Selected Unani Research Topics
From the MEDLINE Database
1976-1998

From the 'canon' of Avicenna to the illustration of the 'wound healer'
Riha O.
Sudhoffs Arch Z Wissenschaftsgesch 1989;:45-54

The different genres in which Latin medical texts are preserved, may become integrated in German medical literature into a new specific kind of text, the 'arzneibuch'. Depending on which parts of Ortolf von Baierland's 'arzneibuch' are preserved, different literary genres result in further tradition. When little Ortolf text survives in large compilations, as often is the case, it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to identify them as belonging to a certain genre. Although medieval nomenclature is useful, it does not define the different genres, it merely classifies the texts according to their contents.

Galactogogue action of Nigella sativa.
Agrawala IP, Achar MV, Tamankar BP.
Indian J Med Sci 1971;:535-7
No abstract.

General supervisory nurse. Definition of her functions at the Avicenna Hospital
Anonymous.
Rev Infirm 1987;:20-1
No abstract.

Gentile da Foligno and his Commentary on the Canon of Avicenna concerning anatomy, clinical medicine and therapy of liver diseases
Messini M, Messini R.
Epatologia 1968;:195-228
No abstract.

Gerontology and geriatrics in the works of Abu Ali Ibn Sina (Avicenna) (on the 950th anniversary of the manuscript, Canon of Medical Science)
Pitskhelauri GZ, Dzhorbenadze DA.
Sov Zdravookhr 1970;:68-71
No abstract.

Ghost illness of children in north India.
Freed RS, Freed SA.
Med Anthropol 1990;:401-17

This analysis of the relationship of infant and childhood illness and death to ghost beliefs is based on holistic fieldwork in the late 1950s and the late 1970s in Shanti Nagar (a pseudonym), a village in North India. Illness and the supernatural world are linked by the concepts of ghosts and Fever, the latter an index of ghost illness, deriving from a supernatural being. The links between ghosts, Fever, and ghost illness involve basic Hindu beliefs, tales from Hindu and Sanskrit texts, ancient curing practices, stress, and local and family histories. A limited number of cases from the many in Ghosts: Life and Death in North India (R. Freed and S. Freed 1991) are here presented to illustrate particular points and general characteristics of ghost illness, including ghost possession, when found in children. The village health culture includes curing practices from the Atharva-Veda (the most ancient Sanskrit literature), Ayurvedic Medicine, Unani Prophetic Medicine, and Western Biomedicine.

Great Arab physician-practitioners
Masic I, Konjhodzic F.
Med Arh 1994;:79-84

In the pleiad of the great names from the Golden Age of the Arabian medicine: at-Taberi, ar-Razi, al-Magusi, al- Baitar, al-Zahrawi, ibn-Sina, ibn-Haitam, ibn-Zuhr, ibn- Rushd, ibn-Nefis the important place belongs to the physicians- practitioners--many of the applied methods by the Arabian doctors were forerunners of the contemporary diagnostic or therapeutical methods. Later the methods were modernized by the great surgeons Ambroise Pare, Agnew, Hunter, Warren, Billroth, Mayo et al. No doubts, the methods and instruments of that time were primitive and the possibilities for research work, difficult. Because of this reason a respect should be given to those great man in the history of medicine.

Greek anatomy of the eye in Pakistan today
Crone RA.
Klin Monatsbl Augenheilkd 1988;:427-30

A Pakistani wall plate depicting the anatomy of the eye is described and illustrated. The picture is partly Greek (the hollow optic nerve), in part medieval Arab (the optical image on the disk), and in part modern (e.g., the refraction anomalies). A brief account is given of how Greek science passed to the Arabs and then to India. The wall plate bears witness to the pluralism in Pakistani medicine. Side by side with cosmopolitan medicine there exists the Unani Tibb, based on the Ionic-Arabic tradition.

Health science on stamps.
Loevy HT, Kowitz A.
J Am Dent Assoc 1980;:553
No abstract.

