Medicine & Surgery
Surgical anaesthesia and antiseptic-like practice
1st millennium BCE-CESushruta traditionSushruta SamhitaPan-Indian / unspecified
1,000 BCE
Use of wine/cannabis to dull pain before surgery, and fumigation of the operating space.
- Dated
- 1,000 BCE–1000
- As scholars put it
- 1st millennium BCE-CE
- Originator
- Sushruta tradition
- Source text
- Sushruta Samhita
- Region
- Pan-Indian / unspecified
- Discipline
- Medicine & Surgery
- Evidence
- Plausible precursor
- Confidence
- Medium
- Verification
- Reference-cited
Meanwhile in the West
Modern anaesthesia (19th c.) and antisepsis (Lister) are far more advanced.
Fair to say
These are rudimentary precursors, not modern anaesthesia or germ theory.
Path to modern innovation
Early attention to pain control and cleanliness.
Transmission
Ancient practice, not a direct line to modern methods.
Primary sources
- 3An English translation of the Sushruta samhita, based on original Sanskrit text. Edited and published by Kaviraj Kunja Lal Bhishagratna. With a full and comprehensive introd., translation of different readings, notes, comperative views, index, glossary and platesUnreviewed
- 4Sushruta SamhitaUnreviewed
References
- 1Sushruta Samhita
Further reading
Corrections and additional sources: edit IND-036 on GitHub.