Vitiligo: Types and Treatment According to the Most Renowned Arab Muslim Scientists

Abstract

Introduction: Vitiligo is one of the oldest diseases that have afflicted people. It was firstly described be old Egyptians in Ebres' Papyrus more than four thousand years ago. In this presentation, focus will be on the contribution of Muslim Arab scientists to the field of Vitiligo. Aims: The purpose of this research is to shed light on an important aspect in Islamic Arabic heritage in relation to dermatology, as regards old Muslim Arab physicians. It has been found out that Abi Al-HasanAl-Tabari (375 H.-985 A.D.), a physician of the fourth hegira century, tackled several medical issues in his book, Hippocrates Treatments, among them is Vitiligo. Vitiligo was also mentioned in Al-Razi's, IbnSina's and Al-Zahrawi's books. Because of this, we have chosen to study this disease as its has been the concern of old and contemporary physicians' treatments. Methodology of research: The research type followed in this study is the historical retrieval, through going back to old medical books especially Abi Al-Hasan Al Tabari's Hippocrates Treatments, especially the seventh article which consists of sixty chapters, of which the tenth chapter is dedicated to talk about Vitligo. Other Arabic medical books that handled Vitiligo was Al-Razi's Mansouriin Medicine (375 H.-985 A.D.) and Al-Zahrawi's Managing (404 H.). Results: 1- Muslims Arab scientists differentiated between Vitiligo and leprosy. 2- Al-Zahrawi classified Vitiligo into three types. 3- Abi Al-Hasan Al-Tabari specified a complete chapter to talk about Vitiligo and its treatments. Conclusion: Vitiligo has been known since oldest times. In this respect, Muslim scientists contributed to the field of Vitiligo with respect to diagnosing this disease relying on strong observation and the disease distinguishing features. However, up till now it has not been often found any effective medication for such a disease