Health, disease and health-care in rural Bangladesh.
Ashraf A, Chowdhury S, Streefland P.
Soc Sci Med 1982;:2041-54

During two periods of almost 3 months each, a study was done in three villages of Tangail District in Bangladesh. One of the objectives was to find out how the fields of traditional medicine (Ayurveda and Unani), folk medicine and allopathic medicine were related to each other, and which processes could be discerned in these interrelationships. In this respect an important outcome was that traditional medicine had almost disappeared in this area and that Western medicine holds a very strong position. Another objective was to study the illness-behaviour of various economic categories of villagers. Here we found that the poor made much more use of the government facilities than the rich. In fact, these facilities have a large potential, but there are many defects in the way they are operating, so that the potential is not realized at all. We also studied the cures which the practitioners of folk medicine and those of Western medicine are offering to their clients. One of the conclusions was that the practices of the unqualified allopathic practitioners, who hold a strong position in the countryside, are often a hazard to health.

History of intubation
Luckhaupt H, Brusis T.
Laryngol Rhinol Otol (Stuttg) 1986;:506-10

The Arabian doctor Avicenna (980-1037) described the first orotracheal intubation in dyspnoea. The history of peroral endotracheal intubation actually begins in the 18th century. At that time obstetricians and lifesavers used breathing tubes. In 1880 Macewen preoperatively intubated a patient to prevent the aspiration of blood during extirpation of a tumour from the base of the tongue. Regular peroral intubation to keep the respiratory tract clear during narcosis was first applied by Franz Kuhn in 1900; unfortunately, the pioneer himself did not live to see his method become a routine procedure. It was only as late as 1945, that endotracheal intubation became part of hospital practice at our clinic.

Hygiene and prevention in Avicenna
Aroua A.
Tunis Med 1980;:556-61
No abstract.

Hygiene views of Avicenna
Kakhorov GK.
Feldsher Akush 1984;:52
No abstract.

Hygienic views of Abu Ali ibn-Sina (on the millennium of his birth)
Atabaev ShT, Babakhodzhaev NK, Il'inskii II.
Gig Sanit 1979;:36-40
No abstract.

Ibn al-Nefis--discoverer of pulmonary blood circulation
Masin I.
Med Arh 1993;:101-5

Medicine was developed to an astonishingly high degree by Muslims. During at least five centuries Muslim physicians translated medical books from Greek and other languages, and with their descriptions of the clinical signs of many illnesses, many of the ideas and concepts contained in medical encyclopedias (like al-Qanun written by Avicenna) , passed it to the West and East. One of the greatest Muslim physician was undoubtedly Ibn al-Nefis (d.1288), who first accurately described the circulation of blood through the lung (in XVI century the credit went to Michel Servet), and body (in 1628 the credit went to W. Harvey), and author of the famous Excerpt of al-Qanun, written by Avicenna.

Ibn Sina and childhood diseases
Shamansurov ShSh, Madzhidova AT.
Pediatriia 1980;:70-1
No abstract.

Ibn Sina--psychology and psychological disorders
Ceric I, Mehic Basara N.
Med Arh 1997;:21-3

Ebu Ali Husein Ibn Ali Ibn Sina (or Avicenna) was primarily a philosopher with amusing knowledge, who dealt in all aspects of art of medicine, astronomer, poet, musician and psychologist. This giant with an encyclopedic knowledge has dealt in almost all scientific branches or praxis with the great success. Numerous statements of his have been cornerstone of many sciences for centuries; and some of them are (in the era of computers and Internet) still current. The best known treatise on medicine of his is El-Kanun, consisting of five volumes, wherein all medical achievements (including psychology, psychiatry and neurology) of that period were described clearly. In his psychology, Ibn Sina (Avicenna) analyses the essence of human soul, mind, psychical streams, intellectum, dreams and prophecy, man's desires etc. in details. It is unnecessary to point out how much these items are actual in the contemporary psychology. Ibn al-Nefis has described systematically the symptoms and recovery of "head sick" (including headaches, cerebral sick like cranitis, lethargy, coma, demency, melancholy, insomnia, nightmares, epilepsy, apoplexy, paralysis, spasm and many others) in his Mujez al-Kanun, that is synopsis of Ibn Sina Kanun. We need much time to see magnificence of this philosopher, that is best known as the great one among the physicians. His writings could be found in whole Bosnia, but there were many few that would study him and his works. It is out task to enable the future generations not only to know those works exist, but, also, to realize the essence of this marvelous genius; because there are very few people that can be compared to him.

