[Diseases of the pericardium in Avenzoar's Kitab al-Taysir (c.1095-1162)].

Avenzoar has been credited as the author of the first description of inflammation of the pericardium in medical historical literature. Our study shows that although Avenzoar authored a study of diseases of the pericardium with emphasis on pathologies, his epistemological framework was similar to that used by Galen and Avicenna, authors who constituted the source of knowledge for Islamic medicine. We show that the approach used by Avenzoar appears to derive from the absence of anatomical and physiological information, and from a detailed description of the indications and treatments, which distinguish his work from earlier writings.