This is a study and translation of the section on
pericarditis in Al Taisir book written by the Muslim
physician Ibn Zuhr (Avenzoar) who lived and
practiced in Eshbeelia (nowadays Seville, Andalusia,
Spain) between 1091-1162 AD. Ibn Zuhr described
the serous type of pericarditis as well as the
pathological findings in fibrinous pericarditis. His
description of the latter may also fit with the picture
of chronic fibrous pericarditis. He also described
acute purulent pericarditis and involvement of the
pericardium in cases of acute carditis with hectic
fever. Ibn Zuhr’s description of the pericardial
effusion in serous pericarditis as “looking like urine”
indicates that he must have seen a sample of the fluid
obtained either by pericardiocentesis or during a
post-mortem examination. However, his description
of “solid substances accumulating on the inside of
the heart’s covering looking like layers upon layers
of membranes” could not have been made possible
without post-mortem dissection.