Ibn-Sina (Avicenna) and folk medicine
Kuz'min MK, Bukharov PL.
Feldsher Akush 1981;:50-2
No abstract.

Ibn-Sina (Avicenna): on the millennium of his birth
Gribanov ED, Chuikina EI.
Feldsher Akush 1980;:54-7
No abstract.

Ibn-Sina: Avicenna (on the millennium of his birth)
Petrov BD.
Med Sestra 1980;:45-51
No abstract.

Immunomodulating agents of plant origin. I: Preliminary screening.
Atal CK, Sharma ML, Kaul A, Khajuria A.
J Ethnopharmacol 1986 Nov; 18(2;:133-41

The immunobiological activity was investigated of certain medicinal plants widely used in the Ayurvedic and Unani systems of medicine for treatment of chronic infections and immunological disorders. The effect of an ethanolic extract of each drug was studied on delayed type hypersensitivity, humoral responses to sheep red blood cells, skin allograft rejection, and phagocytic activity of the reticuloendothelial system in mice. Picrorrhiza kurroa was found to be a potent immunostimulant, stimulating both cell-mediated and humoral immunity. Tylophora indica, Aconitum heterophyllum and Holarrhena antidysenterica appeared to stimulate phagocytic function while inhibiting the humoral component of the immune system. Tinospora cordifolia and Ocimum gratissimum appeared to improve the phagocytic function without affecting the humoral or cell-mediated immune system. Hemidesmus indicus suppressed both the cell-mediated and humoral components of the immune system.

Immunosuppressive effect of honey on the induction of allergen- specific humoral antibody response in mice.
Duddukuri GR, Kumar PS, Kumar VB, Athota RR.
Int Arch Allergy Immunol 1997;:385-8

Our study with honey for its possible immunomodulatory activity reveals the immunosuppressive activity on induction of murine humoral antibody responses against different allergens as determined by passive cutaneous anaphylaxis and Ouchterlony double immunodiffusion techniques. Ovalbumin (OVA)-specific IgE antibody responses elicited with various doses were completely suppressed by different sources of commercial honeys. Honey is also found to have suppressed the induction of OVA-specific humoral antibody responses in different strains of mice. The results obtained in this work confirm the immunosuppressive activity of honey and suggest its possible applicability in conditions requiring immunosuppression.

Importance of the creativity of Ibn Sina for modern medicine
Belova LV.
Med Sestra 1983;:46-51
No abstract.

Importance of the scientific and historical heritage of Ibn-Sina in the field of epidemiology and infectious pathology
Tararin RA.
Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol 1974;:112-8
No abstract.

Induced chromosomal aberrations in somatic cells of Nigella sativa L. by mitomycin C.
Kumar P, Nizam J.
Zentralbl Bakteriol [Naturwiss] 1978;:537-42

A cytological study was carried out on root tips of Nigella sativa L. by treatment with Mitomycin C at 0.001% for six time intervals (10, 15, 20, 30, 40, and 50 min). The chromosomal abnormalities were increasingly proportionate to the increase in time of treatment. The seedlings treated with a 0.001% concentration of Mitomycin C for 10 min. did not show any significant effect. At other time intervals, the effect was observed to be quite significant. Beyond 40 min. treatment almost all the cells would become sticky. Thirty minutes' treatment showed significant effect, inducing various types of chromosomal aberrations in the anaphase, such as bridges and fragments of 34.13% and 48.07%, respectively.

Inhibition of histamine release from mast cells by nigellone.
Chakravarty N.
Ann Allergy 1993;:237-42

Nigellone is the carbonyl polymer of thymoquinone, isolated from Nigella Sativa L. seeds. The polymer is far less toxic but retains much of the pharmacologic properties of thymoquinone, which is the active principle. Our investigations, carried out on rat peritoneal mast cells in vitro, show that nigellone in relatively low concentrations is very effective in inhibiting histamine release induced by the secretagogues: antigen in sensitized cells, compound 48/80, and the calcium ionophore A23187. The mechanism of action seems to be through decreasing intracellular calcium by inhibiting its uptake and stimulating the efflux, and by an inhibition on protein kinase C. There is also indication for a mild inhibition of oxidative energy metabolism contributing to some inhibition of the release.

