The work of Nafis was translated into Latin in in , Servetus was executed by burning in Geneva. Previous Previous Next Next. Article Submission. Remember me. Register Now. Past Issue: March - Dark mode. ISSN - Medical College Retd.
Physician, Bhatia Hospital, Mumbai. Ibn al-Nafis, the pulmonary circulation, and the Islamic golden age. J Applied Phys Dec; 6 : — Qatayyah S. Beirut: Arabic Corporation for Studies and Publication, Iskandar AZ.
Ibn al-Nafis. Meyerhof M. Isis ; Ibn Nafis- A forgotten genius in the discovery of pulmonary blood circulation. This script is considered one of the best scientific books in which Ibn al-Nafis covers in detail the topics of anatomy , pathology and physiology. In this work, his experimental approach to physiology is evident as he writes: [29]. In determining the use of each organ we shall rely necessarily on verified examinations and straightforward research, disregarding whether our opinions will agree or disagree with those of our predecessors.
The theory that was accepted, prior to Ibn al-Nafis, was placed by Galen in the 2nd century and improved by Avicenna in the 11th century. Galen had theorized that the blood reaching the right side of the heart went through invisible pores in the cardiac septum, to the left side of the heart, where it mixed with air to create spirit, and was then distributed to the body. According to Galen's views, the venous system was quite separate from the arterial system, except when they came in contact through the unseen pores.
Ibn al-Nafis proved this Galenic-Avicennian doctrine wrong in this work and presented the earliest descriptions of pulmonary circulation and coronary circulation , which form the basis of the circulatory system. He extended this with the first correct description of the pulse and a precursor to the capillary circulation. Paul Ghalioungui summarizes the fundamental changes Ibn al-Nafis made to the incorrect Galenic-Avicennian theory that led to his discovery of the circulatory system as follows: [2].
In describing the anatomy of the lungs , Ibn al-Nafis stated:. Ibn al-Nafis also postulated that nutrients for heart are extracted from the coronary arteries:. Ibn al-Nafis' next most important discovery is coronary circulation , the second phase of the circulatory system.
He was the first to realize that the nutrition of the heart is extracted from the small blood vessels passing through its wall. He wrote: [3]. Ibn al-Nafis discovered a precursor to the " capillary circulation in his assertion that the pulmonary vein receives what comes out of the pulmonary artery , this being the reason for the existence of perceptible passages between the two. Ibn al-Nafis rejected the incorrect Galenic theory on the pulse and instead proposed his own accurate theory of pulsation.
Galen believed that "every part of an artery pulsates simultaneously" and that the motion of the pulse was due to natural motions the arteries expanding and contracting naturally as opposed to foced motions the heart causing the arteries to either expand or contract.
Ibn al-Nafis rejected this view after discovering that pulsation is a result of both natural and forced motions, and that the "forced motion must be the contraction of the arteries caused by the expansion of the heart, and the natural motion must be the expansion of the arteries. He also recognized that the purpose of the pulse is to help disperse the blood from the heart to the rest of the body.
Ibn al-Nafis briefly summarizes his new theory of pulsation: [30]. Moreover, when it expands it is not possible for it to absorb air until it is full, for that would then ruin the temperament of the spirit, its substance and texture, as well as the temperament of the heart. Thus, the heart is necessarily forced to complete its fill by absorbing the spirit. He writes several advantages to this theory, such as the following: [31]. Thus, if the spirit were to reside always in the heart, it would burn out because of the excessive heat, and if it were to reside always in the arteries, it would become cold and thick.
While the most important discoveries in the Sharh Tashrih al-Qanun Ibn Sina Commentary on Anatomy in Avicenna's Canon were the pulmonary and coronary circulations, this work also contains many other discoveries and discredits many erroneous theories advocated in The Canon of Medicine by Avicenna Ibn Sina and Galen. Besides the examples given in this article, the Commentary on Anatomy in Avicenna's Canon contains numerous other discoveries, criticisms and corrections on the anatomy and physiology of almost every part of the human body, including the bones, muscles, intestines, sensory organs, bilious canals, esophagus , stomach , etc.
