English
Por the characteristics of the ‘srota' and ‘dhaman'i, differ from those of ‘dra* How ? Por the ‘siras’ have main central trunks and their action is also otherwise. In the medical science, they are mentioned separately. Only because they are situated close to each other,, they are minute and there is some similarity in their action, therefore in spite of their dissimilar activities, they are often confounded with each other. Susruta III. 9. 2*®. ‘‘There are two vital streams— srota : their main bearers (mulasthana) are the heart and chyle-carrying tubes (lacteals and thoracic duct);, if they are penetrated (by any wound), involun¬ tary cries, syncope, hallucination, illusion and trembling appear and death might even take 33. ^trfwwT I cTtt 1% ^ i vrafh 11^ 5 66 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE place, AlimeataTT canals are two and their bearers are the intestine and the lacteals : if they are penetrated, pain, loss of appetite, vomit- ins thirst, blindness or immediate death take place. Serous {^ldaka) tubes are two and their bearers are HZdu' (between the meningeal mem¬ branes surrounding the central nervous system) and the ‘kloma' {pleura) ; if they are penetrated, thirst and immediate death take place. Chyle¬ carrying tubes are two and their main bearers are the heart and the chyle-carrying vessels (the lacteals and the thoracic duct); if they are penetrated, there is edema or immediate death with symptoms the same as if the heart and the main arteries are Avounded. The blood-vessels are two (the hepatic artery and the portal vein) and their main bearers are the liver and the spleen, and the blood-vessels ; if the sources of the two vessels (the liver and the spleen) are penetrated, there are paleness of the skin or jaundice, fever, burning sensation, bleeding and redness of the nose. Sti’eams of circulating protein {mamsavaha) are two and their main sources are ligaments, skin and the blood-vessels; if their main sources iire penetrated, edema, emaciation, vascular obstruction and even death might take place. The urine-bearing tubes are PHYSIOLOGY 67 two, the bladder aud the penis ; if their main sources are penetrated, there are suppression of the urine in the bladdei’, anuria and paralysis (insensibility) of the penis. The feces-carrying tubes are two ; their sources are the intestine and the anus ; if they are penetrated, there are constipation, offensive odor, and the tying down of the entrails (antra-ih.Q bowel). The seminal tubes are two : their sources are the mamma and the testicles ; if they are penetrated impo¬ tence, difficulty in seminal discharge take place. The ovarian {m'ttava-vaha) tubes are two : their sources are the matrix and the ova-carrying tubes (the ovi-ducts —Fallopian tubes) ; if they are penetrated, sterility, pain in copulation and amenorrhea take place.” Susnita III. 9. 12^ I K5- in’ll' i in’s' 3T I v', 3^lig’ cfl^ Sil? 3 ; 33 Mint:; 33 ^ 3 : flr’!!3?fe33 m’a' 3fsSTTf3 31 C, 1:31311^33 3II3;; 33 ^3131^31 ^ 3I’f3r ^lf^f3333 <313331 3f3 I 3i’S3f C, 33t^3l' ^igt33' <313113 3*13: J 33 f3W 333in'3^3: 31 I l}^- 68 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE Here of course Susruta has used ‘s>'ota’ in the generic sense of what are described in modern anatomy as tubes, ducts, canals and cavities. III.—The Nervous System “The normal ‘vai/n’ (nervous system) is the regulator of the physical mechanism. The nerves are of 6ve kinds, ‘Pram, apana, samana, nclana and vyana! It carries out the physical attempts (muscular contractions), ’reveals the senses and is the carrier of the sense-perceptiona as the impression, taste, smell, touch and hear¬ ing. It is the strengthener of the bodily ele¬ ments {dhatu) and the co-ordinator of the bodily organs. It activates speech, bases of sound and hearing and is the main cause of the consciousness ^ ^ feJiyiWT firtirer i ; us us fs^rurft ufuspaui v i ^ ^ ; UU fsSVJ sBIScTT ftuu ^ i SSt ^ > U^- urasuraiv i i m^fufu i PHYSIOLOGY 69 of sound and touch. It is the source of pleasure and cheerfulness. It increases the digestive fire and eliminates from the body all the waste- products.” Cliaraha 1. 12. 7®^ “The *prana’ nerves {eei'ehrospinal) are locat¬ ed in the brain, thorax, ears, tongue, face and nose. Spitting, sneezing, vomiting, respiration and digestion are the functions of the ^pruna- mytC. 