Inhibitory effects of Nigella sativa and saffron (Crocus sativus) on chemical carcinogenesis in mice.
Salomi MJ, Nair SC, Panikkar KR.
Nutr Cancer 1991;:67-72

Topical application of Nigella sativa and Crocus sativus extracts (common food spices) inhibited two-stage initiation/ promotion [dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)/croton oil] skin carcinogenesis in mice. A dose of 100 mg/kg body wt of these extracts delayed the onset of papilloma formation and reduced the mean number of papillomas per mouse, respectively. The possibility that these extracts could inhibit the action of 20-methylcholanthrene (MCA)-induced soft tissue sarcomas was evaluated by studying the effect of these extracts on MCA-induced soft tissue sarcomas in albino mice. Intraperitoneal administration of Nigella sativa (100 mg/kg body wt) and oral administration of Crocus sativus (100 mg/kg body wt) 30 days after subcutaneous administration of MCA (745 nmol x 2 days) restricted tumor incidence to 33.3% and 10%, respectively, compared with 100% in MCA-treated controls.

Investigations of anti-inflammatory activity of Jigrine.
Karunakar N, Pillai KK, Husain SZ, Rao M.
Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 1997;:134-8

Jigrine, a polypharmaceutic herbal formulation containing 14 medicinal plants is used in the Unani system of medicine for the treatment of liver ailments. The antiinflammatory activity of Jigrine (0.5 ml and 1.0 ml/kg, po), was evaluated against acute inflammation caused by carrageenin (injecting 0.1 ml of 1% carrageenin in 0.9% NaCl solution into plantar surface of the hind paw of the rat) and the effect of Jigrine (1 ml/kg/day, po for 7 days) was also studied on the sub- acute inflammation induced by cotton pellet granuloma. The paw volume, biochemical parameters like tissue AST, ALT, gamma-GTP and lipid peroxides and dry wt. of granuloma were measured to assess the anti-inflammatory activity. It showed a significant anti-inflammatory activity as evidenced by lowering the elevated levels of paw volume and biochemical parameters. But it could not reduce the sub-acute inflammation caused by cotton pellet granuloma. The study suggests that Jigrine has significant effect only on acute phase of inflammation caused by carrageenin. Antioxidant and membrane stabilizing action of Jigrine might be responsible for its anti-inflammatory effect.

Isolation and structure assignment of an antimicrobial principle from the volatile oil of Nigella sativa L. seeds.
El-Fatatry HM.
Pharmazie 1975;:109-11

Refrigeration of the volatile oil of Nigella sativa L. seeds eventuates in a crystalline substance. The chemical structure of the compound was drawn from its chemical behaviour, as well as from its UV, IR, PMR and mass spectral data. The compound was found to be thymohydroquinone: confirmation of the structure was established via the preparation of its corresponding diacetate ester. The compound was found to have high antimicrobial effect against gram positive microorganisms.

Julián Gutiérrez de Toledo and his book "Cure of the stone and pain in the loin and/or renal colic" in 1498
Virseda Rodríguez JA.
Actas Urol Esp 1994 Mar; 18 (3:165-77)

The physician Julián Gutiérrez de Toledo, born in the Imperial Town halfway through the Fifteenth Century and deceased around 1520, has a great relevance in the History of Urology for being the first writer of a treatise on urological topics in the Castilian language with his work "Cure of the stone and loin pain or/and renal colic" (Editor Melchor Gorricio, Printer Pedro de Hagembach, Toledo 1498). His work marks the transit from The Middle Ages to the Modern Times in what refers to awareness of the urinary tract diseases. The book "Cure of the stone..." has 85 pages written in two columns of 40 lines each with gothic characters. On the cover there is an engraving of the saint physicians Cosme and Damian, and on the last page is the printer's coat-of-arms. The book consists of five parts as all books from late Middle Ages: Of the Causes, Signs and Prognosis, Preservation, Of the Cure, Misgivings. The value of the treaty is that it compiles all that was known at the time on urinary lithiasis showing a marked Avicenna-like Galenism to which the author adds his own observations that show the Renaissance man. An exceptional witness of the reign of the Catholic King and Queen, this incunabula should be known by the Spanish speaking urologist as illustrious predecessor.

