ABSTRACT
The history of Persian medicine is divided into two great epochs: the first is that included in the ancient books of the Zendavesta; the other belonging to Arabian and Mohammedan culture, which had a great development in Iran. But the ancient Persian medicine, which is an interesting feature in the study of Oriental civilization, flourished in the period in which the great empire extended its power from the Mediterranean to the shores of the Indus, from the Caucasus to the Indian Ocean. The study of Indian surgical texts is particularly interesting, as Gurlt has shown in his monumental study of the history of surgery. An especially interesting item in the history of Indian medicine is the growth of a popular surgery, in which the operation of rhinoplasty is especially worthy of note. Hygiene plays a most important role in Indian medicine. According to the laws of Manu, strict hygienic regulations and frequent ablutions form the basis of the religious cult.
