Abu Bakr ar-Razi

c. 865-c. 923

Persian Physician

Abu Bakr Muhammed ibn Zakariya ar-Razi (who was known as Rhazes in Europe) was an individual of sweeping intellect and broad interests. He is widely regarded as one of the finest physicians who ever lived. A prolific author, his writings on medical science influenced the practice of medicine throughout the West until at least the seventeenth century.

Ar-Razi was born near present-day Tehran, Iran, in what was then Persia. In his early education and experience, he showed interest and ability in a wide range of fields, studying and becoming accomplished in music, alchemy (and chemistry), philosophy, mathematics, and physics. But it was to the field of medicine that he chose to devote his greatest efforts, spending his life not only as a practicing physician, but also compiling accounts of medical treatments from a number of sources, testing them himself, adding his own innovations and improvements, and writing treatises and encyclopedias containing his results. He became widely known and respected. Early in the tenth century, he was chosen as physician to the court of Adhud Daulah, the ruler of Persia, and was asked to found and direct the new hospital in Baghdad.

Ar-Razi did creative work in a number of areas of medicine, especially obstetrics, pediatrics, ophthalmology, gynecology, and mental illness. His book al-Judari wa al-Hasabah, which dealt with the diseases of children, was the first published study of smallpox and chickenpox. It went through 40 editions and was still in use in 1866. He set up a special section in the Baghdad hospital for patients with mental illnesses and dealt at length in his writings with the effects that psychological factors have on physical wellness and illness. He also practiced an early form of psychotherapy.

He had modern ideas in other aspects as well. He believed that proper diet had an important effect on health. He tested the effects of experimental therapies on animals before administering them to humans. He used opium as an anesthetic during surgery and was the first to use alcohol for medicinal purposes. He gave the first description of the surgical procedure for the removal of cataracts. He also instituted a set of professional standards for the practice of medicine that emphasized the humane treatment of patients.

Ar-Razi was a prolific writer, producing more than two hundred books. Of these, the best known is al-Hawi, which is translated as "Comprehensive book." This work was a twenty-volume encyclopedia containing the details of Greek, Syrian, and Arabic medical knowledge, combined with his own practical experience. It was translated into Latin in 1279. Reprinted a number of times, it was still in use in the sixteenth century and was one of the works on which the development and practice of European medicine was based.

He also worked and published in other fields. He studied chemistry and chemical instrumentation and is credited with being the first to produce sulfuric acid. He codified the division of all things into the categories of animal, mineral, and vegetable, setting the stage for future divisions among the biological and physical sciences. He was also a philosopher of some renown, developing a system based on five eternal principles: creator, spirit, matter, space, and time. He regarded himself as a follower of Plato which put him somewhat at odds with the developing religion of Islam.

Ar-Razi was not only a preserver of ancient scientific and medical knowledge, he collected and tested it, added his own ideas and innovations, and passed it along in a better form for the use of his successors. He deserves to be recognized as one of the great physicians of history.

J. WILLIAM MONCRIEF