Ibn al-Nafis quotes another error made by Galen, who believed that " blood reaches the brain itself at the section called forebrain through the duramater which divides the vault longitudinally into two equal halves at the sagittal suture.
Dissection confirms this and disproves what they say. The permeation of arteries into the cranium is well known not to be from the front ventricle. Another example concerns an incorrect theory on the anatomy of the bilious canals that was supported by Galen and Avicenna, and later repeated by Leonardo da Vinci and even Vesalius during the early modern period. Ibn al-Nafis was the only physician in pre-modern times to prove this theory wrong: [11].
This is completely wrong. We have seen the gall bladder several times and failed to see anything going from it either to the stomach or to the intestines. Another correction he made concerned the incorrect Galenic and Avicennian theories of bones being present beneath the human heart. Ibn al-Nafis proved them both wrong through his own observations and wrote the following criticism on their theories: [11].
There are absolutely no bones beneath the heart as it is positioned right in the middle of the chest cavity where there are no bones at all. Bones are only found at the chest periphery not where the heart is positioned. Ibn al-Nafis made the following correction concerning human muscles , where he also briefly refers to his then forthcoming encyclopedia The Comprehensive Book on Medicine : [11].
The forthcoming book will also contain details about proper anatomy since what is said about it here, is short and brief. Ibn al-Nafis corrects another theory on the nerves stated by Avicenna, who believed that the glossopharyngeal nerve , vagus nerve and accessory nerve arise from the nerve ganglion and that they are attached to the sigmoid and facial nerves through membranous fascia so that these five nerves look like one nerve emerging as three branches from the back foramen lacerum.
After Ibn al-Nafis dissected that part of the brain, he wrote the following criticism on this theory: [11]. This sixth pair [a confluence of the glossopharyngeal, vagus and accessory nerves] both arises and emerges from behind the fifth, so there is no way it could be attached to it.
Another example was Galen's incorrect theory on the optic nerve , in which he stated that the optic nerve "which comes from the right side of the brain goes to the right eye, and the nerve which comes from the left side goes to the left eye.
Ibn al-Nafis criticized previous Aristotelian, Galenic and Avicennian explanations of embryology and proceeds to develop his own theories on embryology and generation. He believed that when a male and female semen mix, and when they create a mixed matter that has an appropriate temperament to receive an animal or human soul, God issues a soul to this matter, which then develops into an embryo that grows and generates organs.
The investigators amongst the falasifa believe that the male semen only has the active faculty, while the female only has the passive faculty. As for our opinion on this, and God knows best, neither of the two semen has in it an active faculty to fashion. He then shows that once the male semen and female semen are brought together in the womb, the female semen quenches the hot fire of the male semen through its own cool and wet nature.
In his early life, he studied theology, philosophy and literature. When he turned 16, he started studying medicine, which lasted 10 years at the hospital in Damascus, founded by the Turkish prince Nureddin Mahmud Zengi in the 12th Century.
In , Ibn al Nafis and his colleagues moved to Egypt following the request of the Ayyubid sultan al Kamil. He first appeared as the chief physician at al Naseri hospital which was founded by Saladin the victor where he practised medicine for several years. He mostly spent his life in Egypt and witnessed massive incidents like the fall of Baghdad and the rise of Mamluks.
He became the personal physician of many leaders such as Sultan Baibars. At the age of 74, Ibn al Nafis became the chief physician of the newly founded al Mansori hospital where he worked there until the end of his life.
He died in Cairo following. Prior to his death, Ibn al Nafis donated his entire library and house to Qalawun Hospital. Subscribe to our Youtube channel for all latest in-depth, on the ground reporting from around the world. What would you like to learn more about? Measles cases rise nearly four-fold - WHO.
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