The Canon of Medicine

Book excerpt: Vol. 2: Published for the first time in English alphabetical order, vol. 2 (of the 5 original volumes) of "Canon of Medicine" (Law of Natural Healing), is an essential addition to the history of medicine as it holds a treasure of information on natural pharmaceuticals used for over 1000 years to heal various diseases and disorders. Fully color illustrated with a 150 page, 7000 word index of the healing properties of each of the entries, the text itself is an alphabetical listing of the natural pharmaceuticals of the simple compounds. By simple compounds, Avicenna includes the individual plants, herbs, animals and minerals that have healing properties. Avicenna lists 800 tested natural pharmaceuticals including plant, animal and mineral substances. The compiler has included the Latin, Persian and Arabic names of the drugs along with artistic renderings of the drugs as illustrations as well as Avicenna's Tables or Grid for each entry that describes the individual, specific qualities of simple drugs.