Review article

Rhazes, a pioneer in contribution to trials in medical practice

Farzaneh Ghaffari ; School of Traditional Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Mohsen Naseri ; Traditional Medicine Clinical Trial Research Center, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran
Razieh Jafari Hajati ; Traditional Medicine Clinical Trial Research Center, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran
Arman Zargaran ; Department of History of Medicine, School of Traditional Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Medical history explains that Persian physicians used scientific methods based on clinical experiences and observations for treatment from pre-Islamic time (before 637 AD) and centuries later (in the Islamic era). Rhazes was one of the Persian physicians acknowledged as a pharmacist, chemist and prominent scientific writer on various subjects of medicine and philosophy. In this study, we aimed to investigate clinical experiences, as well as the ethical and critical views of Rhazes in medical practice. Rhazes promoted ethics in the medical profession. He expressed critical key points about ancient written texts. He broke ancient physicians’ taboos in medical theories and evaluated them based on his own experiences.
He designed animal and preclinical evaluations for his theories and also performed the first clinical trials with control groups in the history. His critical views about medical sciences as well as his beliefs in experiments resulted in many medical, chemical and pharmaceutical findings. Therefore, in history, he can be considered as the pioneer in using trials and experiments for approving medical methods.

Keywords

Persian medicine; trial; Rhazes; history of medicine

Hrčak ID:

192929

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/192929

Publication date:

15.12.2017.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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