Şerefeddin Sabuncuoğlu: Forgotten Vignette of 600 Years

Abstract

Şereffeddin Sabuncuoğlu (1385-1465) was a surgeon who lived in Amasya in Ottoman Era. He was a good calligrapher and illustrator also as we saw from his works he could speak Arabic, Persian and Greek. He wrote the first treatise with colored illustrations entitled "Cerrahiyet'ül-Haniyye" with his own drawings. Mistakenly considered to be a translation of al-Zahrawi's book but a careful analysis shows that there are 137 different observations and suggestions. He made several contributions in proctology, cancer treatment and neurosurgery. This report aims to investigate his contributions anatomy.

Serefeddin Sabuncuoglu: A pioneer surgeon of the Ottoman Era

“…For a long time, Arabic and Persian served as the lingua franca among the scholars in Anatolia, at least until the fall of the Seljuk State, at which time Mehmet I of Karaman (Tr: Karamanoğlu Mehmed Bey) made Turkish the official language. Thus, beginning in the 14 th century, medical books were written in Turkish, though few of them remain (1,3,4). He also had an interest in proctology, presenting in his treatise surgical management of hemorrhoids, anal fissures, perianal abscesses, and fistulas.…”

“…As a pioneer surgeon, he recommended the chest-knee position for his patients, which still is regarded as an appropriate preoperative position. Furthermore, he advised using wine and olive oil as an antiseptic to prevent surgical infections plus a mixture of mandrake root and almond oil for general anesthesia (1,13).…”

“…In ancient China, Egypt, Greece, Rome, and India, physician scholars developed different methods for treating wounds, reducing fractures, and stopping hemorrhages. Even during Europe's "Dark Ages" between the 7 th and 13 th centuries, and thereafter, the Arabs and the Turks continued to practice medicine and surgery with numerous innovations and improvements (1,2). One of the best examples raised from Anatolia (Asia Minor) at this period was Sharaf al-Dīn Sabuncuoğlu (Tr: Şerefeddin Sabuncuoğlu), an innovative surgeon and a great illustrator who lived in the Ottoman Empire during the 15 th century (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17).…”