Published in:
01-10-2019 | Teaching Anatomy
“Teşrih-ül Ebdan ve Tercümânı Kıbale-i Feylesûfan”: the first illustrated anatomy handwritten textbook in Ottoman-Turkish medicine
Published in: Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy | Issue 10/2019
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Introduction
Şemseddîn-i Itâkî is a key Turkish scientist in the field of anatomy. His book entitled Teşrih-ül Ebdan ve Tercümânı Kıbale-i Feylesûfan which was written in the seventeenth century is accepted as the first illustrated anatomy handwritten textbook in Turkish language.
Materials and methods
In this article, it was examined an original copy of Teşrih-ül Ebdan ve Tercümânı Kıbale-i Feylesûfan, which is available at the Süleymaniye Library in Istanbul, Turkey, as well as the transliteration of this book from old Turkish (Ottoman-Turkish) alphabet to contemporary Turkish alphabet by Esin Kâhya. In this book, the anatomical drawings and their descriptions were evaluated.
Results
In this ancient handwriting, Itâkî begins with thanking God and then describes the general structure of the organs, bones, nerves, muscles and vessels, supporting with various illustrations. These illustrations are mainly focused on cranial bones, muscles, cranial nerves, spinal nerves, stomach, intestines, urogenital system, bladder, trachea, larynx and bronchi.
Conclusion
While some of these illustrations are similar to the illustrations of the earlier authors such as Ahmed Ibn Mansur, Andreas Vesalius and Juan Valverde de Amusco, others are peculiar to this book. This book is highly significant for it’s being the first Turkish book in the field of anatomy in Ottoman-Turkish medicine and the text’s being supplemented by illustrations. This book is also a fundamental source for translation of anatomical terms into Turkish. Our knowledge of anatomy continues to improve thanks to the contributions of leading scientists such as Itâkî and, therefore, he deserves praise.