chapter 34

in Bes. 503), he describes the excision of an inflamed uvula by surgery. In the same chapter, he also mentions the use of instruments made of steel. Of pharmaceutical interest is the following free translation of the formula he prescribes "as a milder treatment by fumigation ... to be resorted to only when the swelling is subsiding":[25]

Take pennyroyal [_Mentha pulegium_ Linn.], absinthe [_Artemisia maritima_ Linn.], thyme, rue, hyssop, camomile, abrotanum [_Artemisia abrotanum_ Linn.], and other similar herbs. Put all in a casserole and cover them with vinegar. Then close tightly with clay [_lutum-sapientiae_]--except for a small hole in the middle of the cover--and boil. Connect one end of a hollowed instrument, a crude form of an inhaler [fig. 14], with the hole in the cover and insert the other end, which contains the nozzle, into the patient’s mouth, allowing the vapor to rise up to the uvula. And if you are not able to secure this instrument, take a straw and attach its end to an egg-shell. The egg-shell will prevent burns in the patient’s mouth that might be caused by the heated vapor.

[Illustration: Figure 13.--Metal tongue depressor. _Top_, from original Arabic manuscript (Ali 2854), courtesy Süleymaniye Umumi Kütüphanesi Müdürlüğü._ Bottom_, from Channing, _Albucasis_.]

[Illustration: Figure 14.--Crude form of an inhaler. _Top_, from original Arabic manuscript (Tüb. MS. 91), courtesy Universitätsbibliothek Tübingen. _Bottom_, from Argellata 1531, courtesy National Library of Medicine.]

Al-Zahrāwī repeats in