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The Life of Moses Maimonides, a Prominent Medieval Physician

The Life of Moses Maimonides, a Prominent Medieval Physician

By Fred Rosner

Einstein Quarterly Journal of Biology and Medicine, Vol.19 (2002)

Abstract: Moses Maimonides was the most prominent Jewish medieval physician. His 10 medical treaties, all now available in English translation, show his humanism as a physician and emphasis on preventive medicine. In these works, one can see his treatment of the whole ill patient (i.e., body and mind or psyche and soma) and how that allowed him to be both a practicing physician and teacher. His medical writings confirm his knowledge of Greek and Persian as well as contemporary medieval medicine. His descriptions of many diseases such as hepatitis, pneumonia, diabetes, asthma, and many others are remarkably modern by current standards. His legacy as a physician, theologian, philosopher, and astronomer lives on for posterity. He was a physician of whom modern medicine would be proud if he were alive today.

Click here to read this article from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine

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