Ancient Indian Surgery- Fundamental and Plastic Surgery Based on Susruta Samhita: Part-1

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Foreword The progress of medical science is a series of observations and discoveries, noted, lost, relearned, and often forgotten. Such is the case of ancient Indian medicine, art and science, highly developed and frequently transmitted by precepts alone for over twenty-five hundred years. Classic Indian medical writings, although known, have not been previously available to those who did not understand the complexities of Sanskrit. The translations of the Susruta by Dr. G. D. Singhal and his colleagues at the Banaras Hindu University appear to provide the first organized and systematic approach to translating this vast amount of medical knowledge into modern terms and expressions. This has been a long and difficult attempt by a number of scholars to translate these ancient verses into modern language without losing the detail and accuracy of the original text. Each chapter is initially summarized and referenced verse by verse. Each verse is presented first in the original Sanskrit and followed by an English translation and in some cases an interpretation. Abundant foot notes and references to Indian terms are included for clarity. It is an easily readable translation. It would appear that attention to detail has provided an accurate account of the original text.

Preface It is a great pleasure to introduce the English translation of Susruta Samhita being brought under the editorship of Dr. G. D. Singhal. Susruta Samhita is one of the important treatises of Ayurveda and has a lot of valuable information among others from the surgical point of view. A diligent search of this treatise reveals the presence of seeds of conceptual thoughts relating to many surgical aspects which are practiced in current period.

Ayurveda has been handed over from generation to generation almost in an uninterrupted continuity. In Susruta Semitone finds a systematized approach and the deeper understanding of this is likely to open new vistas of thought and the present English version is aimed to apprise the modern worker the intricacies present in this great treatise.

The editorial board while translating has also presented a picture of genesis of each concept and its place in the current surgical practice can be easily appreciated through this. This will enable the reader to know its impact on the art and practice of surgery today. The entire work is divided into various sections. almost faithfully based on the original text. The sections purport to highlight the surgical aspects practiced in those days with their relevance to the present day surgical methods, maneuvers and knowledge.

Introduction "The Fundamental and Plastic Surgery Considerations in Ancient Indian Surgery' contains Chapters 1-27 of Sutra-sthana, the first canto of Susruta Samhita. The remaining chapters 28-46 of Sutra- sthana are contained in the next volume on Pharmaceutical Considerations in Ancient Indian Surgery'.

**Contents and Sample Pages**