H Tadjbakhsh - Professor Emeritus. Department of Microbiology Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Tehran University, Tehran - Iran.

Ever since man acquired knowledge of himself, he became aware of the certain diseases. This is the first step in medical history and medical research, it is as old as man's thinking. In this article we will express some aspects of a few medical discoveries specially in the last millennium. The most important medical basis was the theory of four humors or four natures established by Hippocrate, Galenand developed by Avicenna and Jorjani. Najib al Odin Samarghandi one of the greatest Iranian physician (Killed in 1221 A.D.) was the first scientist who did not care about this theory. After medical discoveries of Louis Pasteur and other savants the four humors theory abolished totally. Ibn Nafis Gharshi in 1242 about 300 years before Micael Servetus expresed the theory of the pulmonary circulation.W. Harway ( 15 7 8-165 7) discovered the blood circulation which was a fundamental basis for physiology. Ibn Gof (d. 1336) expressed anastomosis of arterioles and venules via small valves 4 centuries before M. Malpighi. Rhazes (d. 925) for the first time expressed his fermentation theory 900 years before Louis Pasteur, he said that a ferment in the blood is causal agent of smallpox. Pasteur and Koch in19th century definitely indicated microbial agents of some infectious diseases. Rhazes wrote the first article on the subject of allergy and Biruni (1048 A.D) mentioned an antibody like theory. The use of liver from a rabid dog on a bitten wound preconised by Avicenna (d. 1038) is a practical application of serotherapy and vaccination. Edward Jenner in 1798 found that inoculation of cowpoxhas immunizing character against smallpox, then the method of vaccination was applicable. Several diseases were controlled after development of microbiological knowledge but new disease like AIDS was appeared with it's terrible figure. The never ending struggle between patient and disease is still going on. We must prevent the · recurrence of the deadly diseases in man and animals withthe best trying and wisdom.

Medicine, Millenniums, History of Medicine