Avicenna - the father of medicine

Abu ʻAli al-Husayn Ibn Sina, known in the west as Avicenna, was a Persian polymath whose famous work, The Canon of Medicine, was a medical authority for centuries.

The five part encyclopaedia covered a range of topics. Among other things, the book is known for the introduction of systematic experimentation and quantification into the study of physiology, the discovery of the contagious nature of infectious diseases, the introduction of quarantine to limit the spread of contagious diseases, the introduction of experimental medicine, evidence-based medicine, clinical trials, randomised controlled trials, efficacy tests, clinical pharmacology, risk factor analysis, and the idea of a syndrome in the diagnosis of specific diseases.

Ibn Sina was a prolific writer, and wrote on topics as varied as metaphysics, theology, medicine, psychology, earth sciences, physics, astronomy, astrology, and chemistry.

One of our core principles is that all the products we manage be underpinned by a strong evidence base. We also have broad interests and expertise and are always evolving our offerings. We are inspired by Ibn Sina and his works and the invaluable knowledge and processes that he gave the world.

About the Cannon of Medicine

"The Canon of Medicine" is a translation of the Arabic title القانون في الطب (al-Qānūn fī aṭ-Ṭibb).

• Book 1 is entitled al-Umūr al-kulliya fī 'ilm al-ṭibb (General medical principles) and covers the basic principles of medicine
• Book 2 is entitled al-Adwiya al-mufrada (Materia medica) and lists approximately 800 individual drugs of vegetable and mineral origin
• Book 3 is entitled al-Amrāḍ al-juz'iya (Special pathology) and discusses the diseases of individual organs
• Book 4 is entitled al-Amrāḍ allatī lā takhtaṣṣ bi 'udw bi 'aynihi (Diseases involving more than one member) and discusses medical conditions that affect the entire body, such as fevers and poisons
• Book 5 is entitled al-Adwiya al-murakkaba wa al-aqrābādhīn (Formulary) and lists some 650 medicinal compounds as well as their uses and effects.