as well as descriptions of treatments for each of these conditions that are divided into three steps: 1. change of lifestyle 2. simple medicines 3. compound medicines surgical intervention and other non-pharmacological strategies were also recommended in some cases, such as electrical shocks to treat epilepsy. book 4 special diseases involving more than one member book 4 covers diseases that affect the whole body such as fevers or poisons, or conditions that could happen to any part of it such as wounds or bone fractures. the book "concludes with a treatise on personal hygiene, emphasizing care of the hair, skin, nails, body odor, and the treatment of overweight or underweight persons." in book 4 – as with other ancient islamic medical writings – large sections were devoted to covering fevers in great detail. several types of fevers were distinguished, partly based on the location of the factors causing each specific illness: 1. ephemeral (involving the pneuma) 2. putrid (putrefaction of humoral residues) 3. hectic (occurring in a major organ) each of these classifications were further subdivided: for example, avicenna also listed 23 different types of ephemeral fevers in book 4 of the canon of medicine. book 5 formulary book 5 (the formulary) lists 650 compound drugs,: 23–24 attributing them to various arabic, indian and greek sources. avicenna added his own comments, highlighting differences between recipes from different sources, and sometimes giving his own recipe. he also gave his opinion of the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of some remedies, and gave details of where particular ingredients came from and how they were prepared. he favoured proven remedies which had been tested through experience, cautioning that compounds could have unexpected or much stronger effects than might be expected from the effects of the individual components. legacy and reception a latin copy of the canon of medicine, dated 1484, located at the p.i. nixon medical historical library of the university of texas health science center at san antonio. the qanun was translated into latin as canon medicinae by gerard of cremona. (confusingly, there appear to have been two men called gerard of cremona, both translators of arabic texts into latin. ostler states that it was the later of these, also known as gerard de sabloneta, who translated the qanun (and other medical works) into latin in the 13th century.) the encyclopaedic content, systematic arrangement, and combination of galen's medicine with aristotle's science and philosophy helped the canon enter european scholastic medicine. medical scholars started to use the canon in the 13th century, while university courses implemented the text from the 14th century onwards. the canon's influence declined in the 16th century as a result of humanists' preference in medicine for ancient greek and roman authorities over arabic authorities, although others defended avicenna's innovations beyond the original classical texts. it fell out of favour in university syllabi, although it was still being taught as background literature as late as 1715 in padua. the earliest known copy of volume 5 of the canon of medicine (dated 1052) is held in the collection of the aga khan and is housed in the aga khan museum in toronto, ontario, canada. the earliest printed edition of the latin canon appeared in 1472, but only covering book 3. soon after, eleven complete incunables were published, followed by fourteen more latin editions in the 16th century until 1608. in addition to latin, the canon of medicine was translated into hebrew by nathan ha-meati during the 13th century, and complete translations were also made into turkish and persian during the 18th century. william osler described the canon as "the most famous medical textbook ever written," noting that it remained "a medical bible for a longer time than any other work." george sarton wrote in the introduction to the history of science: "the qanun is an immense encyclopedia of medicine. it contains some of the most illuminating thoughts pertaining to distinction of mediastinitis from pleurisy; contagious nature of phthisis; distribution of diseases by water and soil; careful description of skin troubles; of sexual diseases and perversions; of nervous ailments."