Muhammad ibn Zakariyā Rāzī (
Persian: محمد زکریای رازی
Mohammad-e Zakariā-ye Rāzi, also known by his
Latinized name
Rhazes or
Rasis) (854 CE – 925 CE), was a
Persian[3][4] polymath,
physician,
alchemist and chemist,
philosopher and important figure in the history of medicine.
A comprehensive thinker, Razi made fundamental and enduring contributions to various fields of science, which he recorded in over 200 manuscripts, and is particularly remembered for numerous advances in medicine through his
observations and discoveries.
[5] An early proponent of
experimental medicine, he became a successful doctor; he was appointed a court physician, and served as chief physician of Baghdad and
Rey hospitals.
[2][6] He was among the first to use
humorism to distinguish one contagious disease from another and has been described as a doctor's doctor,
[7] the father of
pediatrics,
[8] and a pioneer of
ophthalmology.
As a practicing physician, Razi wrote a pioneering book about
smallpox and
measles providing clinical characterization of the diseases.
[9] Through translation, his medical works and ideas became known among medieval European practitioners and profoundly influenced medical education in the Latin West.
[2] Some volumes of his work
Al-Mansuri, namely "On Surgery" and "A General Book on Therapy", became part of the medical curriculum in Western universities.
[2] As a teacher of medicine, he attracted students of all backgrounds and interests and was said to be compassionate and devoted to the service of his patients, whether rich or poor.
[10] Edward Granville Browne considers him as "probably the greatest and most original of all the physicians, and one of the most prolific as an author".
[11]