Death of a medical colossus: The course, cause and fatal outcome of Avicenna's colic

Herbert L DuPont; Mohammad M Sajadi; Philip A Mackowiak

doi:10.1016/j.amjms.2022.12.030

Death of a medical colossus: The course, cause and fatal outcome of Avicenna's colic

Am J Med Sci. 2023 May;365(5):409-412. doi: 10.1016/j.amjms.2022.12.030. Epub 2023 Jan 4.

Authors

Herbert L DuPont¹, Mohammad M Sajadi², Philip A Mackowiak³

Affiliations

¹ The University of Texas School of Public Health and the McGovern School of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
² The Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
³ The Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. Electronic address: philip.mackowiak@va.gov.

PMID: 36608846
DOI: 10.1016/j.amjms.2022.12.030

Abstract

Abu-'Ali al-Husayn ibn Abdallah ibn-Sina (known in the West as Avicenna) is revered in much of Asia as one of history's greatest physicians. And yet, few westerners know of him, his iconic Canon of Medicine or the role he played in preserving ancient Greek medical knowledge following the sack of Rome. We briefly review Avicenna's impressive legacy and provide what to our knowledge is the first critical examination of the illness responsible for his death at age 58 years.

Publication types

Historical Article
Review

MeSH terms

Asia
Colic*
History, Medieval
Humans
Male
Medicine*
Medicine, Arabic*
Middle Aged
Physicians*