Scientists comment on The Quran

Dr. Yoshihide Kozai is Professor Emeritus at Tokyo University, Hongo, Tokyo, Japan, and was the Director of the National Astronomical Observatory, Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan. He said:
“I am very much impressed by finding true astronomical facts in [the] Quran, and for us the modern astronomers have been studying very small pieces of the universe. We’ve concentrated our efforts for understanding of [a] very small part. Because by using telescopes, we can see only very few parts [of] the sky without thinking [about the] whole universe. So, by reading [the] Quran and by answering to the questions, I think I can find my future way for investigation of the universe.”
Dr. Gerald C. Goeringer is Course Director and Associate Professor of Medical Embryology at the Department of Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA. During the Eighth Saudi Medical Conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Professor Goeringer stated the following in the presentation of his research paper:
“In a relatively few ayahs (Quranic verses) is contained a rather comprehensive description of human development from the time of commingling of the gametes through organogenesis. No such distinct and complete record of human development, such as classification, terminology, and description, existed previously. In most, if not all, instances, this description antedates by many centuries the recording of the various stages of human embryonic and fetal development recorded in the traditional scientific literature.”
Dr. William W. Hay is a well-known marine scientist. He is Professor of Geological Sciences at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA. He was formerly the Dean of the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA. After a discussion with Professor Hay about the Quran’s mention of recently discovered facts on seas, he said:
“I find it very interesting that this sort of information is in the ancient scriptures of the Holy Quran, and I have no way of knowing where they would come from, but I think it is extremely interesting that they are there and that this work is going on to discover it, the meaning of some of the passages.”
And when he was asked about the source of the Quran, he replied: “Well, I would think it must be the divine being.”
Dr. T. V. N. Persaud is Professor of Anatomy, Professor of Pediatrics and Child Health, and Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. There, he was the Chairman of the Department of Anatomy for 16 years. He is well-known in his field. He is the author or editor of 22 textbooks and has published over 180 scientific papers. In 1991, he received the most distinguished award presented in the field of anatomy in Canada, the J.C.B. Grant Award from the Canadian Association of Anatomists. Professor Persaud has included some Quranic verses and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad in some of his books - and presented these verses and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad at several conferences. When he was asked about the scientific miracles in the Quran which he has researched, he stated the following:

“…Muhammad .. could not read, didn’t know to write. - You have someone illiterate making profound pronouncements - amazingly accurate about scientific nature. [so] many accuracies - I have no difficulty in my mind that this is a divine inspiration or revelation which led him to these statements.”
Dr. E. Marshall Johnson is Professor Emeritus of Anatomy and Developmental Biology at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. There, for 22 years he was Professor of Anatomy, the Chairman of the Department of Anatomy, and the Director of the Daniel Baugh Institute. He was also the President of the Teratology Society. He has authored more than 200 publications. In 1981, during the Seventh Medical Conference in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, Professor Johnson said in the presentation of his research paper:
[Summary] “The Quran describes not only the development of external form, but emphasizes also the internal stages, the stages inside the embryo, of its creation and development, emphasizing major events recognized by contemporary science.”
Also he said: “As a scientist, I can only deal with things which I can specifically see. I can understand embryology and developmental biology. I can understand the words that are translated to me from the Quran. As I gave the example before, if I were to transpose myself into that era, knowing what I knew today and describing things, I could not describe the things which were described. I see no evidence for the fact to refute the concept that this individual, Muhammad, had to be developing this information from some place. So I see nothing here in conflict with the concept that divine intervention was involved in what he was able to write.”
Professor Alfred Kroner who is one of the world’s most famous geologists. He is a Professor of Geology and the Chairman of the Department of Geology at the Institute of Geosciences, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany. Professor Alfred said:
“Thinking about many of these questions and thinking where Muhammad came from, he was after all a Bedouin. I think it is almost impossible that he could have known about things like the common origin of the universe, because scientists have only found out within the last few years with very complicated and advanced technological methods that this is the case.”
He also said: “Somebody who did not know something about nuclear physics 1400 years ago could not, I think, be in a position to find out from his own mind for instance that the earth and the heavens had the same origin, or many others of the questions that we have discussed here.”
Keith L. Moore is a professor emeritus in the division of anatomy (department of surgery), former Chair of anatomy and associate dean for Basic Medical Sciences (Faculty of Medicine) at the University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He has also worked at the King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He is most known for his textbooks on the subjects of anatomy and human embryology.

“It has been a great pleasure for me to help clarify statements in the Quran about human development. It is clear to me that these statements must have come to Muhammad from God, or Allah, because most of this knowledge was not discovered until many centuries later. This proves to me that Muhammad must have been a messenger of God or Allah”.
Dr. Joe Leigh Simpson is the Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Professor of Molecular and Human Genetics at the Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA. Formerly, he was Professor of Ob-Gyn and the Chairman of the Department of Ob-Gyn at the University of Tennessee, Memphis, Tennessee, USA. He was also the President of the American Fertility Society. He has received many awards, including the Association of Professors of Obstetrics and Gynecology Public Recognition Award in 1992. Professor Simpson studied the following two sayings of the Prophet Muhammad:

[In every one of you, all components of your creation are collected together in your mother’s womb by forty days...]
[If forty-two nights have passed over the embryo, God sends an angel to it, who shapes it and creates its hearing, vision, skin, flesh, and bones....]
He studied these two sayings of the Prophet Muhammad extensively, noting that the first forty days constitute a clearly distinguishable stage of embryo-genesis. He was particularly impressed by the absolute precision and accuracy of those sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). Then, during one conference, he gave the following opinion:
“It follows, I think, that not only there is no conflict between genetics and religion but, in fact, religion can guide science by adding revelation to some of the traditional scientific approaches, that there exist statements in the Quran shown centuries later to be valid, which support knowledge in the Quran having been derived from God.”
Dr. Yoshihide Kozai is Professor Emeritus at Tokyo University, Hongo, Tokyo, Japan, and was the Director of the National Astronomical Observatory, Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan. He said:
“I am very much impressed by finding true astronomical facts in [the] Quran, and for us the modern astronomers have been studying very small pieces of the universe. We’ve concentrated our efforts for understanding of [a] very small part. Because by using telescopes, we can see only very few parts [of] the sky without thinking [about the] whole universe. So, by reading [the] Quran and by answering to the questions, I think I can find my future way for investigation of the universe.”
Professor Tejatat Tejasen is the Chairman of the Department of Anatomy at Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand. Previously, he was the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the same university. During the Eighth Saudi Medical Conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Professor Tejasen stood up and said:
“During the last three years, I became interested in the Quran…. From my study and what I have learned from this conference, I believe that everything that has been recorded in the Quran fourteen hundred years ago must be the truth, that can be proved by the scientific means. Since the Prophet Muhammad could neither read nor write, Muhammad must be a messenger who relayed this truth, which was revealed to him as an enlightenment by the one who is eligible [as the] creator. This creator must be God. Therefore, I think this is the time to say La ilaha illa Allah, there is no god to worship except Allah (God), Muhammadur rasoolu Allah, Muhammad is Messenger (Prophet) of Allah (God). Lastly, I must congratulate for the excellent and highly successful arrangement for this conference…. I have gained not only from the scientific point of view and religious point of view but also the great chance of meeting many well-known scientists and making many new friends among the participants. The most precious thing of all that I have gained by coming to this place is La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadur rasoolu Allah, and to have become a Muslim.”
sources..internet

THE QUR’AN AND MODERN SCIENCE

Taken from: “The Origin of Man”,by Dr. Maurice Bucaille.

INTRODUCTION

Dr. Maurice Bucaille is an eminent French surgeon, scientist, scholar and author of “THE BIBLE, THE QUR’AN AND SCIENCE” which contains the result of his research into the Judeo-Christian Revelation and the Qur’an. It is a unique contribution in the field of religion and science.

Being an outstanding Scientist, he was selected to treat the mummy of Merneptah (Pharaoh) which he did. During his visit to Saudi Arabia he was shown the verses of the Holy Qur’an in which Allah says that the dead body of the Pharaoh will be preserved as a “Sign” for posterity. An impartial scientist like Dr. Bucaille, who (being also a Christian) was conversant with the Biblical version of Pharaoh’s story as being drowned in pursuit of Prophet Moses. He was pleasantly surprised to learn that unknown to the world till only of late, the Holy Qur’an made definite prediction about the preservation of the body of that same Pharaoh of Moses’ time. This led Dr. Bucaille to study the Holy Qur’an thoroughly after learning the Arabic language. The final conclusion of his comparative study of Qur’an and the Bible is that the statements about scientific phenomena in the Holy Qur’an are perfectly in conformity with the modern sciences whereas the Biblical narration’s on the same subjects are scientifically entirely unacceptable.
FROM THE ORIGIN OF MAN
As most people in the West have been brought up on misconceptions concerning Islam and the Qur’an; for a large part of my life, I myself was one such person. Let me cite one or two specific examples to indicate the kind of inaccurate ideas generally current.
MISCONCEPTIONS
As I grew up, I was always taught that ‘Mahomet’ was the author of the Qur’an; I remember seeing French translations bearing this information. I was invariably told that the ‘author’ of the Qur’an simply compiled, in a slightly different form, stories of sacred history taken from the Bible; the ‘author’ was said to have added or removed certain passages, while setting forth the principles and rules of the religion he himself had founded. There are moreover Islamic scholars today in France whose duties include teaching and who express exactly these views, although perhaps in a more subtle form.
This description of the origins of the Qur’anic text, which is so out of touch with reality, might lead one immediately to assume that if there are scientific errors in the Bible, there must also be errors of this kind in the Qur’an! This is the natural conclusion to be drawn in such circumstances, but it is based on a misconception. We are well aware that at the time of Muhammad - the Qur’anic Revelation took place between 610 and 632 A.D - scientific obscurantism prevailed, both in the Orient as well as in the West.
In France, for example, this period corresponded roughly to the reign of King Dagobert, the last of the Mrovingians. This approach to what was supposedly the Qur’anic text may on first sight seem logical, but when one examines the text with an informed and impartial eye, it becomes clear that this approach is not at all in keeping with reality. We shall see in a moment the truth of this statement, which is obvious from the texts.
Whenever there is textual proof of the existence in the Qur’an of statements that are in agreement with modern knowledge, but which in the Bible are related in a manner that is scientifically unacceptable, the stock response is that, during the period separating the two Scriptures, Arab scientists made discoveries in various disciplines which enabled them to arrive at these supposed adaptations. This approach takes no account whatsoever of the history of the sciences. The latter indicates that the great period of Islamic civilizations, during which, as we know, science made considerable progress, came several centuries after the communication of the Qur’an to the communication of the Qur’an to man.
Furthermore, scientific history informs us that, as far as the subjects dealt with in this present book are concerned, no discoveries were made during, the period separating the Bible from the Qur’an.
When this aspect of the Qur’an is mentioned in the West, however, we are likely to hear it said that while this may indeed be so, nowhere is this fact referred to in the translations of the Qur’an which we possess today, or in the prefaces and commentaries that accompany them.
This is a very judicious remark. Muslim - and indeed non-Muslim -translators who have produced a French version of the Qur’an are basically men of letters. More often than not, they mistranslate a passage because they do not possess the scientific knowledge required to understand its true meaning. The fact is, however, that in order to translate correctly, one must first understand what one is reading. A further point is that translators - especially those mentioned above - - may have been influenced by notes provided by ancient commentators often came to be regarded as highly authoritative, even though they had no scientific knowledge - nor indeed had anybody else at that time. They were incapable of imagining that the texts might contain allusions to secular knowledge, and thus they could not devote attention to a specific passage by comparing it to other verses in the Qur’an dealing with the same subject - a process that often provides the key to the meaning of a word or expression. From this results the fact that any passage in the Qur’an that gives rise to a comparison with modern secular knowledge is likely to be unreliably translated.
Very often, the translations are peppered with inaccurate - if not totally nonsensical - statements. The only way to avoid such errors is to possess a scientific background and to study the Qur’anic text in the original language.
SCIENTIFIC ERRORS
On the subject of man, as well as the other topics mentioned earlier, it is not possible to find any corresponding data in the Bible. Furthermore the scientific errors contained in the Bible - such as those describing man’s first appearance on earth, which, as we have seen, may be deduced from the Genealogies that figure in Genesis are not to be found in the Qur’an. It is crucial to understand that such errors could not have been ‘edited out’ of the Qur’an since the time they first became apparent: well over a thousand years have elapsed since the most ancient manuscripts and today’s texts of the Qur’an, but these texts are still absolutely identical. Thus, if Muhammad were the author of the Qur’an (a theory upheld by some people), it is difficult to see how he could have spotted the scientific errors in the Bible dealing with such a wide variety of subjects and have proceeded to eliminate every single one of them when he came to compose his own text on the same themes. Let us state once again, that no new scientific facts had been discovered since the time the Bible was written that might have helped eliminate such errors.
In view of the above, it is imperative to know the history of the texts, just as it is essential to our understanding of certain aspects of the Bible for us to be aware, of the conditions in which it was written.
As we have noted earlier, experts in Biblical exegesis consider the books of Old and New Testaments to be divinely inspired works. Let us now examine, however, the teachings of Muslim exegetes, who present the Qur’an in quite a different fashion.
When Muhammad was roughly forty years old, it was his custom to retire to a retreat just outside Mecca in order to meditate. It was here that he received a first message from God via the Angel Gabriel, at a date that corresponds to 610 A.D. After a long period of silence, this first message was followed by successive revelations spread over some twenty years. During the Prophet’s lifetime, they were both written down and recited by heart among his first followers. Similarly, the revelations were divided into suras (chapters) and collected together after the Prophet’ death (in 632 A.D.) in a book: the Qur’an. The Book contains the Word of God, to the exclusion of any human additions. Manuscripts dating from the first century of Islam authenticate today’s text, the other form of authentication being the recitation by heart of the Qur’an, a practice that has continued unbroken from the time of the Prophet down to the present day.
UNCORRUPTED NATURE OF THE QUR’AN
In contrast to the Bible, therefore, we are presented with a text that is none other than the transcript of the Revelation itself; the only way it can be received and interpreted is literally. The purity of the revealed text has been greatly emphasized, and the uncorrupted nature of the Qur’an stems from the following factors:
First, as stated above, fragments of the text were written down during the Prophet’s lifetime; inscribed on tablets, parchments and other materials current at the time. The Qur’an itself refers to the fact that the text was set down in writing. We find this in several suras dating from before and after the Hejira (Muhammad’s departure from Mecca to Medina in 622 A.D.) In addition to the transcription of the text, however, there was also the fact that it was learned by heart. The text of the Qur’an is much shorter than the Old Testament and slightly longer than the New Testament. Since it took twenty years for the Qur’an to be revealed, however, it was easy for the Prophet’s followers to recite it by heart, sura by sura. This process of recitation afforded a considerable advantage as far as an uncorrupted text was concerned, for it provided a system of double-checking at the time the definitive text was written down. This took place several years after the Prophet’s death; first under the caliphate of Abu Bakr, his first successor, and later under the caliphate of Omar and in particular that of Uthman (644 to 655 A.D.) The latter ordered an extremely strict recension of the text, which involved checking it against the recited versions.
TEXT OF QUR’AN UNCORRUPTED
After Muhammad’s death, Islam rapidly expanded far beyond the limits of the area in which it was born. Soon, it included many peoples whose native language was not Arabic. Very strict steps were taken to ensure that the text of the Qur’an did not suffer from this expansion of Islam: Uthman sent copies of his entire recension to the principal centers of the vast Islamic empire. Some copies still exist today, in more or less complete form, in such places as Tashkent (U.S.S.R) and Istanbul. Copies have also been discovered that date from the very first centuries after the Hijra; they are all identical, and all of them correspond to the earliest manuscripts.
Today’s editions of the Qur’an are all faithful reproductions of the original copies. In the case of the Qur’an, there are no instances of rewriting or corruption of the text over the course of time.
If the origin of the Qur’an had been similar to those of the Bible, it would not be unreasonable to suppose that the subjects it raised would be presented in the light of the ideas influenced by certain opinions of the time, often derived from myth and superstition. If this were the case, one might argue that there were untold opportunities for inaccurate assertions, based on such sources, to find their way into the many and varied subjects briefly summarized above. In actual fact, however, we find nothing of the kind in the Qur’an.
But having said this, we should note that the Qur’an is a religious book par excellence. We should not use statements that have a bearing on secular knowledge as a pretext to go hunting after any expression of scientific laws. As stated earlier, all we should seek are reflections on natural phenomena, phrases occasioned by references to divine omnipotence and designed to emphasize that omnipotence in the eyes of mankind throughout the ages. The presence of such reflections in the Qur’an has become particularly significant in modern times, for their meaning is clearly explained by the data of contemporary knowledge. This characteristic is specific to the Qur’an.
UNEXPECTED DISCOVERIES
It was not until I had learnt Arabic and read the Qur’an in the original that I realized the precise meaning of certain verses. Only then did I make certain discoveries that were astounding. With my basic ideas on the Qur’an - which to begin with were inaccurate, just as those of most people in the West - I certainly did not expect to find in the text the statements that I in fact uncovered. With each new discovery, I was beset with doubt lest I might be mistaken in my translation or perhaps have provided an interpretation rather than a true rendering of the Arabic text.
Only after consultations with several specialists in linguistics and exegesis, both Muslim and non-Muslim, was I convinced that a new concept might be formed from such a study: the compatibility between the statements in the Qur’an and firmly established data of modern science with regard to subjects on which nobody at the time of Muhammad - not even the Prophet himself - could have had access to the knowledge we possess today. Since then, I have not found in the Qur’an any support given to the myths or superstitions present at the time the text was communicated to man. This is not the case for the Bible, whose authors expressed themselves in the language of their period.
In ‘La Bible le Coran et la Science’ (The Bible, the Qur’an and Science), which first appeared in the original French in 1976 and which subsequently appeared in English in 1978, I set forth the main points of these findings. On November 9, 1976, I gave a lecture to the Academia de Medecine (French academy of Medicine) in which I explored the statements of the origins of man contained in the Qur’an; the title of the lecture was ‘Donnees physiologiques et embryologiques de Coran’(Physiological and Embryological Data in the Qur’an). I emphasised the fact that these data - which I shall summarize below - formed part of a much wider study. The following are some of the points which arise from a reading of the Qur’an:
* a concept of the creation of the world which, while different from the ideas contained in the Bible, is fully in keeping with today’s general theories on the formations of the universe;
* statements that are in perfect agreement with today’s ideas concerning the movements and evolution of the heavenly bodies;
* a prediction of the conquest of space;
* notions concerning the water cycle in nature and the earth’s relief, which were not proven correct until many centuries later.
All of these data are bound to amaze anyone who approaches them in an objective spirit. They add a much wider dimension to the problem studied in the present work. The basic point remains the same , however: we must surely be in the presence of facts which place a heavy strain on our natural propensity for explaining everything in materialistic terms, for the existence in the Qur’an of these scientific statements appears as a challenge to human explanations.
That does not mean to say, however, that the statements in the Qur’an - especially those concerning man - may all of them be examined in the light of the findings of modern science. The creation of man as described in both the Bible and the Qu’ran totally eludes scientific investigation of the event per se.
Similarly, when the New Testament or the Qur’an informs us that Jesus was not born of a father, in the biological sense of the term, we cannot counter this Scriptural statement by saying that there is no example in the human species of an individual having been formed without receiving the paternal chromosomes that make up one half of its genetic inheritance. Science does not explain miracles, for by definition miracles are inexplicable, thus, when we read in both the Qur’an and the Bible that man was moulded from the ground, we are in fact learning a fundamental religious principle: Man returns from where he came, for from the place he is buried, he will rise again on the judgment.
Side by side with the main religious aspect of such reflections on man, we find in the Qur’an statements on man that refer to strictly material facts. They are quite amazing when one approaches them for the first time. For example, the Qur’an describes the origins of life in general and devotes a great deal of space to the morphological transformation undergone by man, repeatedly emphasizing the fact that God fashioned him as He willed. We likewise discover statements on human reproduction that are expressed in precise terms that lend themselves to comparison with the secular knowledge we today possess on the subject.
INTEREST TO MEN OF SCIENCE
The many statements in the Qur’an that may thus be compared with modern knowledge are by no means easy to find. In preparing the study published in 1976, I was unable to draw on any previous works known in the West, for there were none. All I could refer to were a few works in Arabic dealing with themes treated in the Qur’an that were of interest to men of science - there was, however, no overall study. Over and above this, research of this kind requires scientific knowledge covering many different disciplines. It is not easy, however, for Islamologists to acquire such knowledge, for they possess a mainly literary background. Indeed, such questions hardly seem to occupy a place in their field of classic Islamology, at least as far as the West is concerned. Only a scientist, thoroughly acquainted with Arabic literature, can draw comparisons between the Qur’anic text - for which he must be able to read Arabic - and the data supplied by modern knowledge.
There is another reason why such statements are not immediately apparent: Verses bearing on a single theme are scattered throughout the Qur’an. The book is indeed a juxtaposition of reflections on a wide variety of subjects referred to one after the other and taken up again later on, often several times over. The data on a precise theme must therefore be collected from all over the Book and brought together under a single heading. This requires many hours’ work tracking down verses, in spite of the existence of thematic indexes provided by various translators, for such lists may perhaps be incomplete and indeed, in many cases, they often are.

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Doctor of Medicine(MD)

Doctor of Medicine (M.D. or MD, from the Latin Medicinæ Doctor meaning “Teacher of Medicine,”) is a doctoral degree for physicians.
How the term MD is applied varies among countries — it is a first professional degree in some countries (e.g., USA, Canada), while in others it is a higher doctoral academic research degree resembling a PhD (e.g., the United Kingdom, Australia).^[1] In the UK and many former British colonies, the equivalent of the American MD degree is the MBChB or MBBS (”Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery” - see Equivalent Degrees, below).

History of the medical degree

According to Sir John Bagot Glubb, Syed Farid Alatas, and S. M. Imamuddin, the first medical schools to issue academic degrees and diplomas were the teaching Bimaristan (Hospitals)of the medieval Islamic world. The first of these institutions was opened in Baghdad during the time of Harun al-Rashid. They then appeared in Egypt from 872 and then in Islamic Spain, Persia and the Maghreb thereafter. Physicians and surgeons at these hospital-universities gave lectures on Islamic medicine to medical students and then a medical diploma or degree was issued to students who were qualified to be practicing physicians.^[2][3][4]
According to Douglas Guthrie,^[5] who bases his account on L Thorndike,^[6] medical men were first called “Doctor” at the Medical School of Salerno. He states that the Emperor Frederick II decreed in 1221 that no one should practice medicine until he had been publicly examined and approved by the masters of Salerno. The course lasted 5 years, and to start one had to be 21 years old and show proof of legitimacy and of three years study of logic. The course was followed by a year of supervised practice. After the laureation ceremony the practitioners could call themselves “magister” or “doctor.”

Academic degrees for physicians by country

United States and Canada

The MB or Bachelor of Medicine was also the first type of medical degree to be granted in the United States and Canada. The first medical schools that granted the MB degree were Penn, Harvard, Toronto, Maryland, and Columbia. These first few North American medical schools that were established were (for the most part) founded by physicians and surgeons who had been trained in England and Scotland. University medical education in England culminated with the MB qualification, and in Scotland the MD, until from the mid-19th century the public bodies who regulated medical practice at the time required practitioners in Scotland as well as England to hold the two the dual Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degrees (MB BS/MBChB/MB BChir/BM BCh etc). North American Medical schools switched to the tradition of the Ancient universities of Scotland and began granting the MD title rather than the MB mostly throughout the 1800s. The Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York (which at the time was referred to as King’s College of Medicine) was the first American University to grant the MD degree instead of the MB.^[7]
Within the United States, MDs are awarded by LCME-accredited medical schools.^[8][9][10]. The Liaison Committee on Medical Education is an independent body sponsored by the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Medical Association, the AMA.
Admissions to medical schools in the United States is highly competitive, with 17,800 of the approximately 47,000 applicants matriculating to any medical school. Before graduating from a medical school and achieving the degree of Medical Doctor, students have to pass the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 and to take (but not necessarily pass) both the Clinical Knowledge and Clinical Skills parts of Step 2. The MD degree is typically earned in four years. Following the awarding of the MD, physicians who wish to practice in the United States are required to complete at least one internship year (PGY-1) and pass the USMLE Step 3. In order to receive Board Eligible or Board Accredited status in a specialty of medicine such as general surgery or internal medicine, then undergo additional specialized training in the form of a residency. Those who wish to further specialize in areas such as cardiology or interventional radiology then complete a fellowship. Depending upon the physician’s chosen field, residencies and fellowships involve an additional three to eight years of training after obtaining the MD. This can be lengthened with additional research years, which can last one, two, or more years.
In Canada, the MD is the basic medical degree required to practice medicine. At McGill University in Montreal, M.D., C.M. (Medicinae Doctor et Chirurgiae Magister or a Doctor of Medicine and Master of Surgery sometimes also written MDCM) degrees are awarded.
Even though the MD is a first professional degree and not a doctorate of research (ie. PhD), many holders of the MD degree conduct clinical and basic scientific research and publish in peer-reviewed journals during training and after graduation. Medical Scientist Training Programs (MSTPs) are offered at many universities which are a combined medical degree and PhD. Some MDs choose a research career and receive funding from the NIH as well as other sources such as the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. A few even go on to become Nobel Laureates.^[11]

United Kingdom, Ireland and some Commonwealth countries

In the United Kingdom and Ireland (and many Commonwealth countries) the MD is a postgraduate research degree in medicine. At some universities, this takes the form of a first doctorate, analogous to the PhD, awarded upon submission of a thesis and a successful viva. The thesis may consist of new research undertaken on a full- or part-time basis, with much less supervision (in the UK) than for a PhD, or a portfolio of previously-published work.^[12]
At some other universities (especially older institutions such as Oxford and Cambridge) the MD is a higher doctorate (similar to a DSc) awarded upon submission of a portfolio of published work representing a substantial contribution to medical research.^[1].
In the case where the MD is awarded (either as a first or higher doctorate) for previously-published research, the candidate is usually required to be either a graduate or a full-time member of staff, of several years’ standing of the university in question.^[13]
The University of Buckingham,^[14] the only private university in Great Britain, has announced an Indian-style two year full-time taught course for a “Clinical MD” in internal medicine. This is designed for non-European Union graduates, who are no longer to be allowed to take accredited training posts in UK hospitals. This degree will be awarded first in 2010.
The entry-level professional degree in these countries for the practice of medicine is that of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS or MBChB). This degree typically requires between four and six years of study and clinical training, and is equivalent to the North American MD.

India, Pakistan and Argentina

In India, an MD is a higher postgraduate degree awarded by many medical colleges to medical graduates holding the MBBS degree {MBBS degree course has a duration of five and a half years}, after three years of study and passing an examination which includes both theory and practical, in a pre-clinical or clinical subject of a non-surgical nature. The original research element is not as prominent here, as this is primarily a clinical qualification resembling the professional doctorates of the USA. In surgery, orthopaedics and gynaecology the equivalent degree is Master of Surgery (MS). DNB(Diplomate of the National Board))is considered equivalent to MD and MS.This can be obtained by passing an exam conducted by national board of examinations after completing 3 years post MBBS training in hospitals recognised by the board.After obtaining the first post graduate degree, that is MD/MS/DNB, one can go for further specialisation in medical or surgical fields. This requires three years of hard training and study and then passing an examination, both theory and practical, and the degree awarded is DM (Doctorate in Medicine, superspeciality) eg DM in Cardiology, Neurology, Nephrology, Gastroenterology etc. For surgical subspecialities the degree awarded is MCh, eg MCh (Cardiac Surgery), MCh (Neurosurgery) etc.The DM or MCh degrees are equivalent to the Fellowship training in the US and are considered “post-doctoral” degrees in India, similar to the PhD.
In Pakistan an MBBS is awarded as the basic medical qualification after completing five/six years of study. Tough entry tests are passed successfully before entering in to a medical college. Medical colleges and foreign medical qualifications are supervised by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC). Specialized degrees are awarded by the Pakistan College of Physicians and Surgeons.
In Argentine the medical degree Título de Médico^[15] are equivalent to the North American M. D. Degree with 6 year of intensive theoric studies followed by three years of the Residencia as a Mayor Especialidad in a particular empiric field, compounded of internships, social services and sporadic research.

Equivalent degrees in other countries

• The Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degrees (MB BS or MB ChB, and several variants) are equivalent to the North American MD degree.
• The American osteopathic medical degree (DO) has identical training requirements and practice rights as the MD degree.^[16] (See Comparison of allopathic and osteopathic medicine.)
• In Germany medical students have to complete twelve semesters of study and pass two state examinations (the first one after two years) to become physicians. A research doctorate (PhD) can only be obtained at some universities after three to five years of additional studies and research. Physicians can obtain the degree “Dr. med., Doktor der Medizin” A candidate must submit a dissertation consisting of a suitable body of original academic research. A candidate also must defend this work before a panel of expert examiners appointed by the university. The dissertation has to be published.
• The Czech and Slovak title doktor medicíny, or MUDr. (Medicinae Universae doctor), are equivalent to the North American MD degree.
• The Poles, instead of the North American MD, use the title of lekarz medycyny (lek. med.; compare to lekarz weterynarii - a title obtained by graduates of the veterinary degree). What may be confusing for the British is that most of the Polish medical schools, which run English-taught units of the medical degree, translate this title as “MD” and not “MBBS”. However, the Polish School of Medicine (Polish Medical Faculty) at the University of Edinburgh, which operated from 1941 to 1949, awarded both British degrees of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MB ChB) and a Polish Dyplom Lekarza on the same bilingual Latin-Polish certificate to 227 students. Of these, 19 progressed later to Doctor of Medicine (MD). ^{[17] [18] [19]}
• The Danish and Norwegian Candidatus medicinae or Candidata medicinae degrees (Cand.med.) are equivalent to the North American MD degree as determined by U.S. state medical boards.
• In Mexico as well as most Latin American countries, schools of medicine award the “Titulo de Medico Cirujano” degree after 6 years of study (some Mexican universities award the “Titulo” after 7 years of study). The Mexican “Titulo” is equivalent to the North American MD degree according to the ECFMG. The medical curriculum in Mexico follows the European model of medical education which includes 4 years of study covering the basic and clinical sciences, an undergraduate rotating internship year, and a year of social service providing primary care to an underserved population. Physicians holding the Mexican “Titulo” degree who practice medicine in the USA or Canada use the designation “MD” after their name.
• In the Netherlands finishing a medical university training does not automatically qualify to treat patients, or for that fact, to use the internationally recognised MD title. Finishing an university medical study results in a MSc or doctorandus title, locally noted as Drs. or drs. (e.g. drs. Jansen). A minimum of 2 years internship/ specialisation are required, the length in years varying with the discipline. Only after specialisation (e.g. GP medicine, cardiology), the MD title can be used. A PhD title can only be obtained after presenting a large body of original academic research, defending a resulting dissertation successfully before “a gathering of peers”, and a substantial number of peer-reviewed international publications. In the Dutch language, titles can be confusing; the Dutch “dokter” stands for a MD and literally means “physician”, while “doctor” signifies a PhD. The earlier mentioned abbreviation Drs. can also be obtained in other academic disciplines if completed succesfully, and is not medicine specific.^{[20] [21]}
• IMGs (International medical graduate) or FMGs (Foreign Medical Graduates), who practice medicine in the United States may use the title MD. They can do so only if they have passed the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) exams, and satisfied any other legal requirements administered by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) as specified under Public Law 94-484, as amended.

Other postgraduate clinical degrees

There is also a similar advanced professional degree to the postgraduate MD: the Master of Surgery (usually ChM or MS, but MCh in Ireland, Wales and at Oxford and MChir at Cambridge).
In Ireland, where the basic medical qualification includes a degree in obstetrics, there is a similar higher degree of Master of the Art of Obstetrics (MAO).

Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery(MBBS)

Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, or in Latin Medicinæ Baccalaureus et Baccalaureus Chirurgiæ (abbreviated MB BChir, MB BCh, MB ChB, BM BS, MB BS etc.), are the two degrees awarded after a course of study in medicine and surgery at a university in the United Kingdom and other places following its usage, such as medical schools in Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Jamaica, South Africa, Pakistan and India. The naming suggests that they are two separate degrees; however in practice they are usually treated as one. (At Oxford and Cambridge it is/was possible to be awarded the two degrees on different dates.)
The degrees are the Commonwealth equivalent of what is known elsewhere as the degree of Doctor of Medicine (MD). In countries that award bachelors’ degrees in medicine, however, the MD refers to a Higher Doctorate, and is reserved for medical practitioners who do research and submit a thesis in the field of medicine.

Naming

The Latin names for these degrees are variously Medicinae Baccalaureus, Chirugiae Baccalaureus or Baccalaureus in Medicina et in Chirurgia, abbreviated as MB ChB, MB BCh or in other ways depending on the individual institution; the English versions are Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, usually abbreviated as MB BS. The different Latin and English abbreviations may occasionally be combined by certain institutions such that BM BCh and BM BS are also seen. The specific names and abbreviations of the degrees vary with each awarding body and from region to region; this is mostly for reasons of tradition, rather than to indicate any significant difference of level or between the degrees.
The degrees are not offered in the United States, Canada and other countries. The equivalent degree in the United States is the MD or DO. In Canada the MD or MD CM are awarded.

Australia

MB BS are conferred by most Australian medical schools (undergraduate and graduate-entry).
The graduate-entry Flinders medical school confers BM BS.
The University of Newcastle offers the five-year undergraduate degree BMed. Although no degree in surgery is formally awarded by Newcastle, this degree is equivalent to the MB BS, and students may go on to a career in surgery the same as any other graduates in medicine and sugery.

Bangladesh

All medical schools in Bangladesh award MB BS.

England

Several variants of these degrees are awarded in England:

• MB ChB are used at the universities of Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Keele, Manchester, Sheffield, and Warwick.
• MB BS are used at the University of East Anglia, Hull York Medical School, the University of London, and University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
• BM BCh are used at Oxford.
• BM BS are used at University of Nottingham, Peninsula Medical School and Brighton Sussex Medical School
• BM is awarded at the University of Southampton. Although no degree in surgery is formally awarded by Southampton, this degree is equivalent to the MB ChB, and students may go on to a career in surgery the same as any other graduates in medicine and surgery.
• MB BChir are awarded by the University of Cambridge.

At Oxford and Cambridge universities the preclinical course leads to a BA degree (upgradable after 3 tor 4 years to MA), after which most students used to go elsewhere to complete clinical training. They could take the degrees of their new university or return to their old university to take clinical examinations.
The English Triple Conjoint Diploma of LRCP, LRCS, LMSSA was a non-university qualifying examinations in medicine and surgery awarded jointly by the Royal College of Physicians of London, Royal College of Surgeons of England and Society of Apothecaries through the United Examining Board. These qualifications were registrable with the GMC until 1999. Prior to 1994, the English Conjoint diploma of LRCP, MRCS was awarded for over a century, and the LMSSA was a distinct and sometimes less-esteemed qualification.

Hong Kong

The awarding of qualifications in Hong Kong has continued to follow the British tradition despite the handover of the territory’s sovereignty from the hands of the United Kingdom to the People’s Republic of China on 30 June 1997. The dual degree is awarded as:

• MB BS at University of Hong Kong; and
• MB ChB at Chinese University of Hong Kong.

India

All medical schools in India award the MB BS degree under the Medical Council of India and State Medical councils’ regulations. An MB BS is an undergraduate degree, usually lasting 5½ years or more. It includes one year of a compulsory rotating internship. Completion of an MB BS degree is required in order to apply for, and join, a specialised program offering the MD / MS degree. Subsequently further specialisation can lead to DM or MCh degrees.
There used also to be Licentiate qualifications in Medicine and Surgery (LMS) in India, awarded after a shorter course, originally at a “medical school” rather than a “medical college.”
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Bombay awarded a Licentiate at LMS level, a Membership (MCPS) at MB BS level and a Fellowship (FCPS) at MD level. The State Medical Faculty of West Bengal (previously of Bengal) also gave Licentiates and Memberships.

Ireland

The three degrees of MB BCh BAO are awarded by all medical schools in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland - namely Queen’s University Belfast, University of Dublin (Trinity College) and some constituent institutions of the National University of Ireland (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, University College Dublin, University College Cork and National University of Ireland, Galway).
BAO is Baccalaureus in Arte Obstetricia (Bachelor of the Obstetric Art), which the Irish Universities began to award in the 19th century after legislation insisted on a final examination in obstetrics: however this third degree was not registrable with the GMC.
LRCPI LRCSI, or simply LRCP&SI, denotes a holder of the historical non-university qualifying licenciates awarded jointly by the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland to students of the RCSI’s medical school. Unlike the corresponding licentiates awarded by the Royal Colleges in Scotland and England (which were external qualifications), these qualifications are still registrable with the Irish Medical Council. Students at RCSI still receive these licenciates but now also receive the degrees MB BCh BAO, due to RCSI’s status as a recognised college of the National University of Ireland.
The RCSI students also received a Licence in Midwifery (LM) from each college, in the same way that the Irish Universities granted BAO degrees, so their qualifications were sometimes expressed as L & LM,RCPI, L & LM, RCSI or more misleadingly as LLM, RCP&SI.
LAH formerly denoted a licentiate of the now-defunct Apothecaries’ Hall, Dublin, and is no longer awarded.

Kenya

The two National Universities(the University of Nairobi and Moi University) with Medical Faculties in Kenya offer the ‘MBChB’ degree.

Myanmar

All medicine schools in Myanmar award the M.B.,B.S. degree.

New Zealand

The two New Zealand Medical Schools, Auckland and Otago, style their degrees as MB ChB. The New Zealand MB ChB degrees take at least 6 years after commencing university study depending upon graduate or undergraduate entry.

Pakistan

All medical schools in Pakistan award MB BS. as per the Medical and dental council of Pakistan. An MBBS is an undergraduate degree, usually lasting 5 years.

Scotland

All medical schools in Scotland award MB ChB. The University of St Andrews awarded MB ChB until the early 1970s, but since the incorporation of the medical school in the new University of Dundee, the University of St Andrews now only awards a pre-clinical BSc or BSc (Hons), and students go elsewhere to finish their training, usually to the University of Manchester for an MB ChB.
The Scottish Triple Conjoint Diploma of LRCPE, LRCSE, LRCPSG (earlier LRCPE, LRCSE, LRFPSG) is an old non-university qualifying examination in medicine and surgery awarded jointly by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, previously through a Conjoint Board and from 1994 through the United Examining Board. These qualifications were registrable with the GMC until 1999.

South Africa

The University of Pretoria, University of Cape Town, University of the Free State, University of Stellenbosch and MEDUNSA all award MB ChB, whereas the University of the Witwatersrand styles its degree as MB BCh. All South African medical degrees are awarded under the auspices of the Health Professions Council of South Africa and take at least 6 years to complete.

Singapore

The only medical school in Singapore, the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, confers the MBBS degree.

Wales

All medical schools in Wales award MB BCh.

West Indies

All constituent countries of the University of the West Indies confer the MBBS degree due to the historical affiliation of the University of the West Indies to the University of London.

Classification of degrees

The degrees of MB BS are rather difficult to classify. They can be received both after an undergraduate course, which lasts five or six years in addition to one year of practice as a pre-registration house officer (PRHO), or after a graduate course which lasts 4 years in addition to one year of practice as a PRHO (which now, in the UK, incorporates the first year of Foundation Training following the initiative “Modernising Medical Careers“), having previously obtained an undergraduate degree of a good class.
The degrees differ from other undergraduate degrees in that they are professional qualifications which entitle bearers to a guaranteed position upon receipt. This is not the case with other undergraduate degrees, so whilst the MB ChB are undergraduate/graduate degrees, they are perhaps more accurately conceptualised as a so-called ‘First Professional’ degree.
It is a general/ordinary degree (not an honours degree), and as such one is not awarded 1st class, 2:1 etc. as one does for honours degrees. At some institutions (for example the University of Manchester) it is possible for the degrees to be awarded with Honours, i.e. MB ChB (Hons) etc., if the board of examiners recognises exceptional performance throughout the degree course. Very few of these are awarded.
More often, it is possible to study one subject for an extra year for an honours BSc, BMedSci, BMedBiol or similar: as with the Oxford and Cambridge BAs. At a few universities most medical students obtain an ordinary degree in science as well: when the University of Edinburgh had a six year course, the third year was followed by award of an ordinary BSc (Med Sci).

Progression

Graduates of these degrees are entitled to use the title Doctor, and are eligible for membership of professional institutions (such as the Royal College of Physicians after sitting further postgraduate examinations, as well as being eligible to submit research for the awarding of the degree of MD or DM.
At some institutions it is possible to study for the degree of Master of Surgery (ChM, MCh, MChir or MS), and the possession of a medical degree is normally a prerequisite for this. There is also a similar Masters degree in Obstetrics (MAO) in Ireland.

Stylisation

The degrees of Medicine and Surgery are sometimes stylised more formally, when abbreviated as M.B., Ch.B. / M.B., B.S.

Lipoabdominoplasty: A New and Improved Tummy Tuck

Lipoabdominoplasty provides an alternative to patients weighing their options between liposuction and abdominoplasty. It combines traditional tummy tuck with aggressive liposuction for a more sculpted, sleek and defined look.

Author:
A Aaronson
For patients weighting their options between a tummy tuck or liposuction in the abdominal area, new technology exists to provide the best of both worlds using lipoabdominoplasty.
Lipoabdominoplasty is a revolutionary procedure which combines the traditional abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) procedure with aggressive liposuction to achieve a more sculpted, sleek and defined look in the abdominal area. There are a variety of benefits in choosing lipoabdominoplasty over stand alone liposuction or abdominoplasty procedures.
Lipoabdominoplasty surgery has considerably less complications than traditional liposuction or abdominoplasty alone, including a lower rate of seroma, less postoperative numbness, a shorter scar and quicker recovery due to reduced swelling, bruising and pain. Best of all, the recovery time can be as short as ten days for patients concerned with an absence from work or sitter issues.
This procedure is ideal for those looking to lose weight and tighten the stomach area at the same time. With liposuction alone, fat deposits are permanently removed, but the procedure does not address the issue of loose or hanging skin following dramatic weight loss. Stretch marks may also cover the surgical area, leaving a slimmer, but aesthetically unappealing look to the abs.
The tummy tuck, however, does address the issue of loose skin, but does nothing to remove the layers of fat below the surface. Loose or unappealing skin is simply removed to create a tighter and sleeker look in the stomach area.
Alternatively, lipoabdominoplasty combines the two procedures to remove excess fat using liposuction while tucking and sculpting the abs for a more sleek and toned look. The patient is able to achieve the best of both procedures with minimal complications as detailed above.
The procedure itself is relatively straight forward and starts with aggressive liposuction of the entire abdominal area. The patient will be sedated intravenously and given a local anesthetic solution near the area of incision. Typically two small cuts will be made in the abdominal area to create minimal scarring following lipoabdominoplasty surgery.
After the liposuction is complete, the skin below the umbilicus is removed (similar to a traditional tummy tuck); however, the lymphatic vessels will remain intact to reduce postoperative swelling and pain during the healing process. Next the upper abdominal skin flap is undermined and the rectus muscles are placated. Finally, the surgical site is closed with multiple layers of dissolvable sutures to reduce the occurrence of postoperative scar spreading.
As previously noted, the recovery time can be as little as ten days, as pain and swelling are less dramatic than what accompanies a traditional tummy tuck or liposuction procedure.
Lipoabdominoplasty can also be combined with other procedures such as the liposuction of hips, back and extremities, breast augmentation or facial surgery for those considering a more “complete makeover”.
To find out if lipoabdominoplasty is right for you, consult with a well respected plastic surgeon that has significant experience and training in this area. Future plans and goals (such as anticipated pregnancies, dietary and exercise concerns) should be addressed during the initial consultation to provide the most accurate assessment of your plastic surgery needs.

About Author

Lipoabdominoplasty is a revolutionary new plastic surgery technique that can give you a more sculpted, sleek and defined look. Find a Los Angeles abdominoplasty surgeon with experience in this procedure at http://www.aronowitzmd.com/
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