(circa 1210 – December 17, 1288)
A towering polymath whose tentacles touched every sphere of learning, Ibn al-Nafis is among the most prolific medieval scholars. Although he navigated through the entire fields of arts and sciences (as they existed in his lifetime), his clinical works are the most celebrated today. With a daring attitude similar to Louis Pasteur’s, and the profundity that reminds one of Avicenna, he pioneered works in dietetics, anatomy, physiology, pathology, hematology and ophthalmology. From Egypt where he served as personal physician to Sultan Al-Zahir Baybars to the Renaissance Europe where his publications improved universities’ syllabi, his influences were enormous. Among other accomplishments, Ibn al-Nafis is remembered today as the first person who accurately described the pulmonary oxygenation of blood. This took into account the roles of miniature veins, arteries and capillaries (which awed William Harvey 350 years later). Similar inroads his publications made in anatomy, physiology and pathology would augment preceding legacies of Rhazes, Albucasis, and Avicenna. Although he authored nearly 500 treatises, (most of which focused on medicine), only a fraction of those manuscripts were published during his lifetime. Others arrived posthumously. Nevertheless, their novelties and futuristic foresights ensured that their impacts were lasting. The most circulated of these include: an Encyclopedia of Medicine titled Al-Shamil fi al-Tibb, a Compendium of Medicine titled al-Mūjaz fī al-Tibb, a Manual for Ophthalmology titled al-Muhaḏḏab fī al-Kuhl, a Book of Urology titled Al-Mugiza, a Guide for Nutritional Choices titled Kitāb al-Mukhtār fī al-Aghḏiyah, and Comprehensive Commentaries on Avicenna’s Anatomical Works titled Sharh Tashrih al-Qanun.
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Wow! This is my first time of hearing about him.
Oh yeah! Being a genius doesn’t get any better than that.
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I can’t stop inquiring about this mysterious polymath. No matter how much I read, I keep looking for more.
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Mind blowing!
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Awesome!
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Yep
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I would like to be a genius.
I’m not sure why but this webpage loaded slowly for me.
Valuable information.
I have always been impressed by the achievements of these guys because they did all that some centuries before Europe awakened.
Determined to be outstanding.
Wonderful achievements
Ibn al-Nafis was a true successor of Avicenna
I have been reading these posts for a while, and I appreciate your website.
This is as wonderful as your other articles.
Excellent à tous points de vue.
Really great
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How nice.
Classic 🙂
A classic indeed!
no doubt
I enjoyed this one the most.
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Fitted like gloves
sehr gut
I am so happy to see Al-Nafis. Other bloggers forgot him.
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