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The ''Suśrutasamhitā'' is an important Sanskrit text on medicine, considered to be one of the earliest major works related to detailed study of medicine and surgery. Written by Sushruta, it is commonly dated to the period of the 6th century BC.〔Dwivedi & Dwivedi (2007)〕〔Lock etc., page 420〕 It is one of the foundational texts of Ayurveda (Indian traditional medicine), alongside the ''Charaka Samhita'', ''Bhela Samhita'', and the medical portions of the Bower Manuscript.〔 The ''Sushruta Samhita'', in its extant form, is divided in 184 chapters and contains descriptions of 1,120 illnesses, 700 medicinal plants, 64 preparations from mineral sources and 57 preparations based on animal sources.〔 The text discusses surgical techniques of making incisions, probing, extraction of foreign bodies, alkali and thermal cauterization, tooth extraction, excisions, and trocars for draining abscess, draining hydrocele and ascitic fluid, the removal of the prostate gland, urethral stricture dilatation, vesiculolithotomy, hernia surgery, caesarian section, management of haemorrhoids, fistulae, laparotomy and management of intestinal obstruction, perforated intestines, and accidental perforation of the abdomen with protrusion of omentum and the principles of fracture management, viz., traction, manipulation, appositions and stabilization including some measures of rehabilitation and fitting of prosthetics. It enumerates six types of dislocations, twelve varieties of fractures, and classification of the bones and their reaction to the injuries, and gives a classification of eye diseases including cataract surgery. The text was translated to Arabic as ''Kitab-i-Susrud'' in the 8th century. ==Contents== Dated to the period of 6th century BC, it was written by Sushruta. Later this work was updated by the 2nd century Buddhist scholar, Nagarjuna. The Sushruta Samhita is divided into two parts, the ''Purva-tantra'' and the ''Uttara-tantra''. Together, the Purva-tantra and Uttara-tantra (apart from Salyya and Salakya) describe the sciences and practices of medicine, pediatrics, geriatrics, diseases of the ear, nose, throat and eye, toxicology, aphrodisiacs and psychiatry. *The Purva-tantra is dedicated to the four branches of Ayurveda. It is divided into five books and 120 chapters. These five books are: * *The Sutra-sthana. * *The Nidana-sthana, dedicated to aetiology, the signs and symptoms of important surgical diseases and those ailments which have a bearing on surgery. * *The Sarira-sthana covers the rudiments of embryology and human anatomy, along with instructions for venesection, the positioning of the patient for each vein, and the protection of vital structures (marma). It also includes the essentials of obstetrics. * *The Kalpa-sthana is mainly Visa-tantra, dealing with the nature of poisons and their management. * *The Chikitsa-sthana describes the principles of management of surgical conditions, including obstetrical emergencies and chapters on geriatrics and aphrodisiacs. *The Uttara-tantra contains the remaining four specialities, namely Salakya, Kaumarabruthya, Kayacikitsa and Bhutavidya. The entire Uttara-tantra has been called Aupadravika, since many of the complications of surgical procedures as well as fever, dysentery, cough, hiccough, krmi-roga, pandu, kamala, etc., are briefly described here. The Salakya-tantra portion of the Uttara-tantra describes various diseases of the eye, the ear, the nose and the head. The Samhita is dedicated to other disciplines as well. Sushruta emphasizes that unless students possess enough knowledge of relevant sister branches of learning, they cannot attain proficiency in their own subject of study. The Samhita represents an encyclopedic approach to medical learning, with special emphasis on Salya and Salakya, and can be thought of as a comprehensive treatise on the entire medical discipline. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sushruta Samhita」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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