Concepts and Therapies for Cancer From Islamic Golden Age to Ottoman Empire Publisher



Ahansazan H ; Raeispour M ; Esmaealzadeh N
Source: Journal of Research on History of Medicine Published:2025

Abstract

From its origins during the Islamic Golden Age (8th –14th centuries) to its use and dissemination during the classical Ottoman medical tradition (15th –18th centuries), this article charts the development of cancer knowledge and treatment. This analysis shows a remarkable continuity in the humoral theory of cancer as a disease of black bile, drawing on important primary sources such as the writings of Rhazes, Avicenna, and Haly Abbas, as well as Ottoman surgical manuals (jarrah-names). Although the Ottoman texts were primarily used to translate and preserve classical Islamic knowledge, they also show a consistent medical paradigm in which a systemic approach to a feared and frequently fatal disease was taken through the use of diagnosis, diet, purgation, and cautious surgery. © Journal of Research on History of Medicine.