Juzam (leprosy) and its treatment in Unani medicine.
Zafarullah M, Bano H, Vohora SB.
Am J Chin Med 1980;:370-84

Juzam (leprosy) is attributed to excessive accumulation, infiltration and dispersal of sauda (burnt humours) throughout the body disturbing the normal temperament of the organs. A variety of causative factors responsible for excessive production or retention of sauda are enumerated. Unani simple plants, animals and minerals and formulations used for the treatment of leprosy are tabulated with recipes, methods of preparation, does and modes of administration.

Knowledge of tongue diseases 1000 years ago
Hadziomeragin M.
Stomatol Vjesn 1983;:147-51
No abstract.

Labor-induced bladder injuries: historical observations
Kremling H.
Gynakol Geburtshilfliche Rundsch 1996;:197-200

Injuries to the urinary bladder with development of a fistula during birth were first mentioned around 1030 AD in the opus called 'Al-Kanoun' by the Arabic physician and philosopher Avicenna (Ali Ibn Sina). The observations of D.E. Derry in the mummy of Henhenit seem to have made sure that this obstetric complication already existed earlier on. Henhenit lived at the court of king Mentuhotep II (around 2050 BC) . During the second half of the 19th century injury-related and necrosis-related fistulas were distinguished for the first time. Jobert de Lamballe (1852), Marion Sims (1852) , and Gustav Simon (1854) created the basis for successful operative treatment of vesicovaginal fistulas.

Medical heritage of Ibn Sina (Avicenna) (on the 1000th anniversary of his birth)
Petrov BD.
Klin Med (Mosk) 1981;:7-12
No abstract.

Medical inheritance of Avicenna and current clinical medicine
Mansursov KhKh.
Ter Arkh 1980;:149-51
No abstract.

Medicine is not a difficult science. The historical influence of Arabic scholars--a current exhibit in Berlin
Wildhagen H.
Fortschr Med 1989 Jul 20; ;:55-6
No abstract.

Medieval Arabic medical views on male homosexuality.
Nathan B.
J Homosex 1994;:37-9

Medieval medical views on homosexuality are outlined. Three theories seem to have been present. The first considers homosexuality as a nasty psychological phenomenon that ought to be punished rather than treated. The second theory suggests that an abnormal sensory innervation to the penis requires intense sensory input to achieve sexual satisfaction. A third congenital theory proposes that homosexuality results when the maternal sperm prevails over the paternal sperm. The most important proponent of the first theory was Avicenna (Ibn-Sîna, 980-1037 A.D.); a literal translation of the relevant chapter from his Canon of Medicine is given.

Modulatory effects of Crocus sativus and Nigella sativa extracts on cisplatin-induced toxicity in mice.
Nair SC, Salomi MJ, Panikkar B, Panikkar KR.
J Ethnopharmacol 1991;:75-83

In mice, an extract of Crocus sativus stigmas partially prevented the decreases in body weight, hemoglobin levels and leucocyte counts caused by 2 mg/kg of cisplatin i.p. for 5 days. Treatment with the C. sativus extract also significantly prolonged the life span of cisplatin-treated mice almost three-fold. In contrast, an extract of Nigella sativa seed only tended to protect from cisplatin-induced falls in hemoglobin levels and leucocyte counts.

Muslims with non-insulin dependent diabetes fasting during Ramadan: treatment with glibenclamide
Belkhadir J, el Ghomari H, Klöcker N, Mikou A, Nasciri M, Sabri M.
BMJ 1993;:292-5

OBJECTIVE--To compare the efficacy of two glibenclamide regimens in patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes who were fasting during Ramadan and regular glibenclamide treatment in the non-fasting group. DESIGN--Non-randomised control group of patients who did not fast during Ramadan and two groups of patients who fasted randomised equally to one of two regimens: to take their usual morning dose of glibenclamide in the evening and their usual evening dose before dawn; or to follow this pattern but to reduce the total dose by a quarter. SETTING--Two university hospitals, one private hospital, and two private clinics in Casablanca and Rabat, Morocco. SUBJECTS--591 diabetic patients (198 men, 391 women, two unspecified) with similar duration of diabetes and length and amount of glibenclamide treatment, of whom 542 completed the study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES- -Serum fructosamine and total glycated haemoglobin concentrations and number of hypoglycaemic events. RESULTS--At the end of Ramadan there were no significant differences between the groups in fructosamine concentration (400 mumol/l in controls and 381 mumol/l and 376 mumol/l in the fasting groups); percentage of glycated haemoglobin (14.7%, 14. 0%, and 13.6%); or number of hypoglycaemic events during Ramadan (11, 14, and 10). CONCLUSION--Glibenclamide is effective and safe for patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes who fast during Ramadan. The easiest regimen is to take the normal morning dose (together with any midday dose) at sunset and any evening dose before dawn.

