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Secondary sourceArtifact

Skeleton System Diagram from the Canon of Medicine

A hand-drawn skeleton diagram based on Avicenna's Canon of Medicine, illustrating the bones of the body.

A skeleton diagram illustrating Avicenna's own teaching on the structure of the human body.

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Hand-drawn manuscript page showing a skeleton diagram in brown ink on aged parchment. A skull-like cranium at top with a spine and ribs, arms and legs outlined. Red and black Arabic or Persian script annotations surround the figure, with some handwritten notes in the lower area.
Skeleton system, Avicenna, Canon of Medicine. Wellcome Collection, United Kingdom.

About this source

What it is

This manuscript page shows a hand-drawn skeleton diagram in brown ink, with a cranium, spine, ribs, arms and legs outlined, surrounded by Arabic and Persian annotations. It illustrates the skeletal system as described in Avicenna's Canon of Medicine and is held by the Wellcome Collection.

Why it matters

This drawing shows how Avicenna's descriptions of the skeleton were turned into teaching images for medical students over the centuries. It is a reminder that much medieval medical learning relied on text explained through hand-copied diagrams rather than photographs or printed charts.

Look closer

  • How accurate does this skeleton look compared to a modern medical drawing?
  • Why do you think handwritten notes were added around the figure?
  • What does the condition of the page tell you about how old and well-used this manuscript might be?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Avicenna on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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An open bound book on a wooden table, showing two pages of handwritten Arabic-script manuscript text in dark ink, with small diagrams of round, clustered shapes on the left page and marginal notes on the right page.Book

Secondary source

Canon of Medicine

Avicenna · 1025

Open book on a tan surface showing a Persian-language title page reading 'Isharat' with the author's name Sheikh al-Ra'is Abu Ali Sina (Avicenna) and a printed photograph of a building on the facing right page. Printed on aged paper.Book

Primary source

Al-Isharat wa al-Tanbihat

Avicenna

Book

Secondary source

Commentary on Anatomy in Avicenna's Canon

Ibn al-Nafis · 13th century

Grayscale drawing of a bearded man in a tall wrapped turban and long robe, holding a long curved stick in one hand and a small object in the other. Faded Arabic script and the number 82 appear at top left.Painting

Secondary source

Avicenna (Subtilties of Truth manuscript image)

Beckwith · 1271

Medieval painting in a green-bordered frame. A bearded man in a blue robe and red cap stands centre. Around him, sick figures in white and blue robes hold flasks, and attendants in red and green stand at left. Blue arcades with red arches sit behind.Painting

Secondary source

Avicenna at the Sickbed

Walenty z Pilzna · c. 1479-1480

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