Fragments on “Diseases of the Kidneys, Urinary Tract, and Others” quoted from Archigenes in Rhazes’ Kitāb al-Ḥāwī fī al-Ṭibb/Liber Continens

Objective: Kitāb al-Ḥāwī fī al-Ṭibb, also known as Liber Continens, is one of the most renowned and influential works of the Eastern and Western world written during the medieval times. Written by Abū Bakr Muḥammad b. Zakariyyā al-Rāzī (AD 865-925), who is known as Rhazes in the Western world, Kitāb al-Ḥāwī fī al-Ṭibb has great importance for the history of medicine. Indeed, it contains many valuable quotations from other ancient authors whose works could not endure the present day and Rhazes’ own comments on them. The purpose of this study is to present the fragments of Rhazes’ Kitāb al-Ḥāwī fī al-Ṭibb with quotes from the different works of Archigenes of Apamea, a famous physician living in Rome at the time of emperor Trajan (AD 98-117), in English. The quotes and comments deal with diseases of the kidney, urinary tract, and other related topics.

Materials and Methods: The tenth book of Kitāb al-Ḥāwī entitled fī amrāḍ al-kulā wa majārī al-bawl wa ghayrihā is on diseases of the kidneys, urinary tract, and others. First, quotations from Archigenes were identified in Arabic and Latin texts of al-Hāwī. Then, these fragments were compared with each other and translated into English.

Results: The fragments from Archigenes contains subjects such as kidney pain, hematuria, kidney stones, diabetes, and probable gonorrhea.

Conclusion: The fragments recorded in Kitāb al-Ḥāwī/Liber Continens on diseases of the urogenital system and written by Archigenes of Apamea are discussed and brought to English literature, to the best of our knowledge, for the first time, through this limited study.

Cite this article as: Acıduman A, Aşkit Ç. Fragments on “Diseases of the Kidneys, Urinary Tract, and Others” quoted from Archigenes in Rhazes’ Kitāb al-Ḥāwī fī al-Ṭibb/Liber Continens. Turk J Nephrol 2020; 29(4): 310-4.