A History of Indian Medical Literature v1.c9.20

v1.c9.20

A disease may serve as the cause of another disease, in which case it is called nidānarthakara or hetvarthakārin; diseases may present themselves as such and remain in that condition, or mainly as the cause of another disease, or they may do both (8.16–23). One cause may lead to one or to several disorders; one disorder may be brought about by diverse factors, and the same factors may also give rise to various diseases (8.24–26). A particular symptom may occur in one disease or many diseases; numerous symptoms are common to various diseases (8.27–29). The same principles apply to treatment; a particular measure may be useful in one or many disorders; one disorder may require one or several measures (8.30–32). The chapter ends with some verses on general aspects of therapy (8.33–41).