[Gondishapur school of medicine: the most significant medical center in antiquity]

ABSTRACT

Iran has a rich civilization and a long history, during which medical sciences flourished at specific periods. For instance, medicine blossomed in Sassanid's era [226-652 AD]. One of the most remarkable cultural and scientific centers of Sassanid's era was the city of Gondishapur located in Shah-Abad near Susa, Khuzestan province, south-west of Iran. The city was rebuilt in the third century AD, whereupon it soon became the most important scientific center of the ancient world. Gondishapur Medical School was a renowned cosmopolitan institution and had a crucial impact upon further development of medicine in Islamic era. At this school, the Greek, Persian, and Indian medical heritage was conserved, developed, and then transferred to the Islamic world and subsequently to the West. Gondishapur hospital was also an excellent model for establishment of hospitals particularly in the Islamic countries. Presented here is a brief account of the foundation of Gondishapur School of Medicine and its role in promoting medical science in antiquity