For other people with the same name, seeAli ibn Isa.
Arab ophthalmologist of medieval Islam
Two pages from Arabic manuscript of theMemorandum for Oculists. Middle East, 13th century.Chester Beatty Library
ʿAlī ibn ʿĪsā al-Kahhal (Arabic:علي بن عيسى الكحال) (fl. 1010 AD), surnamed "the oculist" (al-kahhal) was the best known and most celebratedArabophthalmologist ofmedieval Islam.[1][2] He was known in medieval Europe as Jesu Oculist, a Latin translation of his name.
He was the author of the influentialTadhkirat al-kahhalin,[3] sometimes translated asMemorandum of the Oculists, the most comprehensive Arabic ophthalmology book to survive from the medieval era. The work was based on the writings ofHunayn ibn Ishaq,Galen, and other earlier authors and described in detail the anatomy and diseases of the eye, along with treatments and remedies for those diseases.[3] Ibn 'Isa also included illustrations of eye anatomy within the work.[4] It was the standard resource on ophthalmology in its time.
Ibn 'Isa described and suggested treatment for an array of ocular diseases. He was the first to describe the symptoms ofVogt–Koyanagi–Harada syndrome.[5] Ibn 'Isa classified epiphora as a result of overzealous cautery of pterygium, and suggested treatments for epiphora based on the stage of the disease – namely treatment in the early stages with astringent materials like ammonia salt, burned copper, or lid paste and a hook dissection with a feathered quill for chronic stages of epiphora.[6] Other surgical operations were also described in the book.[7] He may have recorded a case of temporal arteritis in hisTadhkirat.[8]
^Paredes, I; Ahmed, M; Foster, C S (2006). "Immunomodulatory therapy for Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada patients as first line therapy".Ocul Immunol Inflamm.2006 (14):87–90.doi:10.1080/09273940500536766.PMID16597537.S2CID25912800.
^Ross, RT (1988). "From the Tadhkirat of Ali ibn Isa of Baghdad (c. 940-1010 AD) an ancient description of what may be temporal arteritis".Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry.51 (4): 528.
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