Rabies: A Comprehensive Review of Traditional Persian Medicine Literature

Abstract

Persian scholars greatly influenced the advancement of medical sciences during the Middle Ages. As a review of the books surviving from that time shows, infectious diseases was one main field of interest for these scientists. Among this group of health problems, rabies was specifically described by Persian physicians, particularly by Avicenna (980 – 1037 A.D.) in his famous “Canon of Medicine.”The current study aimed to examine these physicians’ brilliant views and innovations on the manifestations, diagnosis, and management of rabies, a subject not comprehensively assessed until now.