[Notes on the medicine of the anatolian seljuk period]

In this study some remarkable medical practices during the period of Anatolian Seljuks are related. We see a widespread use of poisonous snakes as medicine. Ahi Evren Seyh Nasirud-din Mahmud, the leader of the Ahi organization which was a guild of artisans and traders of the period, explains in his book that he produced an antidote from poisonous snakes. Ahi Evren was the most famous doctor of the period. He complied a work on anatomy. He used to go to the mountains in the winter and utilized snake poison for preparing medicine. During the period of Anatolian Seljuk, in almost all the cities there were hospitals as health centers. At the time it was too difficult to bring patients from the village to the city; therefore the doctors of the health centers travelled from village to village, from town to town to treat the patient. The statesmen paid doctors for treating patients in certain regions. During this period, it was assumed that artificial fertilization could be made outside the womb. If the problem of access to the sources of this period is solved, there may be found interesting information on this subject.