TUMS through Time

A Short History of Medicine in Iran

Medicine in Iran dates back to about the dawn of civilization. The ancient Iranian medicine has inseparable ties with Zoroastrianism mentioned in Avesta. According to some ancient Iranian myths, practicing medicine can be traced back to the era of Jamshid, the fourth mythical king of Iran and the oldest evidence of surgery demonstrates the trephination of a 13-year-old hydrocephalous girl performed 4850 years ago. Medicine in pre-Islamic era reached its zenith when the University of Jondishapoor was founded by the Sassanid Monarch; Shapoor I. Jondishapoor remained as one of the most important universities of the ancient civilized world for several centuries and attracted many scientists from all over the world especially from Greece, Rome, etc. Later, Anooshirvan, the Sassanid Monarch, commanded the formation of the first academy of sciences by gathering all the famous physicians of the time, the university contributed a lot to the progress of medicine in Western Europe around the seventh and eighth centuries. Upon the rise of Islam and its expansion, Arabic became the official language of the Muslim World and Iranian Muslim scientists and physicians wrote their great works in that language. Writings of great Iranian physicians in the ninth and tenth centuries were the dominant works in the field of medicine in the world for many years. The tenth and eleventh centuries witnessed the blooming of two great Iranian learned men -Avicenna and Birooni- who are considered as turning points in the evolution of medicine in Iran, and in the other parts of the world as well. Modern medicine flourished under the Qajar Dynasty after a great man called Amir Kabir established Dar-ol-Fonoon School in 1851 in which medicine; pharmacology, mathematics, literature, fine arts, and many others were taught. Through employing foreign teachers, and sending a number of students abroad in 1858, the School came to play a key role in the development and education of modern medicine.

A Short History of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS)

Before the establishment of Dar-ol-Fonoon, there was no systematic approach to medical education in Iran. In 1851, Dar-ol-Fonoon School was established and medicine was considered as one of its main subjects. The first group of the Schools’ graduates started practicing medicine in 1856. The Dar-ol-Fonoon School of Medicine can be considered as the first modern college of higher education in Iran. In 1918, medicine was deleted from the syllabus of Dar-ol-Fonoon and started to be taught in a separate independent college named “College of Medicine” and in the Same year, the first women’s hospital was officially inaugurated. In 1934, the National Consultative Assembly ratified establishment of the University of Tehran to bring together the institutions of higher education, and the government purchased a 200000 square meter tract in Tehran, the University of Tehran actually started its operation with the six Schools of Medicine, Law, Political Sciences, Science, Letters, Engineering, and Theology. At the same time, the main chairs of the School of Medicine including medicine, pharmacy, and dentistry were determined. On February 4, 1934, the Department of Anatomy was inaugurated as the first step to establish the School of Medicine in the main campus of University of Tehran. In 1939, the University started offering doctorate degrees in pharmacy and dentistry. In the following year, all of the hospitals in Tehran were affiliated to the School of Medicine. Finally, in 956 the Schools of Pharmacy and Dentistry were granted their academic independence. In 1986, the Islamic Consultative Assembly ratified a bill for the establishment of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education. Since then, education of medicine and related disciplines, which had been performed under the supervision of the Ministry of Science, came under the Ministry of Health and Medical Education. In line with this policy, universities of medical sciences were established and Tehran University of Medical Sciences, separating from the University of Tehran, came to existence to continue operating independently. After emerging regional health organizations in the universities of medical sciences in 1994, the mentioned universities, including Tehran University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, came to assume the responsibility of rendering health care services while offering medical education.