The anatomy of spinal nerves in the “Teşrihü’l-Ebdan Min e’t-Tıb” written in the fourteenth century

Abstract

Considering that the visual dimension of anatomy cannot be ignored and an anatomy education without the visual part will make adoctor imperfect in their profession, it may be seen that pictorial anatomy books written in previous periods are highly valuable.The purpose of this study is to investigate the spinal nerve anatomy included in the work titled Teşrihü’l-Ebdan min e’t-Tıb writtenin the XIVth century and compare the information at that period to the information of our time.The nervous system was analyzed under a separate title in the book. Firstly, general information was provided about nerves, andthen cranial and spinal nerves were described. The author stated in his work that there are two differences between humans andanimals as feeling and movement. He stated that the center for feeling and movement is the brain and all nerves converge in thebrain.Although there are insufficient or incorrect information in historical books of medicine, such books are highly valuable as they showthe scientific progress. It is apparent that Mansur’s work titled Teşrihü’l-Ebdan min e’t-Tıb has a significant place in the history ofanatomy, and its influence was reflected in the following periods. Despite the occasions of insufficient or incorrect information inthe piece, we think it contributed to the historical development of anatomy.