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“Teşrih-ül Ebdan ve Tercümânı Kıbale-i Feylesûfan”: the first illustrated anatomy handwritten textbook in Ottoman-Turkish medicine

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Abstract

Introduction

Şemseddîn-i Itâkî is a key Turkish scientist in the field of anatomy. His book entitled Teşrih-ül Ebdan ve Tercümânı Kıbale-i Feylesûfan which was written in the seventeenth century is accepted as the first illustrated anatomy handwritten textbook in Turkish language.

Materials and methods

In this article, it was examined an original copy of Teşrih-ül Ebdan ve Tercümânı Kıbale-i Feylesûfan, which is available at the Süleymaniye Library in Istanbul, Turkey, as well as the transliteration of this book from old Turkish (Ottoman-Turkish) alphabet to contemporary Turkish alphabet by Esin Kâhya. In this book, the anatomical drawings and their descriptions were evaluated.

Results

In this ancient handwriting, Itâkî begins with thanking God and then describes the general structure of the organs, bones, nerves, muscles and vessels, supporting with various illustrations. These illustrations are mainly focused on cranial bones, muscles, cranial nerves, spinal nerves, stomach, intestines, urogenital system, bladder, trachea, larynx and bronchi.

Conclusion

While some of these illustrations are similar to the illustrations of the earlier authors such as Ahmed Ibn Mansur, Andreas Vesalius and Juan Valverde de Amusco, others are peculiar to this book. This book is highly significant for it’s being the first Turkish book in the field of anatomy in Ottoman-Turkish medicine and the text’s being supplemented by illustrations. This book is also a fundamental source for translation of anatomical terms into Turkish. Our knowledge of anatomy continues to improve thanks to the contributions of leading scientists such as Itâkî and, therefore, he deserves praise.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Turkey

    İlhan Bahşi

  2. Clinic of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Gaziantep Dr. Ersin Arslan Education and Research Hospital, Gaziantep, Turkey

    Ayşe Bahşi

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  1. İlhan Bahşi
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  2. Ayşe Bahşi
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İB: protocol/project development, data collection or management, data analysis and manuscript writing/editing. AB: protocol/project development, data collection or management, data analysis and manuscript writing/editing

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Correspondence to İlhan Bahşi.

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Bahşi, İ., Bahşi, A. “Teşrih-ül Ebdan ve Tercümânı Kıbale-i Feylesûfan”: the first illustrated anatomy handwritten textbook in Ottoman-Turkish medicine. Surg Radiol Anat 41, 1135–1146 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-019-02292-x

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