The termYūnānī means 'Greek',[4][5] referring to the fact that thePerso-Arabic system of medicine was based on the teachings of the Greek physiciansHippocrates andGalen.[6]
The Hellenistic origin of Unani medicine is still visible in its being based on the classicalfour humours:phlegm (balgham), blood (dam),yellow bile (ṣafrā) andblack bile (saudā'), but it has also been influenced byIndian andChinese traditional systems.[7]
Arab and Persian elaborations upon the Greek system of medicine by figures likeIbn Sina andal-Razi influenced the early development of Unani.[8][9]
Unani medicine interacted with Indian Buddhist medicine at the time ofAlexander's invasion of India. There was a great exchange of knowledge at that time which is visible from the similarity of the basic conceptual frames of the two systems. The medical tradition of medieval Islam was introduced to India by the 12th century with the establishment of theDelhi Sultanate and it took its own course of development during theMughal Empire,[10][11] influenced byIndian medical teachings ofSushruta andCharaka.[12][13]Alauddin Khalji (d. 1316) had several eminent physicians (Hakims) at his royal courts.[14] This royal patronage led to the development of Unani in India, and also the creation of Unani literature.[15][16]
Education and recognition
India
There are several Indian universities devoted to Unani medicine, in addition to universities that teach traditional Indian medical practices in general.[citation needed]Undergraduate degrees awarded for completing an Unani program include the Bachelor of Unani Medicine and Surgery, Bachelor of Unani Tib and Surgery, and Bachelor of Unani Medicine with Modern Medicine and Surgery degrees. A small number of universities offer post-graduate degrees in Unani medicine.[17]
TheCentral Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM), a statutory body established in 1971 under theDepartment of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH), monitors higher education in areas of Indian medicine including Ayurveda, Unani, and other traditional medical systems.[18] Another subdivision of AYUSH, the Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM),[19] aids and co-ordinates scientific research in the Unani system of medicine through a network of 22 nationwide research institutes and units.[20]
Some medicines traditionally used by Unani practitioners are known to be poisonous.[30]
The Indian Journal of Pharmacology notes:
According toWHO, "Pharmacovigilance activities are done to monitor detection, assessment, understanding and prevention of anyobnoxious adverse reactions to drugs at therapeutic concentration that is used or is intended to be used to modify or explore physiological system or pathological states for the benefit of recipient."
These drugs may be any substance or product including herbs, minerals, etc. for animals and human beings and can even be that prescribed by practitioners of Unani or Ayurvedic system of medicine. In recent days, awareness has been created related to safety and adverse drug reaction monitoring of herbal drugs including Unani drugs.[31]
TheIndian Medical Association describes Unani, Ayurvedic, Siddha practitioners who practicemedicine without having right qualifications and prescribing allopathic medicines asquacks.[18]
^The transcription asUnani is found in 19th-century English language sources: "theAyurvedic andUnani systems of medicine" "Madhya Pradesh District Gazetteers: Hoshangabad",Gazetteer of India 17 (1827),p. 587.
^"Unani Tibb". Science Museum, London. Archived fromthe original on 11 February 2018. Retrieved7 October 2017.
^"Unani Medicine in India: Its Origin and Fundamental Concepts" byHakim Syed Zillur Rahman,History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization, Vol. IV Part 2 (Medicine and Life Sciences in India), Ed. B. V. Subbarayappa, Centre for Studies in Civilizations,Project of History of Indian Science, Philosophy and Culture, New Delhi, 2001, pp. 298-325
^"Unani Medicine in India during 1901–1947" byHakim Syed Zillur Rahman,Studies in History of Medicine and Science, IHMMR, New Delhi, Vol. XIII, No. 1, 1994, p. 97-112.
^Alam, Zulfeequar (2008).Herbal Medicines. APH. pp. 13–15.ISBN9788131303580.
^"Interaction with China and Central Asia in the Field of Unani Medicine" byHakim Syed Zillur Rahman,History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization, Vol. III Part 2 (India's Interaction with China, Central and West Asia), Ed. A. Rahman, Centre for Studies in Civilizations,Project of History of Indian Science, Philosophy and Culture, New Delhi, 2002, pp. 297-314
^"Indian Hakims: Their Role in the medical care of India" byHakim Syed Zillur Rahman,History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization, Vol. IV Part 2 (Medicine and Life Sciences in India), Ed. B. V. Subbarayappa, Centre for Studies in Civilizations,Project of History of Indian Science, Philosophy and Culture, New Delhi, 2001, pp. 371-426
^Kumar, Ashish (2006).Handbook of Universities, Volume 1. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. p. xiii,13.
^abAggarwal, K. K.; Sharma, V. N."IMA Anti Quackery Wing".Indian Medical Association. RetrievedJanuary 7, 2024.Quacks can be divided amongst three basic categories ... Practitioners of Indian Medicine (Ayurvedic, Sidha, Tibb, Unani), Homeopathy, Naturopathy, commonly called Ayush, who are not qualified to practice Modern Medicine (Allopathy) but are practicing Modern Medicine.
^Arnold, David (2012). David Hardiman, Projit Bihari Mukharji (ed.).Medical Marginality in South Asia: Situating Subaltern Therapeutics. Routledge. p. 171.ISBN9780415502412.
