History of medicine: Al-Zahrawi

Also known as

• Abū al-Qāsim Khalaf ibn al-‘Abbās al-Zahrāwī al-Ansari (أبو القاسم خلف بن العباس الزهراوي‎)
• Al-Zahrawi (الزهراوي)
• Abulcasis 

 

Life

• 936 CE : Born in Al-Andalus (modern Spain).
• 1000 CE : Wrote his magnum opus.
• 1013 CE : Died (aged 76-77).

Great works

• 1000 CE: The Kitab at-Tasrif (Arabic: كتاب التصريف لمن عجز عن التأليف) (The Method of Medicine)

 

Significance in history  

• Recorded one of the earliest uses of diagnostic biopsy. He punctured a goitre with a needle and analysed the contents.
• Gained a reputation as the greatest surgeon of the middle ages. 
• Some his surgical techniques are still widely used today.