For centuries the development of medical science was beholden to the world of Islamic culture for the discovery, classification, and recording of human ailments and the remedies available in medieval times. The 197 Arabic manuscripts—catalogued in this volume and containing 245 works devoted to the medicine and science of the medieval Muslim era—comprise part of the rich collection of Arabic manuscripts preserved in the Wellcome Library. The volume includes items from all the major medieval authors in the history of medicine in the Islamic world and describes the earliest examples of their work.

This is a first part of the new catalogue of medical manuscripts preserved in the Wellcome Library. It serves not only as a guide to the collection of the manuscripts, purchased by the Wellcome Library in 1986, but is also an independent research tool, which can be used by various specialists: librarians, historians, paleographers, art historians, conservators, etc. This catalogue comprises detailed indices and many illustrations on cd-rom, which help researchers to consult in detail each codex prior to coming to the Wellcome Library in London to consult the manuscript per se.

Catalogue of all Arabic manuscripts in the Wellcome Historical Medical Library. Plates are facsimiles from selected Arabic works.