Islamic cultures made many important scientific and medical contributions despite being burned in Europe: They developed navigational tools like the astrolab and compass which enabled long sea voyages and discovery. Astronomers like Al-Biruni discussed theories of Earth's rotation centuries before Galileo. Medicine advanced with discoveries in anatomy, use of anesthesia and cauterization in surgery, and linking disease to human contact. Figures like Ibn Sina and Al-Razi wrote influential medical encyclopedias and treatises. Hospitals were also established. Other fields like optics, sociology, and physics also saw innovations through scholars such as Ibn al-Haytham,