Avicenna’s Medicine

In addition to be the first physician to perform an appendectomy, he also broke fresh ground with his highly successful treatments for illnesses such as cataracts, diabetes and schizophrenia which up to that point had been deemed untreatable. In Avicenna’s traditional medicine, the body is made up of 4 humours (sanguineous, bilious, serious and atrabilious) which vary in proportion according to a person’s physical and psychological characteristics and each of the 4 main elements (fire, air, water and earth) are present in each humour to varying proportions. Each organ, illness, food, plant and even animals, seasons and places were ascribed a humour. A person becomes ill when their humours are out of balance. So, in short, Avicenna’s traditional medicine, a total method, is predicated upon physical and mental balance. The doctor first identifies your type of humour imbalance and works to restore balance.

1. Nourishment Treatment

According to Avicenna, each person is nourished in 8 ways (food, smell, sound, sight, thought, touch, sex and socially).

Your doctor will inquire into your nourishment habits and ensure that you make the necessary changes so that your physical and mental balances are restored.

2. Cupping

3. Bloodletting

4. Leeching (Hirudotherapy)