Ibn al-Nafis
| Ibn al-Nafis | |
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| Born | 1213 Damascus |
| Died | 17 December 1288 (aged 74–75) Cairo |
| Ethnicity | Arab |
| Era | Islamic Golden Age |
| Region | Syria and Egypt |
| Religion | Islam |
| Main interest(s) | Medicine, Anatomy |
| Notable work(s) | Commentary on Anatomy in Avicenna's Canon |
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Ala-al-din abu Al-Hassan Ali ibn Abi-Hazm al-Qarshi al-Dimashqi (Arabic: علاء الدين أبو الحسن عليّ بن أبي حزم القرشي الدمشقي), known as Ibn al-Nafis (Arabic: ابن النفيس), was a physician mostly famous for being the first to describe the pulmonary circulation of the blood. The work of Al-Nafis regarding the right sided (pulmonary) circulation pre-date the much later work (1628) of William Harvey's De motu cordis. Both theories attempt to explain circulation.
Apart from medicine, Ibn al-Nafis learned jurisprudence, literature and theology. He was an expert on the Shafi'i school of jurisprudence and an expert physician. He also performed several human dissections during the course of his work. The number of medical textbooks written by al-Nafis in his lifetime is estimated at more than 110 volumes.
He was born in Damascus, originally from Qarshi, Transoxiana; and studied medicine at Nuri Hospital in Damascus, which was founded by the Turkish Prince Nur-al Din Muhmud ibn Zanki, in the 12th century. Ibn al-Nafis was taught by the founder of a medical school in Damascus, Al-Dakhwar. Al-Nafis taught and practiced at his own, then lesser known hospital in Egypt. He became the chief physician there and personal physician for prominent political leaders, thus becoming also an authority among practitioners of medicine. Prior to his death, he donated his house and personal library to Qalawun Hospital or, as it was also known, the House of Recovery. He died on December 17, 1288, in Cairo.
In 1236, Al-Nafis moved to Egypt to teach jurisprudence in Cairo at al-Masruriyya (Arabic: المدرسة المسرورية). His name is found among those of other scholars, which gives insight into how well he was regarded in the study and practice of religious law. He wrote Kitab al-Shamil fi ‘l-Sina’a al-Tibbiyya (Comprehensive Book in the Art of Medicine) around his 30s. It comprised 300 volumes of notes, but only 80 of these were published. His writings are cataloged in many libraries around the world, including the Cambridge University Library, the Bodleian Library, and the Lane Medical Library at Stanford University.
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