Islamic medicine built upon the foundations laid by ancient Greek physicians like Galen and Hippocrates.

The first true hospitals, or 'bimaristans,' were established in the Islamic world, serving as centers for treatment, medical education, and convalescence.

These hospitals were open to everyone and were secular institutions.

Physicians like Al-Razi (Rhazes) were pioneers in clinical observation and were the first to accurately differentiate between smallpox and measles.

Islamic scholars made significant advancements in pharmacology, creating encyclopedias of drugs and pioneering distillation.

The Persian physician and philosopher Ibn Sina, known in the West as Avicenna, was one of the most influential medical thinkers in history.

His book, 'The Canon of Medicine,' was a massive encyclopedia that systematized all known medical knowledge.

The 'Canon' became the standard medical textbook in both the Islamic world and Europe for over 600 years.

Islamic physicians also made advances in surgery and ophthalmology.

They correctly identified the contagious nature of certain diseases and the importance of quarantine.