Origin of Medicine & surgery

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Origin of Medicine & surgery In 2001, archaeologists studying the remains of two men from Mehrgarh, Pakistan, made the discovery that the people of Indus Valley Civilization, even from the early

Harappan periods (c. 3300 BC), had knowledge of medicine and dentistry. The physical anthropologist that carried out the examinations, Professor Andrea Cucina from the University of Missouri-Columbia, made the discovery when he was cleaning the teeth from one of the men (see History of medicine). Later research in the same area found evidence of teeth having been drilled, dating back 9,000 years. [2] The science of medicine in ancient India is known as "Ayurveda", literally, "the science of life or longevity" in Sanskrit from "Ayur" (age or life) and "Veda" (knowledge). Ayurveda constitutes ideas about ailments and diseases, their symptoms,

diagnosis and cure, and relies heavily on herbal medicine, including extracts from several plants. This reliance on herbs differentiates Ayurveda from systems like Allopathy and homeopathy. Ayurveda has also always dissociated itself from witch doctors and voodoo. Ancient scholars of India like Atreya [3] and Agnivesa have dealt with principles of Ayurveda as long back as 800 BC. Their works and other developments were consolidated by Charaka into a compendium of Ayurvedic principles and practices, Charaka-Samahita, which remained a standard textbook for almost 2000 years, translated into many languages including Arabic and Latin. It deals with a

variety of matters covering physiology, etiology and embryology, concepts of digestion, metabolism, and immunity. Preliminary concepts of genetics are also mentioned; for example, Charaka theorized that blindness from the birth is not due to a defect in the mother or father, but originates in the ovum and the sperm. Advances in the field of medical surgery were also made in ancient India, including plastic surgery, extraction of cataracts and even dental surgery. The roots of ancient Indian surgery go back to at least circa 800 BC. The medical theoretician and practitioner Sushruta lived around the 6th century BC in Kasi (now called Varanasi). He wrote the medical compendium Shushruta-Samahita describing at least seven branches of surgery: Excision, Scarification, Puncturing, Exploration, Extraction, Evacuation, and Suturing. It also deals with matters like Rhinoplasty (plastic surgery) and ophthalmology (ejection of cataracts). It also focuses on the study the human anatomy by using a dead body. Shushruta also describes over 120 surgical instruments, 300 surgical procedures and classifies human surgery in 8 categories. Because of his seminal and numerous contributions to the science and art of surgery he is also known by the title "Father of Surgery." Susrutha is also the father of plastic surgery and

cosmetic surgery since his technique of forehead flap Rhinoplasty (repairing the disfigured nose with a flap of skin from the forehead) that he used to reconstruct noses that were amputated as a punishment for crimes, is practiced almost unchanged in technique to this day. The Susrutha Samhita contains the first known description of several operations, including the uniting of bowel, the removal of the prostate gland, the removal of cataract lenses and the draining of abscesses. Susrutha was also the first surgeon to advocate the practice of operations on inanimate objects such as watermelons, clay plots and reeds; thus predating the modern practice of the surgical workshop by hundreds of years. Inoculation was practiced in China, India, and Turkey, and was a precursor to vaccination for

smallpox. Yoga is a system of exercise for physical and mental nourishment. Its origins are shrouded in antiquity and mystery. Since Vedic times, the principles and practice of yoga have crystallized. But it was only around 200 BC that the fundamentals of yoga were collected by Patanjali in his treatise Yogasutra ("Yoga-Aphorisms"; see Yoga Sutras of Patanjali). In short, Patanjali surmised that through the practice of yoga, the energy latent within the human body may be released, which has a salubrious effect on the body and the mind. Modern clinical practices have established that several ailments, including hypertension, clinical depression, amnesia, acidity, can be controlled and managed by yogic practices. The application

of yoga in physiotherapy is also gaining recognition.

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