Studies in the Medicine of Ancient India, Part I: Osteology, or the Bones of the Human Body c6.s2.t6: § 33. Continuation

Studies in the Medicine of Ancient India, Part I: Osteology, or the Bones of the Human Body c6.s2.t6

Language: English

§ 33. Continuation

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1. The result of the discussion in the preceding paragraphs (§§ 30-2) is the reduction of the total of the bones, as enumerated in the Traditional Recension, from 300 to 290.

| Total of Traditional Recension (§ 27) . | . | 300 |
| Add 2 shoulder-blades and 2 eyes (§ 30) | . | 4 |
| | Total . | 304 |
| Deduct 4 bases, 4 clusters, 2 ankle-bones, | | |
| 2 wrist-bones (§ 31) . | . | 12 |
| Also deduct 2 heels (§ 32) . | . | 2 |
| | | 14 |
| | Balance | 290 |

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2. This resultant shortage of ten bones, of course, must be compensated in some way. A comparison of the lists of Charaka and Suśruta, as shown in the subjoined Table, suggests a solution of the difficulty.

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| | Charaka (§ 7). | Suśruta (§ 27). |
| 1. Teeth . | 32 | 32 |
| 2. Sockets of teeth | 32 | — |
| 3. Nails . | 20 | — |
| 4. Phalanges . | 60 | 60 |
| 5. Long bones . | 20 | 20 |
| 6. Clusters, or bases . | 4 | 4 |
| 7. Ankle-bones and wrist-bones | 8 | 8 |
| 8. Heels . | 2 | 2 |
| 9. Legs and forearms. | 8 | 8 |
| 10. Knees and elbows . | 4 | 4 |
| 11. Thighs and arms . | 4 | 4 |
| 12. Shoulder-blades | 2 | 2 |
| 13. Collar-bones | 2 | 2 |
| 14. Back and pelvis . | 45 | 35 |
| 15. Breast . | 14 | 8 |
| 16. Ribs, &c. | 72 | 72 |
| 17. Neck and windpipe | 16 | 13 |
| 18. Palate . | 2 | 1 |
| 19. Facial bones | 4 | 9 |
| 20. Temples . | 2 | 2 |
| 21. Cranial bones | 4 | 6 |

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³ The diverging items in the two lists are Nos. 2, 3, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21. From among these, No. 3, nails, has no place

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in the system of Suśruta, and the divergences in Nos. 2, 14, 17, 19, 21 depend on differences of anatomical theory which will be satisfactorily explained in the Third Section. There remain Nos. 15 and 18. It is noteworthy that these are precisely the two items in which the Traditional Recension agrees with the list of Vāgbhaṭa I (Nos. 13, 24 in § 37). Seeing that in two other points, already mentioned in § 31, the Traditional Recension has been unfavourably influenced by the list of Vāgbhaṭa I, it suggests itself as probable that in these two items also the same influence has been at work in causing the numbers eight and one to be adopted for the bones of the breast and palate respectively. As regards No. 18, palate, the list of Charaka gives two as the number of the bones of the palate; and there is no apparent reason why Suśruta should be credited with changing it in his list (see § 67). As to No. 15, we have a significant hint in the Non-medical Version of Ātreya’s list of the bones (§ 16). The genuine list of Ātreya, as handed down by Charaka and Bheḍa, has only fourteen bones for the breast (No. 24 in §§ 4, 12, and No. 21 in § 7). The Non-medical Version of that list must have obtained its false number seventeen from some extraneous medical source; and it suggests itself that this source can have been no other than the list of Suśruta, as it stood at the time when the Non-medical Version was composed.

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4. From these considerations it appears very probable that the original and genuine recension of the list of Suśruta allotted seventeen bones to the breast and two to the palate, instead of eight and one—the numbers which we now find in the Traditional Recension. The difference between these two sets of numbers (17 + 2 = 19, and 8 + 1 = 9) is ten, that is to say, precisely the number we require to make good the shortage that results from the adjustments discussed in §§ 30-2. This coincidence tends to confirm the conclusion that the list of Suśruta, in its genuine form, must have given seventeen bones to the breast, and two bones to the palate.

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§ 34. Restored Recension of Suśruta’s Statement

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1. We are now in a position to sum up the defects of the Traditional Recension, and restore what must have been the genuine form of the list of Suśruta.

