The Canon of Medicine Latino Copy Canon of Medicine, dated 1484, located in the Library PI Nixon Medical Center Health Sciences, University of Texas at San Antonio. The Canon of Medicine (original title in Arabic: Al-Qanun fi al-Tibb) is a medical encyclopedia of 14 volumes written by the Persian Muslim scientist and physicist Ibn Sina (Avicenna) circa 1020. The book was based on a combination of personal experience of medieval Islamic medicine, the writings of Galen, Sushruta and Charaka, and the ancient Persian and Arabic medicine. The Canon is considered one of the most famous books in the history of medicine. Also known as the Qanun, which means ‘law’ in Arabic and Persian, The Canon of Medicine was an authority in medicine until the eighteenth century. establishes the principles of medicine in Europe and the Islamic world and is a of the most reputed writings of Avicenna.The principles of medicine described in this book ten centuries ago are still taught at UCLA and Yale University among others, as part of the history of medicine. Among other things, the book introduces the systematic experimentation and quantification in the study of physiology, and the discovery of contagious diseases. George Sarton, the father of history of science, wrote in his Introduction to the history of science: One of the greatest exponents of Muslim universalism and an eminent figure in Islamic culture was Ibn Sina, known in the West as Avicenna (981-1037). For a thousand years has preserved its original reputation as one of the greatest thinkers and researchers in medical history. His most important medical works are the Qanun (Canon) and a treatise on heart medications. The ‘Qanun fi-l-Tibb’ is an immense encyclopedia of medicine.Contains some of the most illuminating thoughts including the distinction between mediastinitis and pleurisy, the contagious nature of TB, the spread of diseases by water and land, detailed descriptions of skin problems, sexually transmitted diseases and perversions , nervous system diseases.