Overview

Ibn Sina, (980-1037), whose name was Abu al-Hussayn ibn Abdullah ibn Sina, was an outstanding medical writer and physician. His Al-Quanun fi al-Tibb, was a masterpiece of Arabic systemization, in which he sought to collate and organize all known medical knowledge. When the work was translated into Latin, it became known as the Canon of Medicine and was the dominant text for the teaching of medicine in Europe. It went through many versions and was later translated into the vernacular of several nations. The Canon was used as a medical text for over 800 years, continuing in some areas until well into the nineteenth century.

Background

The prophet Muhammad, born at Mecca in 570, created a religion—Islam—that...