Values, qualifications, ethics and legal standards in Arabic (Islamic) medicine.

Many historians claim that the Western world pioneered in the setting of ethical, legal and professional standards in the practice of medicine. Informed medical consent is proposed by some as an American invention. Others claim that patient rights and legal protection propose have stated in the early decades of the 20th century. This review is an attempt to uncover the facts regarding the way Arabs practiced medicine during the golden era of Islam. Eight hundred to fifteen hundred AD this includes the qualification of physicians according to a well designed curricula covering the science and humanity of medicine. The rules governing the quality control of health care delivery system and to some degree the principles of informed medical consent and to a lesser degree the principles of litigation are discussed. We hope that this paper will be a call to all humanity loving persons to end prejudices against other people and to stop stereotyping.