[Medicine in classical Islamic culture and its transfer to Europe]

When the Arabian tribes in the seventh century comquered the Arabo-Islamic empire after the advent of Islam, they encountered the established medical science in the conquered lands. From this adjunction of different traditions the Classical Islamic Medical Science grew. It was however Greek Science which furnished the great majority of contributions. This the Classical Islamic Civilisation largely owe to the energetic policy of acquiring and translating greek scientific literature from the beginning of the 9th century and onward conducted both by Caliphs and by private persons. The synthesis of this scientific work resulted in the emergence of many medical works with Rhazes (al-Râzî), al Majûsî and Avicenna (Ibn Sinâ) as the most prominent physicians, scientistc and authors. About 300 years later, translations of scientific literature from Arabic to Latin took place with similar force in Italy, and a little later in Spain. The translations to Latin had a decisive impact on the etablishment of medical studies i European universities, where the Canon of Avicenna was extensively studied up to recent time. Avicenna and Rhazes were used in the teaching of medicine at the University og Copenhagen in the 16th century, and a Danish physician and scientist from the Renaissance Ole Worm used Avicenna and Rhazes in his scientific work.