Gifter, droger och mat : om läkemedel i den medeltida medicinen i islam

Drugs prepared from organic and mineral substances have, throughout history, held a central position when it comes to preventing and curing disease. In Galenic medicine, foodstuffs, drugs and deadly substances, or poisons, were all accredited with the potential to affect the constitution of the body. While the Galenic paradigm continued to dominate formal medicine in the Middle Ages, the language used for scientific communication changed from Greek and Syriac to Arabic. This means that our knowledge of most aspects of medieval highly qualified medicine depends on the study of Arabic sources. The preserved Arabic material on pharmacology is extensive, and it is clear that physicians in the Arabo-Islamic cultural sphere have contributed to the knowledge of both single substances and compound preparations.