Unani

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Unani is the term used in the Indian subcontinent for Graeco-Arabic medicine . It derives from the Arabic wordيوناني / yūnānī  / 'Greek' (actually: 'Ionic') from. Unani is the Arabic-Islamic counterpart to Ayurveda in India, outside the Indian subcontinent it is often referred to as classical Arabic medicine.

Origin of name and history

Origin of name

Unani is a combination of different traditional medical systems, originally based mainly on ancient Greek medicine , hence the name Unani / Yūnānī - 'Greek'. In addition, there are influences from Ayurveda , Greek medicine further developed by the Nestorians and the medicine of the Arab Bedouins.

history

Due to the general request of the Koran to acquire knowledge and due to the Islamic principle to protect the body, the early Muslims first began to collect the limited medical knowledge of the Arabian Peninsula . Pre-Islamic doctors such as al-Harith ibn Kalda, who in turn acquired his knowledge from the Nestorians at the Academy of Gundishapur, should be mentioned here . Gundischapur was a center of the natural sciences in late antiquity and from the Islamic conquest in 642 until the foundation of the House of Wisdom it was also the starting point for the early flowering of the Islamic natural sciences.

At the time of the Umayyads (661–750) the lively scientific exchange with the high cultures of the time began , and the first medical works were translated from Greek. At the time of the Umayyads, Gundishapur was still the center of medicine.

At the time of the Abbasids (750–1258) the other then known medical systems were first translated and then analyzed, especially Greek, Nestorian and Indian ( Ayurveda ) medicine. The center at that time was the Bait al-Hikma ( House of Wisdom ) in Baghdad .

Then began the phase of further development and critical examination of the medical theories known in the Middle Ages, whereby the humoral doctrine itself was not affected, in contrast to the medical reform of Paracelsus in Europe. Many ancient teachings have been studied and reformed, such as Galen's belief that wounds must fester in order to heal better. Above all, ar-Rāzī was known for his empirical research in the natural sciences.

The medicine known today as Unani is after all the advancement of the Arabic medicine of the Middle Ages in India . The pharmacology adds a number of Indian drugs, it also new massage techniques and therapies have been developed.

Basics

The basis is the Greek theory of humours . It was expanded and refined, but was and is still considered the basis of Unani. Thus, Unani is similar to Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine , in which similar juices are the basis. This theory assumes that all matter can be traced back to the four basic elements fire (energy), water (liquid), earth (solid matter) and air (gases). All illnesses as well as medicines are explained according to the principle of this element theory.

The following criteria are important in diagnosis:

  • Questioning the patient : Here the patient is asked about his medical history, pain, physical and psychological well-being, eating habits and other criteria.
  • Observation of the patient: the body is examined for any noticeable abnormal changes, pain areas are felt.
  • Pulse diagnostics : As in Ayurveda , classical Greek medicine and traditional Chinese medicine, the pulse is sampled at several parts of the body. It is not about measuring blood pressure, but about the so-called pulse qualities:
    • fast or slow pulse
    • wide or thin pulse
    • regular or irregular pulse and much more.
  • Urine and stool diagnostics : These two examinations were very important for internal medicine, as they are body fluids from the inside that provide information about digestion. The urine sample was tested for color, smell and consistency in a transparent glass vial ( Qārūra ).

The stool sample was also examined for color, consistency, odor and undigested particles.

Forms of therapy

  • Internal uses: nutrition, medicines
  • External uses: cupping , massage, sports, surgery

education

In India , Pakistan and Afghanistan, training in Unani medicine is regulated by university studies. There are numerous universities that offer this course, the most famous being Hamdard University. After completing the bachelor's degree (BUMS, Bachelor of Unani Medicine Science ), the graduate receives the title ḥakīm . There is no such university course outside of the countries mentioned.

In addition to the academic training, there is also the traditional one with the so-called Hakim. One learns Unani on the basis of the Arabic classics al-Qānūn fī t-Tibb from Ibn Sīnā , al-Kulliyāt fī t-Tibb from Ibn Rushd , al-Malakī from ʿAlī al-Madschūsī and much more.

literature

  • Jamīl Aḥmad, Hakim Ashhar Qadeer: Unani: the science of Graeco-Arabic medicine . Luster Press, 1998, ISBN 81-7436-052-2 .
  • Philip Rack: Race, culture, and mental disorder . Taylor & Francis, London 1983, ISBN 0-422-78160-6 .
  • George McClelland Foster: Hippocrates' Latin American legacy: humoral medicine in the New World . Taylor & Francis, 1994, ISBN 2-88124-610-9 ( books-google.de - reading sample).
  • Waltraud Ernst: Plural medicine, tradition and modernity, 1800–2000 . Routledge, New York 2002, ISBN 0-415-23122-1 .
  • Purnima Chattopadhayay-Dutt: Loops and roots: the conflict between official and traditional family planning in India . APH Publishing, 1995, ISBN 81-7024-659-8 , pp. 265-267 ( books-google.de ).
  • Gamil Atiya  /جميل عطية / Ǧamīl ʿAṭṭīya :تنظيم صنعة الطب خلال عصور الحضارة العربية الإسلامية / tanẓim ṣanʿat aṭ-ṭibb ḫilāl ʿuṣūr al-ḥaḍāra al-ʿarabīya al-islāmīya  / 'The systematization of medicine in the age of Arabic-Islamic high culture'. Riyadh, al-ʿUbaikān  /العبيكان2002, ISBN 9960-40-178-2 .

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gamil Atiya: The systematization of medicine.
  2. ↑ Ibn-Rušd: al-Kullīyāt fī al-Ṭibb . al-Majlis al-Aʻlá lil-Thaqāfah, 1989, ISBN 977-12-2028-4 . Ibn Sīnā: al-Qānūn fī t-Tibb. ; ʿAlī al-Majusī: al-Malakī