阿拉伯医学形成与发展的历史脉络，主要以9世纪前后兴起的翻译运动为基点，向前可追溯至8世纪前后，向后可延伸至12世纪前后。在这漫长的时间里，阿拉伯医学经历了不同的发展阶段。以贝都因部落医学为开端，伴随着伊斯兰教的出现，“先知医学”逐渐形成，经过翻译运动之后，古希腊-罗马医学、印度医学等方面的著作被翻译成阿拉伯语，在这种知识背景下，以古希腊为主的古代医学知识成就了一大批优秀的阿拉伯医学家，他们发展出一种基于丰富临床经验的实用性阿拉伯医学理论体系。随着阿拉伯医学理论的成熟，知识与社会的互动关系逐渐加强，阿拉伯社会的医疗环境逐渐改善。表现为国家对公共卫生事业的重视，慈善医院的免费医疗，医生群体的发展以及医学学科的分化。12世纪前后，在西欧翻译家们的努力下，阿拉伯医学传入西欧国家，推动了西方医学的发展。
The historical context of the formation and development of Arab medicine，based on the “Translation Movement” around the 9th century，can be traced back to the 8th century，and extended to the 12th century. Over a long period of time，Arabian medicine has gone through different stages of development. Beginning with Bedouin tribal medicine，along with the emergence of Islam，“Prophetic Medicine” gradually took shape. After the translation movement，the works of ancient Greek-Roman medicine，Indian medicine，etc. were translated into Arabic. With the maturity of Arab medical theories，the interactive relationship between knowledge and society has gradually strengthened，and the medical environment in Arab society has gradually improved. It is manifested in the state’s emphasis on public health，the free medical care of charity hospitals，the development of doctors，and the differentiation of medical disciplines. Around the 12th century，thanks to the efforts of Latin and Western translators，Arab medicine entered the Christian Western European countries and promoted the development of Western medicine.
