What does Al-Qanun Fi Al-Tibb (the Canon of Medicine) say on head injuries?

Neurosurg Rev. 2009 Jul;32(3):255-63; discussion 263. doi: 10.1007/s10143-009-0205-5. Epub 2009 May 13.

Abstract

A historical approach could help in the detection of some viewpoints that cannot be paid attention to or signified by a purely medical one. In this text, the important points of Ibn Sina's (Avicenna) treatise on head injuries have been introduced in light of neurosurgery. The most detailed chapter regarding head injuries in Canon, under the title of "Fracture of the Skull," presents rather detailed knowledge concerning skull fractures and their surgical treatments in the eleventh century and the medical paradigm of that era. Ibn Sina provided extremely systematic knowledge on head traumas along with both his observations and experiences and citations from the writings of the ancient physicians, Galen and Paul of Aegina. Regarding the treatment of skull fractures, Ibn Sina is a real successor of Galen and Paul of Aegina.

Publication types

  • Biography
  • Editorial
  • Historical Article
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Craniocerebral Trauma / classification
  • Craniocerebral Trauma / surgery*
  • History, Medieval
  • Humans
  • Neurosurgery / history*
  • Neurosurgery / instrumentation
  • Skull Fractures / classification
  • Skull Fractures / surgery
  • Surgical Instruments / history

Personal name as subject

  • None Avicenna