Ibn Sina (Avicenna); Mere Mortal, Perennial Visionary.
Ibn Sina was a mere mortal as described in the autobiography of his
last days. His life ebbed and flowed with the changing social and
political realities of his time [1]. His legacy however, would far outlast
his earthly life and his magnum opus - The Canon of Medicine.
By all acounts, Ibn Sina was a prodigy who memorised the text and
exegesis of the Holy Qur'an by the age of ten, dabbled in philosophy,
islamic jurisprudence, mathematics and medicine successively. At times to
prove his mettle to his mentors and teachers but mostly to satisfy his own
boundless curiosity and intellect [2].
His powers of observation were legendary, describing the difference
between central and peripheral facial nerve palsies [3], adjustment
disorder and psychosomatism [4] and pioneering sphygmology or a study of
maladies related to the pulse [5].
His real legacy however lies in the scientific doctrine of
experimentation and empirical study, well before it was described by James
Lind and his famous experiment on scurvy with lime juice [6]. His treatise
on "The recognition of the strengths of the characteristics of medicines
through experimentation" was a millenium ahead of his time.
As a Muslim academic, his real value lies in his unabashed thirst and
knowledge for Greco-Roman literature reflecting his willingness to learn
from any source, his incisive synthesis and critique of their methodology
and philosophical underpinnings reflecting his unquestionable faith in
monotheism, his wilful adaptation of early Greco-Roman medical practice to
contemporary realities of his time and the consummation of his observatory
and reflective intuitiveness into a complete publication, perenially
preserved and eternally cherished.
1. Galdston I. Avicenna and Islamic Science. Bull N Y Acad Med
1955;31(4):300-1.
2. Levy R. Avicenna - His Life and Times. Med Hist 1957;1(3):249-61.
3. Aciduman A, Arda B, Gunaydin A, Belen D. Laqve (wry mouth) considered
in Avicenna’s renowned treatise the Canon of Medicine. Neurocirugía
2008;19:267-71.
4. Shoja MM, Tubbs RS. The disorder of love in the Canon of Avicenna. Am J
Psychiatry 2007;164(2):228-9.
5. Turgut O, Manduz S, Tandogan I. Avicenna: Messages from a great pioneer
of ancient medicine for modern cardiology. Int J Cardiol. 2009 May 26.
[Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19477541
6. Sajadi MM, Mansouri D, Sajadi MR. Ibn Sina and the clinical trial. Ann
Intern Med 2009;150(9):640-3.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests:
No competing interests
11 December 2009
Mohd Shah Azarisman
Deputy Dean (Academic), Faculty of Medicine,
International islamic University Malaysia, 25200 Kuantan, Pahang, MALAYSIA.
Rapid Response:
Ibn Sina (Avicenna); Mere Mortal, Perennial Visionary.
Ibn Sina was a mere mortal as described in the autobiography of his
last days. His life ebbed and flowed with the changing social and
political realities of his time [1]. His legacy however, would far outlast
his earthly life and his magnum opus - The Canon of Medicine.
By all acounts, Ibn Sina was a prodigy who memorised the text and
exegesis of the Holy Qur'an by the age of ten, dabbled in philosophy,
islamic jurisprudence, mathematics and medicine successively. At times to
prove his mettle to his mentors and teachers but mostly to satisfy his own
boundless curiosity and intellect [2].
His powers of observation were legendary, describing the difference
between central and peripheral facial nerve palsies [3], adjustment
disorder and psychosomatism [4] and pioneering sphygmology or a study of
maladies related to the pulse [5].
His real legacy however lies in the scientific doctrine of
experimentation and empirical study, well before it was described by James
Lind and his famous experiment on scurvy with lime juice [6]. His treatise
on "The recognition of the strengths of the characteristics of medicines
through experimentation" was a millenium ahead of his time.
As a Muslim academic, his real value lies in his unabashed thirst and
knowledge for Greco-Roman literature reflecting his willingness to learn
from any source, his incisive synthesis and critique of their methodology
and philosophical underpinnings reflecting his unquestionable faith in
monotheism, his wilful adaptation of early Greco-Roman medical practice to
contemporary realities of his time and the consummation of his observatory
and reflective intuitiveness into a complete publication, perenially
preserved and eternally cherished.
1. Galdston I. Avicenna and Islamic Science. Bull N Y Acad Med
1955;31(4):300-1.
2. Levy R. Avicenna - His Life and Times. Med Hist 1957;1(3):249-61.
3. Aciduman A, Arda B, Gunaydin A, Belen D. Laqve (wry mouth) considered
in Avicenna’s renowned treatise the Canon of Medicine. Neurocirugía
2008;19:267-71.
4. Shoja MM, Tubbs RS. The disorder of love in the Canon of Avicenna. Am J
Psychiatry 2007;164(2):228-9.
5. Turgut O, Manduz S, Tandogan I. Avicenna: Messages from a great pioneer
of ancient medicine for modern cardiology. Int J Cardiol. 2009 May 26.
[Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19477541
6. Sajadi MM, Mansouri D, Sajadi MR. Ibn Sina and the clinical trial. Ann
Intern Med 2009;150(9):640-3.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests