INTRODUCTION
Traditional Iranian medicine is characterized as a body of knowledge and practices employed in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of various physical and mental ailments, as well as social issues. From ancient times to the present, successive generations have highlighted its practical applications and rich experiences (Kazerani et al., 2019; Naseri & Ardakani, 2004; Zeinalian et al., 2015). Furthermore, the World Health Organization (WHO) has indicated that traditional medicine encompasses a collection of recognized knowledge, skills, and practices rooted in the theories, beliefs, experiences, and culture of a community (World Health Organization, 2013). The Iranian medical school, with a history spanning several millennia and flourishing during the height of Islamic culture, is one of the oldest medical traditions, known by various names in the regions of ancient Iranian territory, including India and Arab countries (Sakhtemanian, 2016). The visibility of science within a society symbolizes the progression towards scientific authority, influencing the global standing and power of nations. It demonstrates that comprehensive sustainable development relies on the extent of knowledge production, research achievements, and their applications in enhancing global standards and scientific engagement (Aminpour, 2011). Scientific mapping, as part of the field of scientometric, focuses on observing a scientific subject area, determining research boundaries to define the structure and interactions within that area. The goal of scientific mapping is to demonstrate the structural and dynamic aspects of research (Al Husaeni & Nandiyanto, 2022; Noroozi Chakoli, 2011; Sarrafzadeh, 2000). Iranian medicine, a significant field with a rich history, has recently garnered the attention of researchers. Consequently, it is essential to analyze its scientific output to inform policymakers and managers. Given the importance of this subject, this study aims to create a comprehensive scientific map of the contributions to Iranian medicine and to present a research perspective.

METHODS
The current research is a descriptive-analytical study that was conducted using scientometric techniques. The research community was all published documents in the field of Persian Medicine (including all scientific documents, journal articles, conference articles, and seminars) that were indexed in the Web of Science (WOS) database and extracted without applying time limits. In order to comprehensively identify the published articles in this field, considering the use of various terms in Iranian medicine, a search was conducted in the subject headings of the National Library (Mashhad, Iran) as well as the classification of the National Library of Medicine and the subject headings of Persian medical literature, along with some reputable domestic and foreign articles. The equivalents of the terms and concepts related to Iranian medicine were extracted and formulated into the following search strategy, which was then executed in the WOS database. The search strategy and keywords used in the subject section of the WOS database are as follows: TS: (Iranian OR Iran OR Persian) AND TS: (Herb* medic* OR plant* medic* OR traditional medic* OR traditional herb* OR plant* pharmaceutical OR healing plant* OR acupuncture OR pharmacopuncture OR electroacupuncture OR electro_acupuncture OR traditional complementary and alternative medicine OR Home Remed* OR primitive medic* OR folk medic* OR indigenous medic* OR folk Remed* OR ethnomedicine)
To extract articles due to the necessity of mapping the temporal pattern, no time restrictions were considered, and all scientific productions up to the end of 2023 were reviewed. Additionally, to map the scientific outputs in the field of Iranian medicine, VOSviewer software version 16.6.1 was used. This software is a product of the Center for Science and Technology, Leiden University, Netherlands, and for the topics and keywords of interest in mapping the scientific landscape, also based on similar studies, a threshold of 30 occurrences for each keyword was set (Arruda et al., 2022; Eftekhari et al., 2017; Wang & Fang, 2016). Moreover, the Histcite software, which is part of the products of the Institute for Scientific Information and developed by Eugene Garfield, was used for the initial data analysis (Liu et al., 2022).

RESULTS
A search conducted in the WOS database without applying any time restrictions revealed a total of 19,204 records related to Iranian traditional medicine retrieved for the period between 1949 and 2023. While the highest production in terms of frequency occurred in 2021 with 1,893 documents, the highest number of citations received, according to the total global citation score (TGCS), pertains to scientific outputs in the field of Iranian medicine indexed in the WOS in 2014, with a total of 14,383 citations. Other findings regarding the evaluation of publications in the field of Iranian traditional medicine indexed in the WOS database also indicated that a total of 19,204 records were presented in 24 different types of formats, with research articles accounting for the highest number (16,662 records) and having the highest "TGCS" in articles, amounting to 174,329 citations. Additionally, bibliographies and preliminary reports had the lowest citation counts. A search conducted in the WOS database without applying any time restrictions revealed that a total of 19,204 records related to Iranian traditional medicine were retrieved for the period between 1949 and 2023. A survey of authors, institutions, and countries producing publications in the field of Iranian traditional medicine showed that out of a total of 198 authors, Larijani and Kamalinejad have published the most (111 scientific documents) in this field; however, Malekzadeh, with 61 documents, received the highest TGCS rank in terms of citation status (TGCS: 2398). Other findings regarding the evaluation of publications in the field of Iranian traditional medicine indexed in the WOS database also indicated that a total of 19,204 records were presented in 24 different types of formats, with research articles accounting for the highest number (16,662 records) and having the highest "TGCS" in articles, amounting to 174,329 citations. Additionally, bibliographies and preliminary reports had the lowest citation counts. In the realm of countries producing publications in traditional medicine, Iran ranked first with 17,165 documents and 161,855 total citations received. The United States, England, and Australia followed, with 1288, 495, and 394 documents, and 28,063, 11,254, and 8,086 total citations received, respectively. Co-occurrence network analysis of key terms and topics in Iranian traditional medicine revealed that, from 2016 to 2019, terms such as alternative medicine, herbal medicine, essential oil, saffron, acupuncture, COVID-19, and Lamiaceae frequently appeared in scientific literature within the field. The analysis of the author collaboration network also revealed that various researchers, such as Kamalinejad, who has a central focus, have engaged in scientific collaborations with several authors, including Keshavarz, Parviz, Ghasemi Bioos, Amin, and Abdollahi, thereby forming a collaboration network. On the other side of the network's structure, Sharifi Rad has collaborated scientifically with other researchers, including Kreigiel, Semwail, Cho, Kabarfard, and Salehi.

CONCLUSION
Given the significance of Iranian traditional medicine, the present study aimed to create a scientific map of the field and elucidate its various dimensions. The findings indicated a favorable growth trend in scientific production
within Iranian traditional medicine. The thematic correlation map revealed the emergence of diverse topics related to Iranian traditional medicine in the WOS database. It is recommended that, in light of the recognition of new concepts in traditional medicine, core journals and key topics receive attention from researchers, managers, and relevant officials to facilitate informed decision-making in future research and macro-planning. Considering the limitations of this research and the analysis of results within a scientific database, it is advised that scientific publications in Iranian traditional medicine be assessed in other scientific databases, and the existing gaps be examined through a comparative study.

Ethical Considerations
Compliance with ethical guidelines
The code of the project No 972/12 was obtained for this study.

Funding
This study was carried out with the financial and executive support of the University of Shahed, Tehran, Iran.
Authors Contributions
Authors have contributed equally to the writing of this study.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Acknowledgements
This article stems from a research project approved by the Center for Research and Clinical Trials of Traditional Medicine at Shahed University, Code 972/12. The authors would like to extend their sincere gratitude to the esteemed Vice President for Research and Technology of this center for their financial and moral support.