History of Islamic Medical Schools in Turkey's Territory

In today's political borders of the Republic of Turkey, there exist very old institutions that train physicians according to Islamic medical science. In this study, 19 health institutions whose locations have been determined and documents finalized were approached in a chronological order and classified according to the historical periods: XIIth and XIIIth centuries (Seljukian period)-10, XIVth century (Ilkhanate dominion)-1, and XVth-XVIIth centuries (Ottoman period)-8 institutions. Some of them have a history of 900 years (Konya Mâristan-i Atik, 1113; and Mardin Eminüddin Bimaristani, 1122). In addition, some are in the form of a medical madrasah and an application hospital (Kayseri, 1206; Sivas, 1217). In these institutions, great masters of Islamic medicine (Razi, Fârâbî, Bîrûnî, Ibni Sina) and ancient authorities (Hippocrates, Dioscorides, Aretaeus, Galenos) were taught. These institutions had builders, rulers (sultan, melik) or mothers, wives, daughters, and sisters (the presence of female builders in these institutions attracted attention). During the Seljuk period, powerful viziers also built such institutions. These hospitals also provided free services which were considered as "charities" according to the Islamic religion. These institutions were financed by sources (shops, inns, Turkish baths, bridges, mills, vineyards, gardens, fields and annual taxes of many villages) that donated funds through the "foundation" method. Donations were made in the presence of the "kadi" (muslim judges) and many witnesses, with the written document "endowment." These foundations were not touched by subsequent monarchs. Payment of fees, daily expenses of the physicians, assistant personel and repairing of buildings was done by the board of trustees. Twelve of these institutions are still in use for public interest (polyclinic, museum, health museum, library, university, and education center). When modern medical schools (1827) and hospitals (1842) began to be established as of the XIXth century, these historic buildings were allocated to mental patients, while some were devastated by neglect. However, in the Republic period, they have been restored and used for health and educational purposes.

Effect of formaldehyde inhalation on rat livers: a light and electron microscopic study.

It is well known that formaldehyde (FA) is cytotoxic and potentially carcinogenic. Although the individual effects of this reactant on cells has been investigated, the cytotoxicity exerted by the coexistence of FA is poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of FA on the liver in rats, by light and electron microscopic level. We used 18 Wistar albino rats divided into three groups, exposed to 0 (control), 19.7 ppm FA gas for a total of 4 weeks, 8 h/day, 5 days a week (subacute) and 20.3 parts per million (ppm) FA gas for a total of 13 weeks, 8 h/day, 5 days a week (subchronic). After the completion of the exposure period, they were sacrificed by decapitation and their liver tissue samples were taken in order to be processed for light and electron microscopic studies. Light microscopic evaluation of liver tissue samples of FA-exposed rats revealed enlarged sinusoids filled with blood and mononuclear cell infiltration in the portal areas and around the central veins. In addition, some of the hepatocytes showed loss of cytoplasm, and some had a hyperchromatic nucleus. The cells of FA-exposed livers, on the other hand, showed an electron-lucent ground-cytoplasm and a hypertrophy of the smooth-surfaced endoplasmic reticulum. In conclusion, we observed that exposure FA caused diverse histopathological changes indicating the destruction in the liver tissue and this destruction has direct relationship with the length of the exposure period.

The synovial plicae in the knee joint.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate and evaluate the prevalence of 4 kinds of synovial plicae named according to patella, which are inferior, medial, lateral and superior. METHODS: We evaluated plicae in 318 knee arthroscopies through video records, obtained from January 1994 to December 2002 in the Arthroscopy Unit, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Trakya University, Edirne, Turkey. In addition, we also investigated plicae in 7 bilateral knee cadavers. RESULTS: In the arthroscopic evaluation, the prevalence of infrapatellar synovial plica was 194 (61%), mediopatellar plica was 302 (95%), lateral patellar plica was 66 (20.7%) and suprapatellar plica was 184 (57.8%). We found that there were 8 (57%) infrapatellar synovial plicae, 13 (92%) mediopatellar plicae, 7 (50%) lateral patellar plicae and 6 (42%) suprapatellar plicae in 14 cadaveric knees. CONCLUSION: We observed a high prevalence of lateral plicae and mediopatellar plicae on the cadavers and the people with arthroscopic diagnosis, and believe our results can contribute to knee anatomy and surgery.

Measurement of active abduction of metacarpophalangeal joints via electronic digital incinometric technique.

To define the usefulness of electronic digital inclinometric (EDI) method to measure active abduction of metacarpophalangeal joints and to determine the mean scores. A modified electronic digital inclinometric method which was specifically designed to measure range of joint movements was administered to metacarpophalangeal joints of 20 male and 21 female university students. Active abduction of each metacarpophalangeal joint of both dominant and non-dominant hands were measured and recorded separately. Results were presented as mean +/- standart deviation and statistical analysis of data was performed. First data obtained for Turkish people were as follows: 4.12 degrees for thumb, 41.9 degrees for index finger, 80.98 degrees for median finger (approximately twice of others as it was the sum of radial and ulnar abductions), 41.57 degrees for ring finger and 48.53 degrees for little finger. Electronic digital inclinometer was found to be safe, practical and useful in the measurement of active movement ranges of metacarpophalangeal joints.

Anatomical dimensions of anterior bundle of ulnar collateral ligament and its role in elbow stability.

OBJECTIVE: To study the anatomical dimensions of the anterior bundle of ulnar collateral ligament and its role in elbow instability. METHODS: We studied 20 elbows of 10 cadavers. Anterior bundle of ulnar collateral ligament was dissected in all elbows and its anatomical length and width were measured. After measuring it, we assessed the role of the anterior bundle of ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow joint stability, with the capsule, the radial head and anterior bundle of ulnar collateral ligament being cut. RESULTS: The mean right length of the anterior bundle of ulnar collateral ligament was 21.10 +/- 6.29 mm and the mean left length was 21.70 +/- 5.31 mm. The mean right width of the anterior bundle of ulnar collateral ligament was 12.70 +/- 2.79 mm and the mean left width was 13.90 +/- 2.37 mm. Anterior bundle of ulnar collateral ligament was found to be the main stabilizer of the valgus stress. The anterior capsule and the radial head also make contributions to this stability. However, when anterior bundle of ulnar collateral ligament is cut, the radial head and the anterior capsule fails to maintain the stability against valgus stress. CONCLUSIONS: The anatomical dimensions of the anterior bundle of ulnar collateral ligament are important for a surgeon when graft is used in reconstructing this ligament. Our study is an initiator of this topic and we believe that with larger series, more reliable anatomical measurements can be obtained. We also showed that the anterior bundle of ulnar collateral ligament is the main medial stabilizer of the elbow joint.