[Avicenne's Pharmacopoeia].

This title comes from the one given by Ibn Sina - Avicenna in the West - to volume V of his work Al-Qanun fil'tibb or The Canon of medicine. Ibn Sina's works constitute a very important legacy and this is confirmed by volumes II ans V of The canon in particular. Volume II deals with basic drugs: it details some 800 monographs covering the plant, the animal and the mineral kingdoms. Volume V, under the title of Aqrabadin (i.e. pharmacopoeia), deals with complex drugs; 434 formulae are recorded in its part 1 and 162 in part 2. In this volume Ibn Sina describes many galenics like theriacas, electuaries, hieras, syrups, suppositories and sublingual tablets, together with "diachylon" plasters. All these confections were tried by the author who also mentions the expiry date of drugs and recommends their sensible use.