Abu Ali al-Husayn Ibn Abdullah Ibn Sina
Abu Ali al-Husayn Ibn Abdullah Ibn Sina was born in Bukhara in 980.
Sometimes known in the West by the Latin name, Avicenna, this Persian physician
became the most famous and influential of all the Islamic
philosopher-scientists. He earned royal favour for treating the Kings of Bukhara
and Hamadan for ailments that other physicians could neither diagnose nor cure.
His grave is still maintained in Hamadan, where he died in 1037. Though trained
as a physician, Ibn Sina made important contributions to philosophy,
mathematics, chemistry, and astronomy. His philosophical encyclopaedia, Kitab
al-Shifa ("Book of Healing") brought Aristotelian and Platonian philosophy
together with Islamic theology in dividing the field of knowledge into
theoretical knowledge (physics, mathematics, and metaphysics) and practical
knowledge (ethics, economics, and politics).
Medicine
His most enduring legacy, however, was in the field of medicine.
His most famous book, Al-Qanun fi al-Tibb ("The Canon of Medicine") is still one
of the most important medical books ever written, and served as the medical
authority throughout Europe for 600 years. Among the Canon's contributions to
modern medicine was the recognition that tuberculosis is contagious; diseases
can spread through water and soil; and a person's emotional health influences
his or her physical health. Ibn Sina was also the first physician to describe
meningitis, parts of the eye, and the heart valves, and he found that nerves
were responsible for perceived muscle pain. He also contributed to advancements
in anatomy, gynaecology, and paediatrics.
The Canon was translated into Latin in the 12th century, and quickly became the
predominant textbook used in European medical schools until the 17th century. It
is still used today in Islamic medical schools in Pakistan and India. No other
medical book has remained so highly acclaimed for such a long period of time.
When the Arabic original was published in Rome in 1593, it became one of the
first Arabic books to be produced on the new invention of the printing press.
Today, Ibn Sina's portrait hangs in the main hall of the Faculty of Medicine at
the University of Paris.
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