Natural and preformed physical factors in the medical activity of Abu Ali Ibn-Sina (on the millennium of his birth)
Dalimov ZA, Iuldasheva MKh, Alimova Miu, Salikhova MR.
Vopr Kurortol Fizioter Lech Fiz Kult 1981;:64-6
No abstract.

Nephrologic beginnings: the kidney in the age of Ibn Sina (980-1037 AD).
Mujais SK.
Am J Nephrol 1987;:133-6
No abstract.

Note on the history of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the Mediterranean and Middle East area.
Bray RS.
Parassitologia 1987;:175-9

There exist records of what seems to be cutaneous leishmaniasis at least as far back as 650 BC, and possibly much earlier in the Tigris/Euphrates basin. It was described by Avicenna in the 10th century AD, and was well-known in Aleppo and Baghdad by the 18th century AD. Cutaneous leishmaniasis due to Leishmania infantum may have occurred in Crete in the 18th century. Artificial transmission was effected in Algeria and Aleppo in the 18th century.

Ocular manifestations of sickle cell anaemia in Arab children.
al-Salem M, Ismail L.
Ann Trop Paediatr 1990;:199-202

A complete ophthalmic examination was carried out of 46 Arab children with various forms of sickle cell disease. Mild and infrequent signs in anterior and posterior segments were found, but no cases of sickle cell retinopathy of any kind were detected. These results were compared with the reported findings in black American children of African origin with the same disease. The probable explanations were the high prevalence of fetal haemoglobin in Arab sicklers, the rarity of sickle cell disease among the Arabs and the possible existence of a different gene.

On the 1,000th anniversary of the birth of the Ibn Sina (Avicenna)
Wondrák E.
Vnitr Lek 1980;:512-5
No abstract.

On the causes of collapse and sudden death by Avicenna.
Nathan B, Wray R.
Int J Clin Pract 1997;:245-5

Avicenna's views on the causes of collapse and sudden death are presented from a literal translation of the mediaeval Arabic text. Medical knowledge based on observation mixed with pure abstract reasoning forms the essence of Avicenna' s medical writings.

Outstanding contribution of the works of Avicenna to the history of anatomy (on the occasion of the 1,000th anniversary of the birth of Avicenna)
Kupriianov VV.
Arkh Anat Gistol Embriol 1980;:109-11
No abstract.

Paediatric urology 1000 years ago.
Abdel-Halim RE.
Prog Pediatr Surg 1986; 20();:256-64

In this paper we present a commentary on four books from the paediatric urology point of view; al-Hawi (Continens) , R. fi Siyasat as-Sibyan wa tadbirihim, at-Tasrif and al-Qanun by the Moslem scholars ar-Razi, Ibn al-Jazzar, al Zahrawi and Ibn Sina who lived within the period of the ninth to the eleventh centuries. In these books the supreme abilities of the authors as clinicians and their role in the creation of clinical medicine are shown by: The presentation of the various pathological conditions usually starting with the complaint then describing the origin of the disease and enumerating the accurate signs necessary for diagnosis. Differential diagnosis between various conditions which produce similar complaints is precisely described. For example, retention of urine and different types of anuria, types of renal hematuria, dormant and moving renal stones and their precise localisation, renal or vesical pain and pain due to colitis. Finally, the methodical classification of the diseases according to the organs affected is discussed. The description of the pathology and the knowledge of new diseases was an important advance made by these scholars. From the urological point of view, spina bifida and its relation to incontinence was first described by ar-Razi and most of the diseases of the kidney and bladder can be recognized in the systemic classification of the diseases of these organs given by Ibn Sina who pointed out the psychological role in some cases of nocturnal enuresis. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS).

Back to top