Arab and Muslim scientists and their contributions to the history of ophthalmology

Abstract

Arab and Muslim scientists were pioneers in the development of medical sciences, treating patients, and performing operations in many medical specialties. This article reviews their major contributions in ophthalmology that led to the development of this field. Considering the little-known role of Arab and Muslim scientists in the history of ophthalmology, this article provide insights into the great physicians from the 10th to the 13th century. Despite the destruction of Islamic civilizations by the Mongols in the late 14th century, some of their books and manuscripts are still preserved, testifying to their influence, including the first detailed drawing of the eye anatomy by Hunayn AlAbadi (808 A.D.), proposing the first occlusive treatment for amblyopia by Thabit Alharrani (823 A.D.), discovering the science of optics and theory of vision related to light reflection by Al-Hasan ibn Al-Haytham (965 A.D.), inventing of the hollow needle used to aspirate cataract by Ammar Al-Mawsili (1010 A.D.), and drawing surgical instruments by Khalifah ibn Al-Mahasin (1256 A.D.). Abudawood Ghufran 1 Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah Alshareef Reem 2 King Abdulaziz Medical City; King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Jeddah Alghamdi Saeed 3 King Abdullah International Medical Research Center; Department of Ophthalmology, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Jeddah Hirschberg J. Arabian ophthalmology. JAMA 1905;45:1127-31. Al-Hassani ST. 1001 Inventions. Muslim Hertiage in Our World. 2nd ed. United Kingdom: Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation; 2007. p. 174-7. Shaikh I. Muslim Hertiage. Eye Specialists in Islamic Cultures, Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation. Available from: http://muslimheritage.com/article/eye-specialists-islamic-cultures. [Last accessed on 2018 May 15]. Sobotka H. Ophthalmology during the middle ages. AMA Arch Ophthalmol 1957;57:366-75. Translated into English by Frederick C. Blodi, published by J. P. Wayenborgh Verlag, Germany 1985 Wafai Z. Ophthalmologists of the Medieval Islamic World. International Congress on History of Medicine in Muslim Heritage. : Fez, Morocco; 2016. Available from: https://muslimheritage.com/ophthalmologists/ [Last accessed on 2018 May 20]. The Anatomy of the Eye, 12th Century Copy of a 9th Century Manuscript, Science Museum, Science & Society Picture Library. Available from: https://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10288875&itemw=4&itemf=0001&itemstep=1&itemx=1. [Last accessed 2018 May 02]. Pollock WBI. Arabian ophthalmology. Br J Ophthalmol 1946;30:445-56. Schachat A, Wilkinson C, Hinton D, Sadda S, Wiedemann P. Ryan's Retina. 6th ed. Elsevier; 2017. p. 1505. Unal N, Elcioglu O. Anatomy of the eye from the view of ibn al-haitham (965-1039). The founder of modern optics. Saudi Med J 2009;30:323-8. Masic I. Ibn Al-haitham - Father of optics and describer of vision theory. Med Arh 2008;62:183-8. Howard IP. Alhazen's neglected discoveries of visual phenomena. Perception 1996;25:1203-17. 1001 Inventions and the World of Ibn Al-Haytham, 1001 Inventions and King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture. Available from: http://www.ibnalhaytham.com. [Last accessed on 2018 May 20]. Gari L. The Invention of Spectacles Between the East and the West, Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation, Available from: http://muslimheritage.com/article/invention-spectacles-between-east-and-west. [Last accessed on 2018 May 15]. Abdel-Halim RE. Contributions of Ibn al-Nafis to the Progress of Medicine and Urology, Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation. Available from: http://www.muslimheritage.com/article/contributions-of-ibn-al-nafis. [Last accessed on 2018 Sep 24]. Al-Mahasin KI. Al-Kafi fi Al-Kuhled: Islamic Educational. Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO); 1990. p. 64, 326-7. Tsoucalas G, Karamanou M, Koutsilieris M, Nikolopoulos T, Laios K, Androutsos G. The arabo-islamic contribution to the development of surgical instruments. Arch Balk Med Union 2016;51:95-7.