'Udana’ nerves (cervical, thoracic and brachial plexus) are located in the umbilicus, thorax and in the neck ; speaking, exertions, heat, strength and complexion are its activities, ‘SamZma' nerves {vasodilator) are located in the sudoriferous glands and ducts, and in the lymphatics ( amvu. ) It being situated by the side of the digestive fire (bileduct ?), it increases digestive fire. ‘Vyana’ (motor) nerves are spread over the entire body. Their conduetion is very rapid. By '‘vyandZ nerves, walking, extension, movements of the hands and feet, contraction 36 . It 70 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE • (of muscles), the twinkling of the eyes and other activities are accomplished. Apana (automatic or sympathetic) nerves are located in the testi¬ cles, bladder, reproductive organs, umbilicus (abdomen), knee, hip and the anus. The apana nerves residing in the bowels, cause the elimi¬ nation of semen, urine and feces and the expul¬ sion of the ova and the fetus.” Charaka VI. 28. 4-9®'. “The brain is the centre of the senses.” Smnita III. 3. 18 “The ten nerves {dhamani) of the upper, 36 . 37. WRisrawr?: ii fV RTVtKl PIPf. 5®'StJircfi’5!r( 1 II ^sitqraspnff 3 ^t: ^pT%m t ii f^JTR^r '§ii?iir ii sir.’c qi^f^p^m’liPTrs ^ II PHYSIOLOGY 71 extremities, by activating sound, touch, impres¬ sions, taste, smell, respiration, sighing, yawning, hunger, laughing, speech, and crying, maintain the body. •••Two (auditory) carry sound; two (optic) carry impressions ; two (lingual) carry taste and two (olfactory) carry smell. By two man speaks, by two makes (vocal) sound, by two he is asleep and by two he is awakened.” Susruta III. 9. 4®*. “Man sleeps when sense-organs cease to operate, being tired by the fatigue of the mind.” CharaJca 1. 21. ‘•Memory is caused by the following eight causes ;—Broin the cause of impressions, (their) similarities and dissimilarities, co-ordination of the mind, practice, consciousness, concentration (of attention), what is remembered fronn repeti- 38. ctcn a ‘ajej I cjRpg ^ictrMTi=h w ^ fwr I i ’ti’g feivi ^ i 3y. 72 ANCIENT HINDU MEDICINE * tion of sight, hearing or perception (as tasting or smelling), is called the memory.” Charaka IV. 1. 117-118‘®. “The side-way four (cutaneous) nerves, branching into hundreds and thousands, they have become countless. They open in the hair follicles by which they carry the sweat {sveda) and sebaceous secretion (rasa). By these secre¬ tions the internal and external body is moistened and ref reshed... By them the pleasure and pain of touch are felt.” Susruta III. 9. 8**. 40. i II J JRR •T ai<|Jldf: II 41. firsispn’aFg sicwi cirag#' i5t: I fnrnfe' aflf i crrer jzwifct 1 (tTvcT^j w?i; ^TTJrai: iic PHYSIOLOGY 73 “The waste-products {mala) of digested ali¬ ment, are the feces and the urine.,of lymph mucous exudation, of blood, the bile, of flesh, as the wax in the ear-tube (sebaceous secretions), of fat the sweat, of bones the nails and hair, of bone-marrow wax in the eye-pits, and of the skin oil (sebaceous fatty secretion). 1.46.650^“. Kapha (lymph ), pitta ( bile = oxidation ) and ^ayii (air=nerves) maintain the body as the moon, the sun and the air vitalize the earth by their activities of humidity (of the moon), heat (of the sun) and the conduction of heat and cold ( by the air current). Siisruta 1.21. 8*®. The above quotations tend to prove that the ancient Hindu schools of medicine believed that the body was nourished by the lymph and the blood formed out of the chyle during its passage within the liver and the spleen, was the medium of circulation and the nerves acted as tlie conduc¬ tor of sense-perceptions of which the brain was the centre. In the Hippocratic writings we find almost • 42 . ftTi ira: i ^ It': 43. 74 ANCIENT HINDU 3IEDICINE similar views, though with less clearness and positive assertions. In ‘peri antliroporf' 4-6( = the nature of man), there are four ground principles—the blood {aima), phlegm {phlerinia), yellow bile (cholen xcinthen) and black bile {cholen melainmi), which are described to be mixed and to circulate in the body. In the ‘peri noison to teta7'ton= the fourth book of the Maladies 33), only bile is mentioned without any qualification and for the otheg bile^water {ndi'ops) is substituted. “The sources ^ for the blood are the heart, for- the phlegm the brain, for the water the spleen, for the bile a section of the liver.” 33. They are introduced into the system with the ingested food and drink, containing these principles ( pet'i noison IV. 35-38). Many glands {peri adenoti = g\n.i\ds 1-10 ) as the tonsil, mamma, lymphatic ganglions in the neck, arm-pit and groin as well as the brain, have been mentioned but not the pancreas, testicles or ovaries. The function of the glands is to absorb the superfluous liquid in the body and thus to preserve the bodily equilibrium. The largest and the most important gland par '•excellence was supposed to be the brain and its func¬ tion was to pump and distribute the liquid in all .parts of the body according to the organic needs. PHYSIOLOGY 75 Galen distinguished between the ra-teries and the veins. According to him the blood was formed in the liver and it was sent to the heart for the distribution in all parts of the body after the volatilized(air = the spirit = the soul)- has been separated.