Studies in the Medicine of Ancient India, Part I: Osteology, or the Bones of the Human Body c6.s1.t8.4

c6.s1.t8.4

² The reference is to the 28th chapter of the Introductory Section (*Sūtra Sthāna*) of Charaka’s Compendium. It is there explained that the food taken by man contains a good part (*prasāda*) and a waste part (*kiṭṭa*). The former is assimilated by the system and turned into chyle (*rasa*), which, in its turn, serves to build up the various parts of the body (blood, muscles, bones, &c.). The latter is secreted by the body as its waste products (*mala*), the nails, in particular, being secreted by the bones.