title: Evidence for the existence of schizophrenia in medieval Islamic society.
abstract: It has been claimed that descriptions of schizophrenia-like disorders were rare before 1800 in the Western world. Historical evidence from medieval Islamic society shows that madness was common in that society. Despite the limitations of the evidence, we propose that medieval Islamic physicians probably diagnosed and treated many cases of schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medical Sciences, St. Augustine, The University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago.
authors.forename: H A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Youssef
authors.forename: F A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Youssef
mesh_terms: D018643:Arab World; D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans; D007514:Islam / Q000266:history*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000266:history*