Questions and Answers for Physicians

This is a translation and edition of the medieval Arabic medical work entitled Imtihan al-alibba' li-kaffat al-atibba' ('The Experts' Examination for All Physicians'). It is a study guide for students of medicine prepared by Abd al-Aziz al-Sulami who was chief of medicine to the Ayyubid sultan in Cairo between 596/1200 and 604/1208. It is composed of ten chapters on ten fields of medicine: the pulse, urine, fevers and crises, symptoms, drugs, treatment, ophthalmology, surgery, bonesetting, and fundamentals. Each chapter contains twenty questions on the respective subject with the answer to each question. In addition an authority is cited for each answer. This work sheds light on medical education in the medieval Middle East and is an epitome of the medical knowledge of the time.