Editing The Canon of Medicine (section)

==Legacy and reception==
[[File:Canons of medicine.JPG|thumb|right|A [[Latin]] copy of the ''Canon of Medicine'', dated 1484, located at the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library of the [[University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio]]]]
The ''Qanun'' was translated into Latin as ''Canon medicinae'' by [[Gerard of Cremona]]. (Confusingly, there appear to have been two men called Gerard of Cremona, both translators of Arabic texts into Latin. Ostler states that it was the later of these, also known as Gerard de Sabloneta, who translated the ''Qanun'' (and other medical works) into Latin in the 13th century.)<ref>{{Cite book|title=Ad Infinitum|first=Nicholas|last=Ostler|author-link=Nicholas Ostler|publisher=[[Harper Press]]|year=2009|isbn=978-0007343065 |page=211}}</ref> The encyclopaedic content, systematic arrangement, and combination of Galen's medicine with Aristotle's science and philosophy helped the ''Canon'' enter European [[Scholasticism|scholastic]] medicine. Medical scholars started to use the ''Canon'' in the 13th century, while university courses implemented the text from the 14th century onwards.<ref name=Influence>{{cite web|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/avicenna-xiii|title=Encyclopedia Iranica; The influence of Avicenna on medical studies in the West|access-date=19 December 2013|archive-date=17 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131117003958/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/avicenna-xiii|url-status=live}}</ref> The ''Canon''{{'}}s influence declined in the 16th century as a result of humanists' preference in medicine for ancient Greek and Roman authorities over Arabic authorities, although others defended Avicenna's innovations beyond the original classical texts. It fell out of favour in university syllabi, although it was still being taught as background literature as late as 1715 in Padua.<ref name=Influence/><ref>{{Cite book|title=Avicenna in Renaissance Italy : the Canon and medical teaching in Italian universities after 1500|last=Siraisi|first=Nancy|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=1987|location=Princeton, NJ}}</ref>

The earliest known copy of volume 5 of the ''Canon of Medicine'' (dated 1052) is held in the collection of the Aga Khan and is housed in the [[Aga Khan Museum]] in [[Toronto|Toronto, Ontario, Canada]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.akdn.org/museum/exhibitions_spirit.asp|title=Exhibitions: Spirit and Life – Aga Khan Museum|access-date=16 August 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120620151530/http://www.akdn.org/museum/exhibitions_spirit.asp|archive-date=20 June 2012}}</ref> The earliest printed edition of the Latin ''Canon'' appeared in 1472, but only covering book 3. Soon after, eleven complete [[incunable]]s were published, followed by fourteen more Latin editions in the 16th century until 1608.<ref name=Influence/>

In addition to Latin, the ''Canon of Medicine'' was translated into Hebrew by Nathan ha-Meati during the 13th century, and complete translations were also made into Turkish and Persian during the 18th century.<ref name=":03"/>

[[William Osler]] described the ''Canon'' as "the most famous medical textbook ever written," noting that it remained "a medical bible for a longer time than any other work."<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Evolution of Modern Medicine |first=William |last=Osler |author-link=William Osler |publisher=[[Kessinger Publishing]] |year=2004 |isbn=1-4191-6153-9 |page=71}}</ref>

[[George Sarton]] wrote in the ''Introduction to the History of Science'':<ref>[[George Sarton]], ''Introduction to the History of Science''. ([[cf.]] Dr. A. Zahoor and Dr. Z. Haq (1997). [http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/Introl1.html Quotations From Famous Historians of Science] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080203140704/http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/Introl1.html |date=3 February 2008 }}, Cyberistan.)</ref>
{{blockquote|"The ''Qanun'' is an immense encyclopedia of medicine. It contains some of the most illuminating thoughts pertaining to distinction of mediastinitis from pleurisy; contagious nature of phthisis; distribution of diseases by water and soil; careful description of skin troubles; of sexual diseases and perversions; of nervous ailments."}}