La grande aventure du savoir médical

L'Institut du Monde Arabe

An adventure of man for man, medicine passes from one civilization to another, despite wars and conflicts, despite political and economic vicissitudes, sometimes beyond religious and moral reservations. It is this transmission of medical knowledge, from Antiquity to Modern Times, that the exhibition explores. From Greece to Rome, from Rome to Alexandria, from Alexandria to Bagdad, from Bagdad to Padoue… medical knowledge has the book as its principal tool, a book that also bears witness to the extraordinary continuity of the medical profession's ethics, notably in its relationship with patients. Medical texts remain alive, as evidenced by numerous works annotated and commented upon by physicians across several generations, sometimes in different languages. Between the 7th and 16th centuries of the common era, the Arab-Muslim world profoundly marked medicine through a major evolution of both concepts and techniques. This long period opens and closes with a linguistic revolution: the shift from Greek to Arabic, then from Arabic to Latin, two privileged moments of questioning and debate. Within the five themes of the exhibition's journey – translate, transmit, debate, experiment, heal – sumptuously illuminated manuscripts, incunabula, and printed works illustrated with engravings occupy the heart of the presentation, alongside objects used in pharmacopoeia and surgery. Alongside the heritage collection, digital animations invite visitors to discover the geography of this medical adventure, its great figures, their theories on the body, their practices of consultation, their recommendations for maintaining good health, the preparation of compound medicines… The exhibition aims to raise awareness of medical knowledge as the product of a centuries-long intermingling of men and influences, advocating tolerance and openness to others in our times of identity withdrawal and certainties.

Source: Paris Open Data ↗