Abulcasis had his birthplace in Alzahra, a small Spanish village, five miles from Cordova; from this he derived the name of Alzaravius, by which he is also known. Historians are not agreed upon the date of his birth. According to the most probable opinion, he was born about the year 1050 and died in 1122 at Cordova, a city which, on account of its celebrated school, was then a most important centre of scientific and literary culture. Among the works of Abulcasis, the one which brought him the greatest fame was the treatise _De Chirurgia_. It is divided into three books, in the first of which he speaks of all the diseases which can be treated by cauterization; in the second are described all the operations which are performed by cutting, perforating, or extracting (wherefore, obstetrics is also included in this book); in the third, lastly, the author treats, region by region, of fractures and luxations. Chapters XIX, XX, and XXI of the first book have reference to diseases of the teeth and gums. As these chapters are very short, we are pleased to give here an almost literal translation of them: “When in the lower part of the gums, or in the palate, there appears a little tumor, which afterward becomes purulent and opens and changes into a fistula, against which no medical remedy is of any use, it is necessary for thee to take a cautery corresponding in size to the aperture of the fistula, and after having heated it, to introduce it there and to keep it applied there until the cauterizing iron reaches the bottom of the said fistula and beyond. This thou shalt do once or twice, and then shalt use fitting medicaments until a complete cure is obtained. This is attained when suppuration ceases. Otherwise one cannot do less than uncover the bone and extract that part of it which is diseased.”[206] “When through excess of moisture the gums become flaccid, the teeth loose, and of no use are the remedies employed by thee, thou shalt lay the patient’s head on thy lap, and after having applied to the tooth, where it borders on the gum, the end of an appropriate little metal tube, in this thou shalt quickly introduce the cautery of which mention will be made in the following chapter; and thou shalt prolong the application as long as suffices to let the patient feel the heat right in the root of the tooth. This thou shalt repeat as often as thou shalt think necessary. Then the patient shall keep salt water in the mouth for an hour. By effect of such a cure, the corrupted moisture will dry up, the gums will regain their tone, and the tooth its firmness.”[207]