Commentary on the Anatomy of the Canon

"Sharh Tashrih al-Qanun" (Commentary on the Anatomy in the Canon) by Ibn al-Nafis, a commentary on the anatomical discussions in the "Canon" of Ibn Sina. The author gathered what Ibn Sina said in the first and third books so that his statements on anatomy would be in one place ¹.

In his introduction Ibn al-Nafis states that what kept him from dissecting himself led him to rely, for the forms of the inner organs, on what those who had dissected before him had said, especially Galen. For the functions of the organs, he relies on reflection and inquiry, and he does not mind whether this agrees with or departs from the view of his predecessors ¹.

The topics begin by dividing the bones according to their function, then according to their cavities and joints. The first sections treat the bones of the skull, jaw and teeth, then the vertebrae of the neck and back ^{2 3}.