I felt some pain in the region of the mediastinum (the membrane which divides the thorax in the middle) while I was on a journey. As it increased a cough developed, and I observed that my pulse was very hard and that I had an acute fever. On the fourth night I took away a pint of blood, but this gave me very little relief. Being obliged to travel all day I was much fatigued when I retired at night, and I fell asleep. During my sleep the bandage on the arm came off, and when I awoke I found the bed deluged with blood and my strength greatly exhausted. The next day I began to cough up a sanious matter, and my mind wandered at times. Gradually all the symptoms subsided and I recovered my health. Although I partook of large quantities of barley water, I believe that my recovery was not due to this, but rather to the great loss of blood which I had experienced.

Freind adds that “Avenzoar not only takes notice of an abscess in the mediastinum, but in the pericardium likewise; which I don’t find had been described or even observed by any of the Greeks or Arabians: and there is no doubt but this membrane and the mediastinum to which it is contiguous, are subject, as well as the pleura and lungs, to an inflammation.”

It is one of the distinguishing features of Avenzoar’s character that, in his writings, he does not hesitate to differ from his predecessors whenever he believes that their views are erroneous.

Averroes.—Averroes was one of Avenzoar’s most distinguished pupils. Indeed, the latter’s famous work, the Teïssir, is dedicated to Averroes. Thanks to the distinguished French historian and philosopher, Ernest Renan, our knowledge of Averroes has been greatly expanded since 1852. Averroes was born at Cordova in 1126 A. D. His father and his grandfather had both held the office of Cadhi (Alcalde, in Spanish), and were therefore people of importance in that city. His studies were confined at first largely to philosophy, and when he reached mature age he gained a great reputation as the commentator and interpreter of the writings of Aristotle. Still later in life much of his attention was devoted to medicine, and he wrote a book which bears the title “Kitab al-kullidschat” (General principles of Medicine). Among the physicians of the later Middle Ages this work was commonly spoken of as the “Colliget” (from kullidschat), and was almost as highly esteemed as the Canon of Avicenna. The idea of writing a treatise on the individual diseases was first entertained, among Arabian physicians, by Averroes; but on reflection he abandoned the idea, and, instead, urged Avenzoar, his friend and former instructor, to undertake the work in his place. It was in this way that the Teïssir—the finest work on the practice of medicine produced by an Arab writer—came to be written.

The topics treated in the “Colliget” are distributed throughout the seven books in the following manner:—

Book I.Anatomy.
Book II.Health (Physiology).
Book III.Diseases.
Book IV.Signs or Symptoms.
Book V.Remedial agents and Foods.
Book VI.The Preservation of Health.
Book VII.The Treatment of Diseases.

Neuburger speaks of the “Colliget” as a fine piece of philosophical writing, but adds that it is not at all suited to the needs of the practical physician. Indeed, he doubts whether any person who has not received a thorough training in natural philosophy—the philosophy of Aristotle—would be able to follow the author intelligently.

Maimonides.—Maimonides, who is ranked by Le Clerc as the greatest Jew, after Moses, of whom the history of that nation makes mention, was born at Cordova, Spain, in 1135 A. D. In early youth his teachers were his father and a disciple of Ebn Badja. At the age of thirteen, and from that time until he had reached his thirtieth year, he was obliged under the pressure of circumstances, to profess, at least outwardly, the faith of Islam. Death or banishment was the only alternative. During the intervening period of seventeen years he devoted himself exclusively to his studies. In 1160 A. D. he accompanied his family to Fez, Morocco, and five years later he settled at Fostath, near Cairo, Egypt. As a means of gaining his livelihood he engaged in the business of trafficking in precious stones, continuing his studies at the same time and carrying on a certain amount of medical practice. Not long afterward he gained the favor of the Vizir El Fadhl Beissâny, the friend of Saladin, Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and was by him appointed one of the Court physicians. This enabled him to give up entirely his commercial business. He prospered in the practice of medicine and was very highly esteemed in the community in which he lived. His death occurred in 1204 A. D.

Among the books which he wrote (generally in Arabic) on medical subjects, the following deserve to receive special mention:—

I.Commentary on the Aphorisms of Hippocrates.
II.A work known as “Aphorisms of Maimonides” (borrowed partly from Hippocrates and partly from Galen).
III.Résumé of the writings of Galen.
IV.A letter relating to the subject of personal hygiene.
V.-IX.Treatises on asthma; on hemorrhoids; on venoms and poisons in general; on drugs; and on forbidden articles of diet.
X.A translation of one of Avicenna’s works.