What happens when someone breaks a bone, needs stitches, or becomes very sick? In many places around the world today, people can get medical treatment in modern hospitals. These amazing institutions boast trained doctors and nurses, rooms for surgery, and specialized equipment.

One of the earliest bimaristans was built over 1,000 years ago! Constructed during the reign of Harun al-Rashid, the Baghdad Bimaristan was the first public hospital in the Middle East.

Others included the Bimaristan Al-Adudi in the 10th century and the Bimaristan Al-Mansuri in Cairo, Egypt, which thrived during the 13th century.

There was a lot going on within the walls of a bimaristan! The buildings were sometimes separated to keep male and female patients in different wings, or sections.

Some wings were divided into wards based on specialization. These included internal medicine, ophthalmology, and surgery.

Some bimaristans treated patients for mental illness. Many even had their own pharmacies and places to worship, such as mosques. However, bimaristans were not just for treating patients. They were also places for medical research.

Ibn al-Nafis, the head doctor at a bismaristan, wrote the first description of pulmonary circulation, the study of the flow of blood between the lungs and the heart.

Many bimaristans offered training too. Young students who wanted to become doctors went to bimaristans to learn. Within many, there were classrooms and libraries where students could study.

What would happen if people didn’t live near a hospital? Thanks to traveling bimaristans, people who lived outside the cities could get treatment at mobile hospitals pulled by camels.

We can read descriptions of bimaristans in primary sources from the medieval Islamic period. For example, the medieval Arab writer, Ibn Jubayer, wrote about bimaristans he saw on his travels. We can also read original guides and clinical notes written by doctors from these time periods.

Bimaristans benefited many parts of medieval society. They offered medical care and treated patients’ mental health, but they also quarantined contagious patients, which helped control disease.

Training doctors encouraged the spread of knowledge, and their architecture and worship spaces contributed to Muslim culture. Today, we can begin to appreciate the many ways bimaristans influenced modern hospitals.