Then
His commentary circulated among physicians and kept the correct idea alive in the Islamic world.
Timeline of Discovery · 10 / 30
Ibn al-Nafis
c. 1213 - 1288 · Islamic Golden Age (Damascus / Cairo)
Ibn al-Nafis was a physician who described pulmonary circulation — the passage of blood through the lungs — centuries before the famous later European discovery.
- Medicine
- Biology
- Islamic Golden Age
Lived
c. 1213 - 1288
Era
Islamic Golden Age
Primary field
Medicine
Signature idea
First to describe pulmonary circulation
Their place in history
c. 1213 - 1288
The question they asked
Where does the blood go after it leaves the heart, and does it cross from the heart’s right side to the left through the lungs?
The Contribution
What this scientist actually did — precisely and plainly.
He argued that blood must pass from the right side of the heart to the left through the lungs, correcting Galen’s model that assumed a passage within the septum.
How the Work Advanced Knowledge
The tools, experiments and reasoning behind the discovery.
He reasoned from anatomy and physiology, examining the structure of the heart and lungs and questioning inherited doctrine.
Why It Mattered Then / Today
From their own moment in history to the world we live in now.
Today
Understanding circulation is foundational to cardiology and modern medicine; his correction shows how close observation can overturn trusted authority.
Important Works or Discoveries
Landmarks that carried the idea into the world.
- Commentary on Anatomy in Avicenna’s Canon
- Commentary on Ibn Sina’s Canon of Medicine
- Treatise on the pulse
Sources
Where this profile was verified.
Last reviewed: 2026-09-22
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