Al - Zahrawi - The Father of Modern Surgery
“Whatever I know, I owe solely to my assiduous reading of the books of the ancients, to my desire to understand them and to appropriate this science; then I have added the observation and experience of my whole life.” ( Abul-Qasim Khalaf Ibn Abbas al Zahrawi) Qurtuba, Andalusia (Cordoba, Spain) 980CE Rays of morning sunlight streamed over the rooftop canopy and struck an arched brown door embedded within a khaki stone wall. Standing in front, the master surgeon peeled an orange. He wore an ivory white thobe and matching turban and sported a neatly cropped black beard. Doctor Zahrawi grimaced as he swallowed the last sour orange segment. Satisfied by the invisible benefits of the sun, he turned and faced the arched door to his medical clinic; the door creaked as he entered to start a new day. “As Salamu ‘Alaykum Doctor.” Asad briefly stopped folding the white bed sheets to greet his teacher. “Walaykum as Salaam,” he responded with a kind smile and walked to his desk and sat down. Zahraw