<P> In medieval Islamic literature, cataracts were thought to have been caused by a membrane or opaque fluid that rested between the lens and the pupil . The method for treating cataracts in medieval Islam (known in English as couching) was known through translations of earlier publishings on the technique . A small incision was made in the sclera with a lancet and a probe was then inserted and used to depress the lens, pushing it to one side of the eye . After the procedure was complete, the eye was then washed with salt water and then bandaged with cotton wool soaked in oil of roses and egg whites . After the operation, there was concern that the cataract, once it had been pushed to one side, would reascend, which is why patients were instructed to lie on his or her back for several days following the surgery . </P> <P> In both modern society and medieval Islamic society, anesthesia and antisepsis are important aspects of surgery . Before the development of anesthesia and antisepsis, surgery was limited to fractures, dislocations, traumatic injuries resulting in amputation, and urinary disorders or other common infections . Ancient Islamic physicians attempted to prevent infection when performing procedures for a sick patient, for example by washing a patient before a procedure; similarly, following a procedure, the area was often cleaned with "wine, wined mixed with oil of roses, oil of roses alone, salt water, or vinegar water", which have antiseptic properties . Various herbs and resins including frankincense, myrrh, cassia, and members of the laurel family were also used to prevent infections, although it is impossible to know exactly how effective these treatments were in the prevention of sepsis . The pain - killing uses of opium had been known since ancient times; other drugs including "henbane, hemlock, soporific black nightshade, lettuce seeds" were also used by Islamic physicians to treat pain . Some of these drugs, especially opium, were known to cause drowsiness, and some modern scholars have argued that these drugs were used to cause a person to lose consciousness before an operation, as a modern - day anesthetic would . However, there is no clear reference to such a use before the 16th century . </P> <P> Islamic scholars introduced mercuric chloride to disinfect wounds . </P> <P> Physicians like al - Razi wrote about the importance of morality in medicine, and may have presented, together with Avicenna and Ibn al - Nafis, the first concept of ethics in Islamic medicine . He felt that it was important not only for the physician to be an expert in his field, but also to be a role model . His ideas on medical ethics were divided into three concepts: the physician's responsibility to patients and to self, and also the patients' responsibility to physicians . </P>

Which of the following best describes muslim medicine during the middle ages