An up-to-date survey of medieval Islamic medicine offering new insights to the role of medicine and physicians in medieval Islamic culture.

Volume 4, translated for the first time in English, contains seven parts. Part 22: On Dysfunctions in Various Parts of the Body, Avicenna gives a detailed analysis of the pain that comes from various physical dysfunctions. Part 23: On Fevers is a famous section of his Canon, often published on its own in the Latin translation. Part 24: On Diagnosis Based on Symptoms includes a discussion on what a medical crisis is and how to deal with it. Part 25: On Swellings and Pimples includes these illnesses as part of Systemic Diseases along with Part 26: On the Loss of Continuity. Part 26 essentially deals with the importance of energy in Avicennian medicine and the resulting illnesses when the movement of energy is disrupted causing a loss of continuity in its flow. Part 27 describes Poisons and Part 28 the Cosmetic Art. Contains an index of the contents indexed by healing properties.

The first contemporary translation of the 1,000-year-old text at the foundation of modern medicine and biology • Presents the actual words of Avicenna translated directly from the original Arabic, removing the inaccuracies and errors of most translators • Explains current medical interpretations and ways to apply Avicenna’s concepts today, particularly for individualized medicine • Reveals how Avicenna’s understanding of the “humors” corresponds directly with the biomedical classes known today as proteins, lipids, and organic acids A millennium after his life, Avicenna remains one of the most highly regarded physicians of all time. His Canon of Medicine, also known as the Qanun, is one of the most famous and influential books in the history of medicine, forming the basis for our modern understanding of human health and disease. It focused not simply on the treatment of symptoms, but on finding the cause of illness through humoral diagnosis—a method still used in traditional Unani and Ayurvedic medicines in India. Originally written in Arabic, Avicenna’s Canon was long ago translated into Latin, Persian, and Urdu, yet many of the inaccuracies from those first translations linger in current English translations. Translated directly from the original Arabic, this volume includes detailed commentary to explain current biomedical interpretations of Avicenna’s theories and ways to apply his treatments today, particularly for individualized medicine. It shows how Avicenna’s understanding of the humors corresponds directly with the biomedical definition of proteins, lipids, and organic acids: the nutrient building blocks of our blood and body. With this new translation of the first volume of his monumental work, Avicenna’s Canon becomes just as relevant today as it was 1,000 years ago.

Volume 5 lists more than 800 pharmacologically tested simple and complex drugs, including plant and mineral substances, with a thorough description of their application and effectiveness. For each one, he described their pharmaceutical actions from a range of twenty-two to thirty possibilities, including resolution, astringency and softening, and their specific properties according to a grid of eleven types of pathological conditions, diseases. This volume not only contains an index of the contents based on healing properties of the 800 natural pharmaceuticals, but in addition a comprehensive 400 page index of all five volumes based on the names of the natural healers and what they heal.

Modern society owes a tremendous amount to the Muslim world for the many groundbreaking scientific and technological advances that were pioneered during the Golden Age of Muslim civilization between the 7th and 17th centuries. Every time you drink coffee, eat a three-course meal, get a whiff of your favorite perfume, take shelter in an earthquake-resistant structure, get a broken bone set or solve an algebra problem, it is in part due to the discoveries of Muslim civilization.

A fascinating persuasive history of how sugar has shaped the world, from European colonies to our modern diets In this eye-opening study, Sidney Mintz shows how Europeans and Americans transformed sugar from a rare foreign luxury to a commonplace necessity of modern life, and how it changed the history of capitalism and industry. He discusses the production and consumption of sugar, and reveals how closely interwoven are sugar's origins as a "slave" crop grown in Europe's tropical colonies with is use first as an extravagant luxury for the aristocracy, then as a staple of the diet of the new industrial proletariat. Finally, he considers how sugar has altered work patterns, eating habits, and our diet in modern times. "Like sugar, Mintz is persuasive, and his detailed history is a real treat." -San Francisco Chronicle