Ibn Abi al-Ashʿath (Arabic: أحمد بن محمد بن محمد بن أبي الأشعث; died 975 CE) was a Persian physician of medieval Islam. He wrote many commentaries on Galen's works.[1]
He died in Mosul, Iraq.
Physiology
Ahmad ibn Abi al-Ash'ath described the physiology of the stomach in a live lion in his book al-Quadi wa al-muqtadi.[2] He wrote:
When food enters the stomach, especially when it is plentiful, the stomach dilates and its layers get stretched...onlookers thought the stomach was rather small, so I proceeded to pour jug after jug in its throat…the inner layer of the distended stomach became as smooth as the external peritoneal layer. I then cut open the stomach and let the water out. The stomach shrank and I could see the pylorus…
Ahmad ibn Abi al-Ash'ath observed the physiology of the stomach in a live lion in 959. This description preceded William Beaumont by almost 900 years, making Ahmad ibn al-Ash'ath the first person to initiate experimental events in gastric physiology.[2]
Works
His works include:[1]
- الأدوية المفردة
 - الحيوان
 - العلم الالهي
 - الجدري و الحصبة و الحميقاء
 - الرسام و البرسام و مداواتهما
 - القولونج و أسبابه و مداواته
 - البرص و البهق
 - الصريح
 - الاستسقاء
 - ظهور الدم
 - الماليخوليا
 - تركيب الأدوية
 - أمراض المعدة و مداواتها
 
References
- 1 2 Ward, Bāqir Amīn (1986). Awad, Gurgis (ed.). Muʻǧam al-ʻulamāʼ al-ʻArab (in Arabic). Vol. 1 (1st ed.). Bayrūt: ʻĀlam al-Kutub : Maktabaẗ al-Nahḍaẗ al-ʻArabiyyaẗ. p. 38.
 - 1 2  "Interventional Physiology on the Stomach of a Live Lion: Ahmad ibn Abi al-Ash'ath (959 AD) | Journal of the Islamic Medical Association of North America". 
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help)