• DOI:10.1097/00000542-200401000-00026
• Corpus ID: 27900838

Approach to Painful Disorders by Şerefeddin Sabuncuoğlu in the Fifteenth Century Ottoman Period

@article{Ganidagli2004ApproachTP,
  title={Approach to Painful Disorders by Şerefeddin Sabuncuoğlu in the Fifteenth Century Ottoman Period},
  author={Suleyman Ganidagli and Mustafa Cengiz and Şahin Aksoy and Ayhan Verit},
  journal={Anesthesiology},
  year={2004},
  volume={100},
  pages={165-169}
}

• S. Ganidagli, M. Cengiz, +1 author A. Verit
• Published 1 January 2004
• Medicine
• Anesthesiology

PRESERVED human remains, artifacts, and works of art document the existence and prevalence of painful diseases from before the beginning of recorded history. Modern medicine is the culmination of the efforts of millions of people and tens of different civilizations, some known and others not. In the period between the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Greece, Rome, Persia, and India and the Renaissance period in Europe, the knowledge of medicine was kept alive and further developed by the Arabs and Muslims. The nomenclature, the Dark Ages, reflects the state of civilization in Europe between the fourth and thirteenth centuries, but not that of the Islamic world, where science was loved and respected. During this time, while the only Western center of secular medical practice was in Salerno, clinician–scholars such as Sabuncuoğlu were among a cadre of Islamic physicians skilled in the practices of medicine that remain at the forefront of pain management practice even currently. Şerefeddin Sabuncuoğlu lived during the fifteenth century in Amasya, a small city in what is now central Anatolia. During the early period of the Ottoman Empire, Amasya was a center of commerce, culture, and arts. When it became a center of tradition and was assigned a governor, the city also became architecturally enriched with the building of numerous new mosques, schools, inns, bridges, and fountains. Many scientists and artists were raised in Amasya during this time as well as afterward. During this period, Şerefeddin Sabuncuoğlu practiced medicine in the Amasya Hospital, which was built in 1308. In 1465, at the age of 80 years, he wrote a book called Cerrahiyet’ül Haniye (Imperial Surgery), the first illustrated, Turkish-written, Islamic surgical textbook. The book was rediscovered in 1936 by Süheyl Ünver, a Turkish medical historian, and the illustrations were published in a separate volume. There are three original handwritten copies, two in Istanbul, in the Fatih Millet Library and the Çapa Medical History Department of Istanbul University, and one in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris. Each copy differs somewhat from the others, and none is complete. Cerrahiyet’ül Haniye consists of three chapters, although there is no strong separation of the subjects in the chapters (Treatments with Cauterization, Surgical Procedures, and Fractures and Dislocations). A total of 191 topics are covered in 412 pages. These surgical procedures relate to obstetrics and gynecology, ophthalmology, and general, pediatric, thoracic, orthopedic, urologic, neurologic, and vascular surgery. Invasive pain management information is presented in small parts in all of these surgical chapters. Şerefeddin Sabuncuoğlu’s other books, Mücerrebname (The Book of Experiences) and the translation of Akrabadin (Medical Formulas), are the other two famous examples of his known seven books. Mücerrebname is the first Turkish experimental textbook. Its 17 sections discuss almost all subjects of medicine. Sabuncuoğlu reported many mixtures consisting of herbal drugs for pain treatment in Mücerrebname, a general medical experiment catalog that contains more than 20 pain-related sections about the preparation of drugs, used experimentally on animals, patients, and author himself. In one example, he allowed himself to be bitten by a venomous snake and then drank a self-prepared potion to measure its effectiveness. Sabuncuoğlu used a language similar to that of the contemporary medical literature for presenting case studies when he discussed the applications of drugs. Therefore, the author’s objective was to eradicate all suspicions about applying medication and to guide his colleagues—perhaps the first example of evidence-based medicine. The handwritten copies of the book are now housed in the Süleymaniye Library in the sections of Fatih, Ayasofya, and Kılıç Ali Paşa. Sabuncuoğlu operated throughout the human body well before the development of sterile technique and anesthesia, at least by modern standards. He used a combination of mandrake root and almond oil for analgesia and general anesthesia, but it is apparent that his knowledge was based on the conventional herbal medicine therapies of Anatolia. In ancient medicine, some plant derivatives, including alcohol, cannabis, mandrake, and opium, were used to alleviate pain. For example, the Romans had a widespread interest in mouth care using toothpicks, mouthwashes, and painrelieving remedies. Sabuncuoğlu’s textbook Cerrahiyyet’ül-Haniyye was dedicated to Sultan Mehmed the Second (The Conqueror), the great Ottoman emperor. The book was a * Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, † Associate Professor, Department of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine, ‡ Assistant Professor, Department of Urology.