Studies in the Medicine of Ancient India, Part I: Osteology, or the Bones of the Human Body c7.s1.t8: § 54. Arms and Thighs

c7.s1.t8.1

Bāhu, arm, and ūru, thigh. These two terms are employed by Suśruta (§ 27) and Vāgbhaṭa I (§ 37). Charaka uses the fuller terms bāhu-nalaka, reed-like or hollow bone of the arm, and ūru-nalaka, reed-like, or hollow bone of the thigh (§ 4). All three correctly ascribe to either organ a cylindrical bone, the humerus and the femur respectively, with a hollow shaft, the so-called medullary cavity. See Figs. 4 and 5.