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Ibn Sina and the clinical trial

Ibn Sina and the clinical trial

By Mohammad M. Sajadi, Davood Mansouri, and Mohamad-Reza M. Sajadi

Annals of Internal Medicine, Vol. 150 no. 9 (2009)

Abstract: Approximately 1000 years ago, a physician by the name of Ibn Sina, known in the West as “Avicenna,” wrote seven conditions for “The recognition of the strengths of the characteristics of medicines through experimentation.” Ibn Sina proposed applying logic to the testing of drugs, and in doing so, he wrote the earliest known treatise related to clinical trials. This article presents an overview and the historical context of Ibn Sina’s life and work. In addition, the authors provide a translation of his treatise on drug testing and discuss its similarity to modern concepts of pharmacology and clinical trials.

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