Note 17 — 10th-Century Surgical Treatise

Al-Zahrāwī criticizes those who interpret the saying "cautery is the end of treatment" to mean that cauterization is the best and only conclusive treatment at the physician’s disposal. He points out that other treatments, such as drugs, should be resorted to first, and used until they prove of no avail; and he states that only after cautery proves to be the cure should it be considered the completion of medical treatment—"al-kay ākhir al-Ṭibb." See Vel. 2491, fol. 106; and Bes. 502, fol. 524r-525v.