Department of History of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Persian Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
Abstract: (12 Views)
Examining the historical course of any science reveals the extent of its progress, stagnation, or even regression during a specific period. Given the importance of halitosis (bad breath) in the past and in the modern world, this study aimed to elucidate the history of Iranian and Islamic medicine by investigating physicians' perspectives on its causes in Islamic civilization up to the end of the seventh century AH. Accordingly, the evolutionary trajectory and the extent of physicians' influence in this civilization on this field of knowledge were analyzed. This study is a qualitative research study utilizing content analysis of medical texts from the Islamic civilization available in the Noor Digital Library and other electronic resources. Data were collected by searching for keywords in traditional medical texts until the seventh century AH and in modern sources. The extracted data were categorized into fewer than two main themes: nomenclature and etiology. The study revealed that, over time, this condition was primarily known as "Bakhar" and its synonyms, and that scholars of Islamic civilization presented new findings regarding its causes. Although geographical differences did not have a significant impact on the evolutionary course of the causes of this condition, the time factor was highly influential. Halitosis, both as an independent disease and as a symptom of other diseases, has long been significant to the sages of the Islamic civilization, who examined it from various dimensions and enumerated different causes for it. The physicians of this era not only endeavored to preserve the knowledge of their predecessors but also enriched it over many centuries. The comprehensive perspective of traditional medicine sages on halitosis, and their simultaneous attention to its multiple causes, can inform modern diagnostic approaches.