View source for Ibn Zuhr

{{Short description|Muslim physician, surgeon and poet (1094–1162)}}
{{Infobox scholar
| image      = Ibn Zuhr, Sayr mulhimah min al-Sharq wa-al-Gharb.png
| image_size = 
| alt        =
| caption    = An imaginary sketch representing Muslim physician Ibn Zuhr.
| name             = Ibn Zuhr {{lang|ar|{{larger|ابن زهر}}}}<br />Avenzoar
| birth_date       = 1094
| birth_place      = [[Peñaflor, Spain|Peñaflor]], [[Almoravid empire]], now [[Province of Seville]], [[Spain]]
| death_date       = 1162  (aged 68)
| death_place      = [[Seville]], [[Almohad empire]], now [[Province of Seville]], [[Spain]]
| era              = Medieval Islamic civilization
| school_tradition =
| main_interests   = 
| notable_ideas    = 
| major_works      = ''Kitab al-Taisir fi al-Mudawat wa al-Tadbir''
| influences       = {{Unbulleted list|Abu al-'Ala' (father)|[[Galen]]}}
| influenced       = [[Averroes]], [[Maimonides]], [[Pietro d'Abano]], [[Guy de Chauliac]]
}}
'''Abū Marwān ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Zuhr''' ({{langx|ar|أبو مروان عبد الملك بن زهر}}),<ref>{{cite web |title=Historical Introduction |url=https://brill.com/previewpdf/book/9789004406452/BP000007.xml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200617101501/https://brill.com/previewpdf/book/9789004406452/BP000007.xml |archive-date=June 17, 2020 |url-status=dead}}</ref> traditionally known by his [[Latinization of names|Latinized name]] '''Avenzoar'''{{efn|Also ''Abumeron'', ''Abhomeron'', ''Alomehَn'' or ''Abhomjeron''.}} ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|ɑ:|v|ən|ˈ|z|oʊ|ər}};<ref>{{cite book|title=Pronouncing Dictionary of Biography and Mythology|volume=1|year=1870|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j0k7AQAAIAAJ|page=222|last1=Thomas|first1=Joseph}}</ref> 1094&ndash;1162), was an [[Arab]] [[Islamic medicine|physician]], [[surgeon]], and [[poet]]. He was born at [[Seville]] in [[Al-Andalus|medieval Andalusia]] (present-day [[Spain]]), was a contemporary of [[Averroes]] and [[Ibn Tufail]], and was the most well-regarded physician of his era.<ref name="auto">{{harvnb|Azar|2008|p=1}}.</ref> He was particularly known for his emphasis on a more rational, empiric basis of medicine. His major work, ''Al-Taysīr fil-Mudāwāt wal-Tadbīr'' ("Book of Simplification Concerning Therapeutics and Diet"), was translated into Latin and Hebrew and was influential to the progress of surgery. He also improved surgical and medical knowledge by keying out several diseases and their treatments.

Ibn Zuhr performed the first experimental [[tracheotomy]] on a goat.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Missori|first=Paolo|author2=Brunetto, Giacoma M. |author3=Domenicucci, Maurizio |title=Origin of the Cannula for Tracheotomy During the Middle Ages and Renaissance|journal=World Journal of Surgery|date=7 February 2012|volume=36|issue=4|pages=928–934|doi=10.1007/s00268-012-1435-1|pmid=22311135|s2cid=3121262}}</ref> He is thought to have made the earliest description of [[bezoar]] stones as medicinal items.<ref>{{cite book|last=Byrne|first=Joseph P.|title=Encyclopedia of the Black Death|date=31 January 2012|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1598842531|page=33}}</ref>

==Biography==
Avenzoar was born in [[Seville]] in 1094, to the notable Banu Zuhr family who were members of the [[Arab]] tribe of [[Iyad (tribe)|Iyad]].<ref>Selin, Helaine (1997). Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 440.</ref> Starting in the early 10th century, the family produced six consecutive generations of [[physicians]], as well as jurists, poets, viziers or courtiers, and midwives who served under the rulers of al-Andalus.<ref name="auto"/><ref>[https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/islamic_medical/islamic_13.html The Art as a Profession] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409150222/https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/islamic_medical/islamic_13.html |date=2019-04-09 }}, [[United States National Library of Medicine]]</ref> Avenzoar started his education by studying religion and literature, as was the custom in medieval Muslim socialites. He later studied medicine with his father, Abu'l-Ala Zuhr (d.1131){{citation needed|date=November 2019}} at an early age. According to Avenzoar himself, his father introduced him to the works of [[Galen]] and [[Hippocrates]], and asked him to swear the [[Hippocratic Oath]] while still a youth.<ref>Glick, Thomas F.; Livesey, Steven; Wallis, Faith (2014). Medieval Science, Technology, and Medicine: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. p. 259.</ref>

