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Avicennia is
named after Ibn Sina (980-1037 AD), a Persian
physician-philosopher who gained fame by curing, at the
tender age of 17, the King of Bukhhara of
an ailment that other physicians were unable to treat. As
a reward, he asked only for permission to use the King's
library. Ibn Sina went on to write an immense encyclopaedia
of the medical knowledge of his time, which remained in
use for the next six centuries. The encyclopaedia included
his own insights into the causes and spread of diseases
and their treatment including tuberculosis, meningitis (he
was the first to describe it), gynaecological and diseases
of childhood. He also wrote an encyclopaedia of other scientific
and philosophical knowledge covering physics, mathematics,
economics and politics. In this, he also added his own insights
into among others, the laws of physics, astronomical measurements
and mathematical verifications. |
