CONTRIBUTION OF GREEK-O-ARAB PHYSICIAN IN TASHREEH OF QALB (ANATOMY OF HEART); A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW

Dr. Varka*, Dr. Abdul Malik, Dr. Mohd. Abu Bakar Quadri and Dr. Md. Imran Khan

ABSTRACT

Heart is considered as the chief of Aaza-e-Haywaniyya (vital organs) Arastu was one of the anatomists to believe in the centrality of the Qalb (Heart), Arastu in his book „On the Parts of Animals‟ declares that the Qalb (Heart) is placed in the center of the chest, located more on the left side and lying above the lungs, near the bifurcation of the trachea. The pericardium was first described by Hippocrates. Regarding pericardium, he says that the Qalb (heart) is enveloped in a smooth membrane. The purpose of the fluid is to protect the pulsation of the Qalb (Heart) and another function is to alleviate its heat. Jālīnūs (Galen) believed the heart had two ventricles out of which the right one was thin and contained blood, while the left one was thicker and contained air. He recognized that the left ventricle was more hypertrophied than the right ventricle. Ibn Sīnā He described the heart's base as resembling a root or cartilage, providing solid support for the heart. Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna) in his book “The Canon of Medicine”, writes there are three ventricles within the heart, two ventricles that are relatively large and a middle one. The middle ventricle is a nutrient reservoir for the heart. He also describes about atria in the Canon of Medicine, that there are two processes at the entrance of the heart. They are shaped like an ear. Ibn al-Quff Masīḥī writes in his book Kitāb al-‘Umda fi’l Jarāḥat that the heart has four openings out of which two are on the right side, from one opening blood flows from the liver to the heart. The second orifice is that from which the pulmonary artery is connected.

Keywords: Aaza-e-Raeesa, Vital organ, Aaza-e- Murakkaba, Qalb (Heart).