English Names
Avicenna
Original Names
Ibn Sina
Other Names
Abu Ali Al-Hussein Ibn Abdullah Ibn Sina
Date, Country, and City of Birth
980 AD in Kharmaithan near the city of Bukhara, Central Asia (Uzbekistan)
Date, Country, and City of Death
1037 AD at Hamadan (Iran)
History of Life
Ibn Sina, known in the West as Avicenna, the Latinized Hebrew transliteration of his name, was one of the most influential Muslim physicians and philosophers of his time (Fig. 1). His impact on Islamic and European medicine spanned for over seven centuries. His students and followers named him “Al Shaikh Al Ra’ees” or the Master Wise Man. He was also named Al Mua’llem Al Thani (the Second Teacher – Aristotle having been the first) (Levy 1957). The Europeans called him the “Prince of Physicians.” They put him in high regard, venerating him with an esteemed status similar to that given to Hippocrates and Galen.
Artist’s perception of Ibn Sina
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References and Further Reading
Afnan, S. M. (1958). Chapter 2. Life and works of Avicenna. In Avicenna. His life (980–1037) and work (pp. 30–45). London: Allen and Unwin Ltd., Publishers.
Amr, S. S., & Tbakhi, A. G. (2007). Arab and Muslim physicians and scholars. Ibn Sina (Avicenna): The prince of physicians. Annals of Saudi Medicine, 27, 134–135.
Anawati, G. C. (1950). Essai de bibliographie avicenniene (Muallafat Ibn Sina). Cairo: Dar al-Ma’arif.
Goodman, L. E. (2006). Chapter 1. Life, time, writing: 2. Ibn Sina’s youth and education. In Avicenna (pp. 11–19). Updated Edition. Ithaca/London: Cornell University Press.
Hajdu, S. I., & Darvishian, F. (2010). Diagnosis and treatment of tumors by physicians in antiquity. Annals of Clinical and Laboratory Science, 40, 386–390.
Levy, R. (1957). Avicenna – His life and times. Medical History, 1, 249–261.
McGinnis, J. (2010). Chapter 1. Avicenna’s intellectual and historical milieu. Avicenna’s life and work. In Great medieval thinkers: Avicenna (pp. 16–17). New York: Oxford University Press.
Pope, A. U. (1955). Avicenna and his cultural background. Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, 31, 318–333.
Sarton, G. (1955). Avicenna – Physician, scientist and philosopher. Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, 31, 307–317.
Shoja, M. M., & Tubbs, R. S. (2007). The disorder of love in the Canon of Avicenna (A.D. 980–1027). The American Journal of Psychiatry, 164, 228–229.
Shoja, M. M., Tubbs, R. S., Loukas, M., Khalili, M., Alakhbarli, F., & Cohen-Gadol, A. A. (2009). Vasovagal syncope in the Canon of Avicenna. The first mention of carotid artery hypersensitivity. International Journal of Cardiology, 134, 297–301.
Smith, R. D. (1980). Avicenna and the Canon of Medicine. A millennial tribute. The Western Journal of Medicine, 133, 367–370.
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Amr, S.S. (2017). Avicenna (980–1037). In: van den Tweel, J.G. (eds) Pioneers in Pathology. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41995-4_3940
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