A History of Indian Medical Literature v1.c24.77

v1.c24.77

The subjects are: the total number, namely 107, of the marmans; their number in the various parts of the body: eleven in each leg and arm, three in the abdomen, nine in the chest, fourteen in the back, thirty-seven in neck and head (4.1–2ab);¹¹² the location of the marmans of legs and arms, their names, and the effects of injury (4.2cd–9); the same concerning the marmans of the trunk (4.10–17ab), back (4.17cd–26ab), neck and head (4.26–37ab);¹¹³ a marman is a place where uneven throbbings (spandana) are found and where pain occurs on pressure; it is a meetingplace of muscular tissue (māṃsa), osseous tissue (asthi), snāyus, dhamanīs, sirās and jūnctures (sandhi); life (jīvita) is dependent on the integrity of the marmans; they are divided into six groups according to their predominant structural element, but they form one whole as seats of the vital breaths (prāṇāyatana) (4.37cd–39);¹¹⁴ the ten māṃsamarmans, eight asthimarmans, twenty-three snāyumarmans, nine dhamanīmarmans, thirty-seven sirāmarmans, and twenty sandhimarmans (4.40–45ab);¹¹⁵ some adhere to a partly different classification (4.45cd–46);¹¹⁶ the effects of injury to each of the six groups of marman (4.47–51); the nineteen marmans which are sadyaḥprāṇahara, the thirty-three which are kālāntaraprāṇahara, the three which are viśalyaghna, the forty-four which are vaikalyakara, and the eight which are rujākara; the effects of injury to each of these five groups (4.52–59);¹¹⁷ the sizes of the marmans (4.60–63a);¹¹⁸ according to another opinion, the size of the marmans is like that of a sesamum or rice grain (4.63bc);¹¹⁹ the four groups of sirās, mentioned previously,¹²⁰ form part of marmans; injury to these marmans leads therefore to serious disorders, which may end in death (4.63d–66ab); the treatment of injury to these marmans (4.66cd–67); the danger of injury to marmans; treatment with caustics, poisonous substances and cautery should be avoided (4.68–70).