Medicine & Surgery
Systematic surgery: ~300 procedures, ~120 instruments
1st millennium BCE-CESushruta (attrib.)Sushruta SamhitaPan-Indian / unspecified
1,000 BCE
A classification of surgical operations and instruments, plus training methods (practising on gourds and wax).
- Dated
- 1,000 BCE–1000
- As scholars put it
- 1st millennium BCE-CE
- Originator
- Sushruta (attrib.)
- Source text
- Sushruta Samhita
- Region
- Pan-Indian / unspecified
- Discipline
- Medicine & Surgery
- Evidence
- Documented
- Confidence
- High
- Verification
- Reference-cited
Meanwhile in the West
Comparable systematisation in Europe came far later.
Fair to say
Efficacy of specific ancient procedures is not being claimed.
Path to modern innovation
An early framework for surgical practice and instrumentation.
Transmission
Knowledge partly reached the Islamic world (e.g. Al-Razi cites Indian medicine).
Primary sources
- 4An 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
- 5Sushruta SamhitaUnreviewed
References
- 1Sushruta Samhita
- 2Wujastyk
Further reading
Corrections and additional sources: edit IND-031 on GitHub.