In the history of medicine, Islamic medicine, also known as Arabic medicine, refers to the science of medicine developed in the Islamic Golden Age, and written in Arabic, the lingua franca of Islamic civilization.
Islamic medicine preserved, systematized and developed the medical knowledge of classical antiquity, including the major traditions of Hippocrates, Galen and Dioscorides. During the post-classical era, Islamic medicine was the most advanced in the world, integrating concepts of the ancient Greek, Roman, Persian as well as the ancient Indian traditions of Ayurveda. At the same time, the knowledge of the classical medicine was nearly lost to the medieval medicine of Western Europe, only to be regained by European physicians when they became familiar with Islamic medical authors during the Renaissance of the 12th century.
Medieval Islamic physicians largely retained their authority until the rise of medicine as a part of the natural sciences, beginning with the Age of Enlightenment, nearly six hundred years after their textbooks were written. Aspects of their writings remain of interest to physicians even today.
No provisions were made for an executive branch to enforce the laws nor for a national court system to interpret them. A legislative Congress was the sole organ of the national government, but it had no power to force the states to do anything against their will.
