Abu-Sahl al-Masihi (960-1010 AD) and His Description of the Heart

Abstract

Since the Old Testament era, medicine has drawn scientists from around the world. Persian physicians have played an undeniable role in the advancement of medicine worldwide and their books have been taught as medical textbooks in the East and the West for years. In the Islamic Golden Age (9th to 12th century AD), Abu-Sahl al-Masihi (960-1010 AD), was one of the great Persian scholars contemporary to Avicenna and Al-Biruni. He wrote several valuable works on medicine, philosophy, mathematics, and astronomy in Arabic. The two books titled Al-Mia fil-Tibb (Book of the Hundred [on Medicine]) and Ezhar al-Hekmat Allah Ta’ala fi Khalgh al-Ensan (Manifestations of God’s Wisdom in the Creation of Mankind) also known as Tashrih Badan al-Ensan (Human Anatomy) are among his important works in medicine. Particularly, in Tashrih Badan al-Ensan, Abu-Sahl detailed the structure and function of each organ within the human body. On heart anatomy, he presented interesting, and even innovative views. Despite the significance of his views on medicine among physicians of the Islamic era, his works have failed to be translated into Latin or other languages for unknown reasons, leaving him veiled in academic spheres. This paper aims to describe Abu-Sahl al-Masihi's opinions on heart anatomy.