Avenzoar started his medical career as court physician for the [[Almoravid|Almoravid empire]]. However, for some undisclosed reason, he later fell out of favour with the [[Almoravid|Almoravid ruler]], 'Ali bin Yusuf bin Tashufin, and fled from Seville. He was however, apprehended and jailed in [[Marrakesh]] in 1140. This experience left a bad resentment in him as alluded from his writing. Later in 1147 when the [[Almohad empire]] conquered Seville, he returned and devoted himself to medical practice. He died in Seville in 1162.

According to [[Leo Africanus]], ibn Zuhr heard Averroes lecture, and learned physics from him. He was a great admirer of [[Galen]], and in his writings he protests emphatically against [[quackery]] and the superstitious remedies of [[astrology|astrologers]].<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Avenzoar|volume=3|page=54}}</ref>

==Works==
===Kitab al-Iqtisad===
"The book of moderation," this was a treatise on general therapy written in his youth for the [[Almoravid]] prince Ibrahim Yusuf ibn Tashfin. The book is a summary of various different diseases, therapeutics and general hygiene. It is also noted for its advice regarding cosmetics and physical beauty. Ibn Zuhr even recommended [[plastic surgery]] to alter acquired features such as big noses, thick lips or crooked teeth.<ref>Glick, Thomas F.; Livesey, Steven; Wallis, Faith (2014). Medieval Science, Technology, and Medicine: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. p. 260.</ref>

===Kitab al-Aghdhiya===
The book of foods, as its name indicates, is a manual on foods and [[regimen]] which contains guidelines for a healthy life. Ibn Zuhr wrote the book shortly after he went out of jail for his new patron, [[Almohad]] leader [[Abd al-Mu'min]]. The book contains classification of different kinds of dishes and foods like bread, meat, beverages, fruits and sweets. When he talks about the meat, Ibn Zuhr  mentions different kinds of animals' fleshes, even unusual ones like those of [[gazelles]], [[lions]] and [[snakes]], classifying them based on their taste, usefulness and digestibility. He also recommends specific foods for each season of the year. For example, during winter, digestion is accelerated, so the amount of food consumed should also be increased. Moreover, the food should also be warmer and drier, as temperatures are lower and humidity is higher.

===Kitab al-Taysir===
Kitab al-Taysir seems to be the last book of Ibn Zuhr before his death. As mentioned in the introduction, the book was authored at the request of his friend, [[Averroes]], to act as a compendium to his medical encyclopedia [[Colliget]] which focused more on general topics of [[medicine]]. The two books were later translated into [[Hebrew]] and [[Latin]], where they used to be printed as a single book and remained popular as late as the 18th century.

The book, which contains 30 chapters, provides clinical descriptions and diagnosis of diseases starting from the head. Ibn Zuhr provided an accurate description of the [[esophageal cancer|esophageal]], [[stomach cancer|stomach]] and [[Mediastinal tumor|mediastinal]] cancers, as well as other [[lesions]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Tweel|first=Jan G.|author2=Taylor, Clive R.|title=A brief history of pathology|journal=Virchows Archiv|date=25 May 2010|volume=457|issue=1|pages=3–10|doi=10.1007/s00428-010-0934-4|pmid=20499087|pmc=2895866}}</ref><ref>"2 Early concepts of cancer", 2000, Cancer and metastasis reviews, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 205-205.</ref> He proposed feeding enemas to keep alive patients with stomach cancer. He was also the first to give pathological descriptions of inflammations like [[otitis media]] and [[pericarditis]].

