Book of the Ten Treatises of the Eye
Hunayn ibn Ishaq's Book of the Ten Treatises of the Eye (Arabic: كتاب الأطروحات العشر للعين) is a 9th-century theory of vision based upon the cosmological natures of pathways from the brain to the object being perceived. This ophthalmic composition is heavily derived from Galen's De placitis Hippocratis at Platonis and De usu partium, both in terms of the anatomy and physiology being described. Hunayn's triumph comes from the systematic presentation of the parts of eye and the subsequent additions he made to the cosmological aspects of the work. Its early translation to Latin also provided a means for medieval ophthalmologists in the West to come into contact with the work of Galen. Overview There are four essential doctrines that shape Hunayn's dissertation on vision and the anatomy of the eye: Structural order – the individual components of the eye each have their own nature, and are arranged so that they are in cosmological harmony. Medical teleology – the existence of each of these individual components is dictated by their ultimate purpose, vision. Their secondary purpose, guided by their immediate nature, dictates how vision will be achieved. The elements – each of the four elements of earth, fire, air and