One of the remarkable observations made in this section is the description of the paralysis caused by fracture of the spine. [Illustration: Figure 20.--Splint "in the shape of a spoon without a bowl." _Top_, from original Arabic manuscript (Tüb. MS. 91), courtesy Universitätsbibliothek Tübingen. _Bottom_, from Channing, _Albucasis_.] Of interest to historians of medical therapy and pharmacy are the recipes for poultices that al-Zahrāwī recommends for use over fractured bones. For example, he gives the following recipe for one such poultice: "Take the so-called 'mill’s dust' [ghubār al-rahā], which is the part of the wheat flour that clings to the walls of the mill during grinding [lubāb al-daqīq], and, without sifting away the bran, knead with white-of-egg to a medium consistency, and apply." Another, more elaborate, recipe calls for 10 dirhams each of the roots of wild pomegranate [_Glossostemon bruguieri_ D.C.], chickling vetch [the grass pea, _Lathymus sativus_], and white marshmallow; 5 dirhams each of myrrh and aloes; 6 dirhams of white gum Arabic [_Acacia_]; and 20 dirhams of bole [friable earthy clay consisting largely of hydrous silicates of aluminum and magnesium, usually colored red because of impurities of iron oxide]. Procedure was to pound all ingredients gently, pass them through a sieve, and knead with water or white-of-egg (chapter 1). [Illustration: Figure 21.--A splint to support the arm. _Top_, from original Arabic manuscript (Cod. N.F. 476A), courtesy Oesterreichische Nationalbibliothek. _Bottom_, from Argellata 1531, courtesy National Library of Medicine.] The question arises as to whether al-Zahrāwī did any human dissection. The answer is uncertain because our knowledge of his life is fragmentary. However, he gives no clue to the dissection of humans in any of the 30 treatises of _al-Taṣrīf_--his only known writings--and there is no evidence that he practiced it in secret. His upright attitude as a Muslim who repeatedly emphasized his adherence to his faith suggests that he relied completely on animal dissection and the writings of his Greek-Roman and Islamic predecessors. Physicians in both the Islamic domain and in Christendom for many centuries were hostile to the idea of human dissection for any purpose because of their traditional socio-religious convictions, considering it an unethical and undignified practice. Perhaps it has been al-Zahrāwī’s original contributions to surgery, his enthusiasm in emphasizing the value of anatomical knowledge, and his recognition of the necessity that only well-educated, well-trained doctors should perform surgery that have led some medical historians to wonder whether he did human dissection at some time in his long years of experience. In Summary