Avicenna's Medicine

The first contemporary translation of the 1,000-year-old text at the foundation of modern medicine and biology

• Presents the actual words of Avicenna translated directly from the original Arabic, removing the inaccuracies and errors of most translators

• Explains current medical interpretations and ways to apply Avicenna’s concepts today, particularly for individualized medicine

• Reveals how Avicenna’s understanding of the “humors” corresponds directly with the biomedical classes known today as proteins, lipids, and organic acids

A millennium after his life, Avicenna remains one of the most highly regarded physicians of all time. His Canon of Medicine, also known as the Qanun, is one of the most famous and influential books in the history of medicine, forming the basis for our modern understanding of human health and disease. It focused not simply on the treatment of symptoms, but on finding the cause of illness through humoral diagnosis—a method still used in traditional Unani and Ayurvedic medicines in India.

Originally written in Arabic, Avicenna’s Canon was long ago translated into Latin, Persian, and Urdu, yet many of the inaccuracies from those first translations linger in current English translations. Translated directly from the original Arabic, this volume includes detailed commentary to explain current biomedical interpretations of Avicenna’s theories and ways to apply his treatments today, particularly for individualized medicine. It shows how Avicenna’s understanding of the humors corresponds directly with the biomedical definition of proteins, lipids, and organic acids: the nutrient building blocks of our blood and body. With this new translation of the first volume of his monumental work, Avicenna’s Canon becomes just as relevant today as it was 1,000 years ago.

Foreword: In Defense of Medical Tradition by Alain Touwaide

Preface

Introduction: Why Revisit a Thousand-Year-Old Book?

1 Concepts of Unani Medicine: A Primer

First Art
Definition of Medicine and Its Topics

2 Topics of Medicine
3 The Unani Elements: The Basics or Origins
4 The Theory of Temperaments
5 The Humors
6 The Organs according to Avicenna
7 A General View of the Faculties and Actions

Second Art
Disease, Causes, and General Symptoms

8 Diseases
9 Causes
10 Symptoms and Signs

Third Art
Health, Disease, and the Necessity of Death

11 Introduction to the Third Art
12 Raising Children
13 Common Regimen of Adults
14 Health Management of the Elderly
15 Management of the Dystempered Body
16 Transitions, Seasonal Management, and Travelers

Fourth Art
Aspects of Treatments according to General Diseases

Epilogue

Arabic-English Glossary of the Canon

Bibliography

Index