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Hindu Achievements in Exact Science: A Study in the History of Scientific Development c20.s4: (d) Circulation of Blood

Hindu Achievements in Exact Science: A Study in the History of Scientific Development c20.s4

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(d) Circulation of Blood

c20.s4.1

In Europe, previous to Harvey's epoch-making discovery (1628), "the movement of the blood was believed to be confined to the veins, and was thought to be a to-and-from movement." (Halliburton).

c20.s4.2

The Hindus knew that the heart (1) receives the chyle-"essence," i.e., venous blood, (2) sends it down to the liver, where it is transformed into red blood, and (3) gets it back as red blood from the liver.

c20.s4.3

There was thus the idea of a *chakra* or wheel, i.e., self-returning circle of "circulation."⁵⁹

c20.s4.4

But the Hindus did not understand the process clearly. (1) They did not know that the pathway of the blood round and round the body is a "double circle," i.e., "systemic" circulation and "pulmonary" circulation. (2) Neither Charaka nor Sushruta, therefore, understood the function of the lungs in the oxygenation of blood. This was not known to the ancients in Europe also, e.g., to Galen (A.D. 130).

c20.s4.5

The Harveyan Circulation was thus not anticipated by the Hindus. The Hindu conception of the vascular system is given below:
(1) There are two classes of blood-conductors (i) *shira* or artery (?) and (ii) *dhamanee* or vein (?),
(2) The heart is connected with the liver by both,
(3) The *dhamanees* bring the impure blood (venous) from the heart into the liver, and the *shiras* conduct the pure (arterial) blood from the liver into the heart.

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