: Pauli and Van Hee, 228–236.
51 Avicenna 1593.
52 Fijens 1733.
53 Gouguenheim Citation2008.
54 Seuren Citation2009.
55 Janssens Citation2011.
56 Schipperges Citation1964, Jacquart and Micheau Citation1990, Jacquart Citation1997.