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Rhazes's methodology in the science of toxicology

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Abstract

Introduction

Toxicology has been one of the most important topics throughout the history of medicine. Persian medicine (PM) textbooks such as Al-Hawi fi Al-Tib of Rhazes (Razi) can be a useful source for novel information about toxicology and thus we aimed to elucidate Rhazes's methodology in toxicology based on this textbook.

Methods

This research is a historical descriptive study. Data were obtained from the book Al-Hawi fi Al-Tib using keywords of poison, poisoning, and relevant terminologies in ArabicAQ1, Persian, and English and also from appropriate literature in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Scientific Information Database (SID), Magiran, and IranDoc.

Results

After introducing the types of common poisons in his era, Rhazes categorized them into three main categories of plants, animals, and minerals, which cause human poisoning orally or via stings and bites. To identify the poison and make a diagnosis of the corresponding toxidrome, he conducted a thorough physical examination of the patient, carefully observing signs and symptoms, and then treated the poisoning using pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical modalities. In the book Al-Hawi fi Al-Tib, Rhazes has provided comprehensive information about the types of poisons, their effects on the human body, the signs and symptoms of poisonings, and relevant diagnostic and therapeutic methods.

Discussion

Rhazes had a great contributing role to the science of toxicology. We suggest future research on an in-depth analysis of other PM references for toxicology knowledge and how they may foster the science of toxicology.

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Fig. 1

Adapted from: Wikinoor, Specialized Encyclopedia of Bibliography and Biography, Computer Research Center of Islamic Sciences, Qom, Iran. https://wikinoor.ir/index.php?title=%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%A7%D9%88%D9%8A_%D9%81%D9%8A_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B7%D8%A8&mobileaction=toggle_view_desktop. B The title page from the copy of Al-Hawi fi Al-Tib of Rhazes (Arabic). Adapted from: https://archive.org/details/72731. C An introduction page from the copy of Al-Hawi fi Al-Tib of Rhazes (Arabic). Adapted from:https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_09715/?sp=8&st=single&r=-1.814,0.181,4.628,1.751,0. D page from the copy of Latin translation of Al-Hawi fi Al-Tib of Rhazes (Liber Continens/The Comprehensive Book on Medicine). Adapted from: https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_09553/?sp=21&r=-1.096,0.057,3.192,1.345,0

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thanks Babol University of Medical Sciences for financial supports.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Traditional Medicine and History of Medical Sciences Research Center, Health Research Institute, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran

    Jamal Rezaei Orimi & Seyyed Ali Mozaffarpur

  2. Traditional and Complementary Medicine Research Center, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran

    Jamal Rezaei Orimi

  3. Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran

    Mohammad Amrollahi-Sharifabadi

  4. Department of Traditional Medicine, School of Persian Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Zahra Aghabeiglooei

  5. Department of Anesthesiology and Operating Room, Traditional And Complementary Medicine Research Center, Addiction Institute, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran

    Ebrahim Nasiri

  6. Traditional Medicine and History of Medical Sciences Research Center, Health, Research Institute, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran

    Seyyed Ali Mozaffarpur

Authors
  1. Jamal Rezaei Orimi
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  2. Mohammad Amrollahi-Sharifabadi
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  3. Zahra Aghabeiglooei
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  4. Ebrahim Nasiri
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Contributions

Conceptualization: SAM; Methodology, software, validation, analysis, investigation, resources: JRO and MAS and ZA; Data curation, original draft preparation, editing and review: JRO and MAS and ZA and, EN; Visualization, supervision, project administration: all authors.

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Correspondence to Seyyed Ali Mozaffarpur.

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Orimi, J.R., Amrollahi-Sharifabadi, M., Aghabeiglooei, Z. et al. Rhazes's methodology in the science of toxicology. Arch Toxicol 97, 93–102 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-022-03389-w

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