A History of Indian Medical Literature v3.c44.s48.24

v3.c44.s48.24

Noteworthy in the field of nosology are the following features. The swelling at the root of the ear, usually said to arise at the end of a saṃnipāta fever, 318 may be found in the initial, middle, and last phase of a fever according to the Vaidyavinoda (1.67). The verses on śotha mention swelling (śotha) arising from śigru (10.56) and bhallātaka (10.58). A new disorder, not mentioned in other sources, is munnatākhyaroga (12.79–82); it is described as a venereal disease characterized by induration and swelling of the prepuce (liṅgacarman), which is caused by sexual intercourse with an affected female. Another infectious disease is kuṣṭha (13.15); the lepromatous type, in which the tip of the nose may become deformed (nāsikāgrimavibhāgavibhaṅga) or parts of the fingers lost (aṅgulivigalana), is called galatkuṣṭha (13.56). Udarda and śītapitta are regarded as synonyms (13.67). 319 A special form of visphoṭa is sūryasaṃkrāntivisphoṭa (13.129–132), 320 in which the recitation of the śītalāmantra is recommended, along with other remedial measures. Śītalā, also called oṣa, is said to be of four types: takrā, orikā, ākasmikā, and śītalā (13.140–158). The term masūrikā seems to be employed as a synonym of oṣa (13.154). 321 Diseases of the nail bed are viṣa (14.33) and pūtinakha (14.37) or nakhakoṭipūtibhāva (14.35). In the section on diseases of the ears, an instrument is described that can be used in extracting foreign matter from the ear (the pannaṅgī- yantra, shaped like the hood of a serpent: 15.19–20).