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2. The Traditional Recension is wrong in the following five points:

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(a) It contains two misreadings (§ 29); viz. abdomen (*udara*) for shoulder (*aṃsa*), and the phrase ‘what is called collar-bone’ (*akṣaka-saṃjñā*) for ‘collar-bone and shoulder-blade’ (*akṣakāṃsaja*).

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(b) It omits four bones; viz. the two shoulder-blades and the two eyeballs (§ 30).

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(c) It gives the aggregate of its Nos. 2, 3, 4 wrongly as ten, instead of seven (§ 31), resulting in the wrong aggregate, thirty, for the bones of a lower extremity, instead of twenty-seven.

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(d) It counts wrongly four heels, instead of two (§ 32), resulting in the false aggregate 120 of the bones of the four extremities, instead of 106.

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(e) It counts wrongly eight bones of the breast, and one bone of the palate, instead of seventeen and two respectively (§ 33). And these false counts, together with those named in lit. *b*, result in the wrong aggregates 117 of the bones of the trunk, and 63 of the neck and head (§ 27), instead of 128 and 66 respectively.

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3. Accordingly, the genuine statement of Suśruta must have run as follows, the restorations being in *italics*:

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‘The professors of General Medicine speak of three hundred and sixty bones; but books on Surgical Science know only of three hundred. Of these there are one hundred and six in the extremities; one hundred and twenty-eight in the pelvic cavity, sides, back, *shoulder*, and breast; and from the neck upwards, *sixty-six*. In this wise the total of the three hundred bones is made up. Now in each toe of the foot there are three bones; this makes altogether fifteen. Those bones which constitute the sole, cluster, and ankle are *seven*. In the heel there is one; there is also one in the thigh. Thus there are twenty-seven bones in one lower limb. The same count applies to the other lower limb, and similarly to the two upper limbs. In the pelvic cavity there are five bones. Of these there are four in the anus, pubes, and hips; and the fifth constitutes the triangular sacrum. There are thirty-six bones in one side, and as many in the other. In the back there are thirty; seventeen in the breast; two each in the *collar-bone* and *shoulder-blades*; nine in the neck; four in the windpipe, and two in the jaws. The teeth number thirty-two. In the nose there are three bones; two in the palate; one each in either cheek, *eye*, ear, and temple; and six in the cranium.’ (Original Text in § 89.)

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4. The genuine list of bones as thus restored is shown in the subjoined Table:

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I. Four Extremities.

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| 1. Phalanges (*aṅguli*) | . | . | 15 × 4 = 60 |
| 2. Soles (*tala*) | 5 | | |
| 3. Cluster (*kūrca*) | 1 | | 7 × 4 = 28 |
| 4. Ankle-bone (*gulpha*) | 1 | | |
| 5. Heel (*pārṣṇi*) | . | . | 1 × 2 = 2 |
| 6. Legs (*jaṅgha*) | . | . | 2 × 4 = 8 |
| 7. Knee (*jānu*) | . | . | 1 × 4 = 4 |
| 8. Thighs (*ūru*) | . | . | 1 × 4 = 4 |
| | | | — 106 |

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II. Trunk.

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| 9. Pelvic cavity (*śroṇi*) | . | . | 5 |
| 10. Sides (ribs, *pārśva*) | . | . | 36 × 2 = 72 |
| 11. Back (*pṛṣṭha*) | . | . | 30 |
| 12. Breast (*uras*) | . | . | 17 |
| 13. Collar-bones (*akṣaka*) | . | . | 2 |
| 14. Shoulder-blades (*aṃsaja*) | . | . | 2 |
| | | | — 128 |

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III. Neck and Head.

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| 15. Neck (*grīvā*) | . | . | 9 |
| 16. Windpipe (*kaṇṭhanāḍī*) | . | . | 4 |
| 17. Jaws (*hanu*) | . | . | 2 |
| 18. Teeth (*danta*) | . | . | 32 |
| 19. Nose (*nāsā*) | . | . | 3 |
| 20. Palate (*tālu*) | . | . | 2 |
| 21. Cheeks (*gaṇḍa*) | . | . | 2 |
| 22. Eyeballs (*akṣikośa*) | . | . | 2 |
| 23. Ears (*karṇa*) | . | . | 2 |
| 24. Temples (*śaṅkha*) | . | . | 2 |
| 25. Cranium (*śiras*) | . | . | 6 |
| | | | — 66 |
| Grand total | | | 300 |

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§ 35. Gangādhar's Recension of Suśruta's Statement

