WHAT THEY ARE TEACHING US
William Harvey, during the early 17th century, discovered that blood circulates. He was the first to correctly describe the function of the heart, arteries and veins. Romes Galen had presented erroneous ideas regarding the circulatory system, and Harvey was the first to determine that blood is pumped throughout the body via the action of the heart and the venous valves. Therefore, he is regarded as the founder of human physiology.
WHAT IS CORRECT
In the 10th century CE, Islams ar-Razi wrote an in-depth treatise on the venous system, accurately describing the function of the veins and their valves. Ibn an-Nafs and Ibn al-Quff (13th century CE) provided full documentation that the blood circulates and correctly described the physiology of the heart and the function of its valves 300 years before Harvey. William Harvey was a graduate of Italys famous Padua University at a time when the majority of its curriculum was based upon Ibn Sinas and ar-Razis textbooks.
WHAT ARE THEY TEACHING US
The first pharmacopeia (book of medicines) was published by a German scholar in 1542 CE. According to World Book Encyclopedia, the science of pharmacology was begun in the 1900s as an off-shoot of chemistry due to the analysis of crude plant materials. Chemists, after isolating the active ingredients from plants, realized their medicinal value.
WHAT IS CORRECT According to the eminent scholar of Arab history, Phillip Hilti, the Muslims, not the Greeks or Europeans, wrote the first "modern" pharmacopeia. The science of pharmacology was originated by Muslim physicians during the 9th century CE. They developed it into a highly refined and exact science. Muslim chemists, pharmacists and physicians produced thousands of drugs and/or crude herbal extracts one thousand years before the supposed birth of pharmacology.
During the 14th century Ibn Baytar wrote a huge pharmacopeia listing some 1400 different drugs. Hundreds of other pharmacopeias were published during the Islamic Era. It is likely that the German work is an offshoot of that by Ibn Baytar, which was widely circulated in Europe.
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited