How did Islamic medicine compared with contemporary Christian medicinal practices?

Answer 1

I assume you mean in the Dark Ages and the Medieval period.

The ancient world had considerable surgical skill. With the invasions many many valuable texts were lost. The Church banned dissection, and so the advance of the science of anatomy was completely halted. Surgery in this period was extremely primitive. Some doctors knew how to use mandrake as a stuporific, but for the most part anesthesia was unknown until surgeons began using large amounts of spirits. Alcohol is an anesthetic, but it has too many bad side effects. It wasn't until the west began importing opium from India that effective pain medication was available.

By contrast Greek medical texts were never lost to the Arabic world, and surgical knowledge progressed slowly. In Egypt, where there are many eye diseases, Arabic doctors developed treatments and replaced cataracts. Insane people were treated humanely in the Muslim world. I believe they were also better at dentistry and had a better idea of the process of infection. And unlike the West,. where prayer was the frequent and only treatment for illness, Muslim doctors experimented with new treatments.