Last update:
10-Sep-2020

OBJECTIVE Tadbīr al-Mawlūd written in 1701 by Shaʿbān Shifāʾī of Ayash is considered as the first book written extensively on child health and diseases in the classical period of Ottoman medicine. The present study aimed to determine and evaluate the topics related to nephrological problems in children written in this book.

METHOD For this study, a copy of the manuscript of Tadbīr al-Mawlūd from Shaʿbān Shifāʾī of Ayash's own handwriting was retrieved from İstanbul Süleymaniye Manuscript Library, Mihrişah Sultan Collection, nr. 344. Firstly, the nephrological sections of the manuscript were identified and Arabic texts were transliterated into contemporary Turkish alphabets.

RESULTS The subjects related to nephrology in the Tadbīr al-Mawlūd were discussed under the main heading of "Diseases of kidneys and bladder" with three subheadings: "Urinary tract stones in children", "Urinary retention–voiding difficulties in children", and "Bedwetting." The causes and treatment options of kidney and bladder stones, urinary retention and voiding problems, and lastly the causes and treatment of enuresis in children have been discussed. It was noticed that Shaʿbān Shifāʾī of Ayash benefited from the works of Ibn Sīnā and Ibn al-Nafīs, who were prominent physicians during the Middle Ages. It can be deducted that the principles of humoral paradigm, which is an accepted medical understanding of that period, was valid in explaining the aetiology of nephrological diseases and their treatment.

CONCLUSIONS These documents are important in terms of being the first written work about the approach to paediatric nephrological diseases and urological problems in children, written in the Ottoman period.

Key words: Bedwetting Ottoman medicine, Children's nephrological problems in Ottoman texts, Shaʿbān Shifāʾī of Ayash Tadbīr al-Mawlūd.