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1. Gangādhar's Recension of Suśruta's statement on the skeleton runs as follows:

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‘In the surgical text-book of Suśruta the number of the bones of the human body is given as only three hundred. Of these there are one hundred and eight in the extremities; one hundred and twenty-six in the pelvic cavity, sides, back, collar-bones (akṣa), and breast; and from the neck upwards, sixty-six. In this wise, the total of three hundred is made up. Now in each toe of the foot there are three bones; this makes altogether fifteen. Those bones which constitute the sole, cluster, and ankle are seven. In the heel there is one; in the leg there are two; in the knee there is one; also in the thigh there is one. Thus there are twenty-seven bones in one lower limb. The same count applies to the other lower limb, as well as to the two upper limbs. This makes up a total of one hundred and eight bones. In the pelvic cavity there are five bones; of these there are two in the hips; and the arms, pubes, and sacrum are constituted each of one bone. In one side there are thirty-six bones, and as many in the other. In the back there are thirty; two are in what is called the collar-bone; seventeen in the breast; eleven in the neck; four in the windpipe; and two in the jaws. The teeth number thirty-two. In the nose there are three bones, two in the palate; one each in either cheek, ear, and temple, making together six; and there are six in the cranium. These make altogether sixty-six. Thus the grand total of three hundred is made up. This is the list of the bones of the skeleton.’ (Original Text in § 90.)

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2. The list may be shown in tabular form, thus:

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I. Four Extremities.

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| 1. Phalanges (aṅguli). | . | . | . | 15 × 4 = 60 |
| 2. Soles (tala) | 5 | | | |
| 3. Clusters (kūrca) | 1 | } | . | 7 × 4 = 28 |
| 4. Ankles (gulpha) | 1 | | | |
| 5. Heels (pārṣṇi) | . | . | . | 1 × 4 = 4 |
| 6. Legs (jaṅgha) | . | . | . | 2 × 4 = 8 |
| 7. Knees (jānu) | . | . | . | 1 × 4 = 4 |
| 8. Thighs (ūru) | . | . | . | 1 × 4 = 4 |
| | | | | — 108 |

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II. Trunk.
9. Pelvic cavity (*śroṇi*) . . . . . 5
10. Sides (ribs, *pārśva*) . . . 36 × 2 = 72
11. Back (*pṛṣṭha*) . . . . . 30
12. Breast (*uras*) . . . . . 17
13. Collar-bone (*akṣaka*) . . . . 2 — 126

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III. Neck and Head.
14. Neck (*grīvā*) . . . . . 11
15. Windpipe (*kaṇṭhanāḍī*) . . . . 4
16. Jaws (*hanu*) . . . . . 2
17. Teeth (*danta*) . . . . . 32
18. Nose (*nāsā*) . . . . . 3
19. Palate (*tālu*) . . . . . 2
20. Cheeks (*gaṇḍa*) . . . . 2
21. Ears (*karṇa*) . . . . . 2
22. Temples (*śaṅkha*) . . . . 2
23. Cranium (*śiras*) . . . . 6 — 66 Grand total 300

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3. Comparing the above list with that given in the preceding paragraph, it will be seen at once that it is really an attempt made by Gaṅgādhar to restore the genuine text of the statement of Suśruta. Moreover, it is made on much the same lines, though some of the more important defects of the Traditional Recension have escaped his attention. Thus he still counts four heels, instead of two, and omits the two shoulder-blades; and consequently his aggregates for the four extremities and the trunk are 108 and 126, instead of the true aggregates 106 and 128. He also fails to notice the omission of the two eyeballs; and hence, to make up the required total 300, he wrongly counts eleven neck-bones instead of nine. On the other hand, he rightly recognizes the error of the Traditional Recension in respect of the true number of the clusters and ankle-bones, and thus arrives at the true aggregates seven and twenty-seven, instead of ten and thirty. Similarly he recognizes the error with respect to the number of the bones of the breast and palate, restoring their true numbers seventeen and two, instead of eight and one. Further, he recognizes the misreading *udara*, abdomen, for which, however, he substitutes the insufficient reading akṣa (short for akṣaka), collar-bone.¹ On the other hand, his failure to realize the omission of the shoulder-blades prevented him from recognizing the misreading involved in the phrase akṣaka-samjñā (§ 29).

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¹ Possibly suggested to him by Chandraṭa's revised text; see below, § 40.