Perhaps Ibn Zuhr's greatest contribution to medicine was his application of experimental method by introducing animal testing. He is known to have performed medical procedures on animals before doing them on humans to know if they would work.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Hajar|first=Rachel|title=Animal testing and medicine|journal=Heart Views|date=1 January 2011|volume=12|issue=1|pages=42|doi=10.4103/1995-705X.81548|pmid=21731811|pmc=3123518 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Most notable was his approval and recommendation for the surgical procedure of [[tracheotomy]], which was a controversial procedure at the time. In trying to sort out the controversy, Ibn Zuhr described the following medical experiment which he performed on a goat:
<blockquote>"Earlier on in my training when I read those opinions (controversies), I cut on the lung pipe of a goat after incising the skin and the covering sheath underneath. Then I completely cut off the substance of the pipe, an area just less than the size of a tirmisah (lupine seed). Then, I kept washing the wound with water and honey till it healed and it (the animal) totally recovered and lived for a long time."<ref>{{cite web |title=Ibn Zuhr and the Progress of Surgery {{!}} Muslim Heritage |url=http://muslimheritage.com/article/ibn-zuhr-and-progress-surgery |website=muslimheritage.com |language=en |access-date=2017-03-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181018000106/http://muslimheritage.com/article/ibn-zuhr-and-progress-surgery |archive-date=2018-10-18 |url-status=dead }}</ref></blockquote>

===Other works===
[[Ibn Abi Usaibia]] mentions these other works of Ibn Zuhr:<ref>Selin, Helaine (2008) [[Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures]], page 1126, Springer Science & Business Media.</ref>
* Fi al-Zinah (On Beatification).
* Al-Tiryaq al-Sabini (On Antidotes).
* Fi Illat al-Kila (On Diseases of the Kidney).
* Fi Illat al-Baras wa al-Bahaq (On Leprosy and Vitiligo).
* Al-Tadhkirah (The Remembrance).

==Legacy==
The Jewish physician-philosopher Maimonides admired Ibn Zuhr,<ref>{{cite book|last=Kraemer|first=Joel L.|title=Maimonides: The Life and World of One of Civilization's Greatest Minds|year=2010|publisher=Random House of Canada|isbn=978-0385512008|page=91}}</ref> describing him as "unique in his age and one of the great sages". He frequently quoted him in his medical texts.<ref>{{harvnb|Azar|2008|p=2}}.</ref> [[Averroes]] praised him as the greatest physician since [[Galen]].{{citation needed|date=November 2019}} Both his daughter and granddaughter also became physicians,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://muslimheritage.com/article/ibn-zuhr-and-progress-surgery|title=Ibn Zuhr and the Progress of Surgery {{!}} Muslim Heritage|website=muslimheritage.com|language=en|access-date=2017-03-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181018000106/http://muslimheritage.com/article/ibn-zuhr-and-progress-surgery|archive-date=2018-10-18|url-status=dead}}</ref> specializing in obstetrics.

==See also==
*[[Islamic medicine]]
*[[List of Muslim scientists]]
*[[List of Arab scientists and scholars]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book|last=Azar|first=Henry|title=The Sage of Seville: Ibn Zuhr, His Time, and His Medical Legacy|year=2008|publisher=[[American University in Cairo]]|location=Cairo|isbn=978-9774161551 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZEcwTW-NzZIC }}
*{{cite book|title=Medieval Science, Technology, and Medicine: An Encyclopedia|year=2005|series=Routledge encyclopedias of the Middle Ages; v. 11|editor1-last=Glick|editor1-first=Thomas F.|editor2-last=Livesey|editor2-first=Steven John|editor3-last=Wallis|editor3-first=Faith|publisher=[[Routledge]]|location=New York|isbn=0415969301|author=Millán, Cristina Álvarez|chapter=Ibn Zuhr}}

==External links==
{{EB9 Poster|Avenzoar}}
*{{cite encyclopedia | last = Hamarneh | first = Sami | title=Ibn Zuhr, Abū Marwān ʿAbd Al-Malik Ibn Abiʿl-ʿAlāʿ (Latin, Abhomjeron or Avenzoar)  | url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2830904797.html |  encyclopedia = [[Dictionary of Scientific Biography|Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography]] | publisher = Encyclopedia.com | orig-year=1970-80 | year = 2008 }}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ibn Zuhr}}
[[Category:1094 births]]
[[Category:1162 deaths]]
[[Category:11th-century Arab people]]
[[Category:12th-century Arab people]]
[[Category:Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam]]
[[Category:Physicians from al-Andalus]]
[[Category:Spanish pharmacists]]
[[Category:Parasitologists]]
[[Category:Dietitians]]
[[Category:12th-century physicians]]