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Historical Evolution of Neuroanatomy: Contributions of Greco-Arabic Scholars to the Tashrīḥ of Dimāgh (Brain)

DOI : https://doi.org/10.36344/ccijmb.2026.v08i05.001
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Background: In classical Unani medicine, the brain (Dimāgh) is designated as the chief governing organ (hegemonikon) responsible for sensation, voluntary motion, cognition, memory, and emotional expression. Over centuries, Greco-Arabic physicians developed a rich neuroanatomical tradition (Tashrīḥ-i-Dimāgh) that established foundational concepts regarding cerebral organization, ventricular fluid dynamics, and neural localization. Objectives: This study aims to trace the historical evolution of neuroanatomical knowledge across classical Unani literature—from early Greek foundations to medieval Islamic Golden Age innovations—and evaluate these classical findings in light of modern neuroanatomy. Methods: A qualitative historical compilation and thematic analysis was conducted using authoritative classical treatises, including works by Alcmaeon, Hippocrates, Aristotle, Herophilus, Erasistratus, Galen, RabbanṬabarī (Firdaws al-Ḥikmat), Abū Bakr al-Rāzī (Kitāb al-Manṣūrī and Kitāb al-Ḥāwī), Ali Ibn Abbas Majūsī (Kāmil al-Ṣanā‘a), AbūSahlMasīḥī (Kitāb al-Mi’a), Ibn Sīnā (Al-Qānūnfī al-ṭibb), Ismā‘īlJurjānī (DhakhīraKhwarizmShāhī), Ibn Rushd (Kitāb al-Kulliyyāt), and Ibn al-Quff (Kitāb al-‘Umda). Classical Arabic and Persian neuroanatomical terms (Iṣṭilāḥāt) were systematically cataloged and mapped to modern English and Latin equivalents. Results: The historical synthesis reveals significant neuroanatomical milestones: (1) Alcmaeon first recognized the brain as the site of sensation and consciousness; Hippocrates identified cerebral duality into two symmetrical hemispheres; Aristotle differentiated between cerebrum and cerebellum. (2) Herophilus described the fourth ventricle, calamusscriptorius, torcularherophili (Mashīrah), and arachnoid membrane. Erasistratus confirmed the cerebral origin of nerves. Galen mapped the four interconnected ventricles, choroid plexus, corpus callosum, fornix, infundibulum, and pineal gland. (3) Ṭabarī introduced a functional three-lobed model

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