A History of Indian Medical Literature v1.c23.123

v1.c23.123

The subjects are: disorders to be treated by means of excision (chedya), incision (bhedya), scarification (lekhya), puncturing (vedhya), probing (eṣya), extraction (āhārya), drainage (srāvya), and suturing (sīvya) (25.3–17ab);270 contra-indications for suturing (25.17cd–18ab); wound toilet before suturing (25.18cd–19); the technique of suturing and the materials to be used (25.20–21); various types of suturing: vellitaka (curved),271 gophaṇikā (reinforcing), 272 tunnasevanī (a suture of the darning type), 273 ṛjugranthi (interrupted), 274 etc. (25.22); the three types of suturing needles (sūcī): circular (vṛttā), straight (āyatā), and semicircular (dhanurvakrā); the uses of these types (25.23–25ab); the correct distance to be observed in making a suture (25.25cd–26); 275 after-treatment: dressing, powdering (pratisāraṇa) and bandaging (25.27–28); the four misfortunes (vyāpad) of surgical interventions: incisions that are too small (hīna), too large (atirikta), or slanting (tiryañc), and self-injury on the part of the physician as the fourth type (25.30); complications due to errors of the surgeon (25.31–32); the signs of injury to vital spots in general (marman), sirās, snāyus, junctures (sandhi), bones, and māṃsamarman (25.33–40); self-injury (25.41); care to be taken with regard to sharp instruments (25.42); the importance of trust (viśvāsa) on the part of the patient (25.43–44); the praise of a reliable physician (25.45); the occasional necessity of having recourse to more than one surgical intervention (25.46).