Indian medicine in the Middle Ages. Medical operations in ancient India

In the second half of the 3rd millennium BC. in the river basin The Indus formed the oldest civilization in South Asia. It goes back to the name of one of the rivers in the north-west of the country - Sindhu, which the Iranians called the Hindu, and the Greeks - Indos. This is where the name of the people came from - “Indus” and their country - “Country of the Indians”. Currently, modern states are located on its territory: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal.

The heyday of the Indus culture occurred at the end of the 3rd - beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. Its characteristic features are monumental architecture, planned development of cities, a high level of sanitary improvement, the development of artificial irrigation, crafts, and writing.

Periodization of the history of healing:

1) Indian civilization (XXIII - XVIII centuries BC, Indus River valley) - proto-Indian civilization, the oldest in South Asia.

2) Vedic period (XIII-VI centuries BC, Ganges River valley).

3) Buddhist (V - III centuries BC) and classical (II century BC - V century AD).

Characteristic features of the sanitary period Indus civilization are:

1. monumental architecture,

2. planned development of cities,

3. high level of their sanitary facilities,

4. development of artificial irrigation,

5. development of crafts (ceramics, metal and stone products),

6. creation of proto-Indian writing.

By the size of the territory, the level of urban construction, sanitary improvement, etc. Indus culture was significantly superior to the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia of the corresponding period.

The construction of cities in the Indus Valley was carried out according to a pre-developed plan. In different areas of the city there were wells lined with baked bricks. Residential buildings were also built from baked bricks. Drainpipes went through the thickness of the walls into the city's sewer system. No other ancient civilization Even the Roman one did not have such a perfect drainage system.

At the same time, the splendor of the sanitary and technical structures of the Indus civilization does not characterize the general level of sanitary construction in Ancient India as a whole - in subsequent periods of the history of Ancient India it decreased significantly.

Its causes, according to researchers, were internal phenomena (floods, droughts, depletion of internal resources), and the penetration of more backward tribes into the Indus Valley.

Intelligence about healing of the Vedic period very limited. Thus, in the Rig Veda only three ailments are mentioned: leprosy, consumption, bleeding. Some sections of the Rig Veda contain texts about magical healing rituals - the healing knowledge of the Vedic period was closely intertwined with religious beliefs and magical rituals.

In the Vedic religion there is mythological characters, which are directly or indirectly associated with ideas about healing, health and illness. Agni, the god of fire, was considered an important deity. hearth and home, the mediator between gods and people, and Surya - the deity of the Sun and the all-seeing eye of the gods. The main deity of the Vedic religion was considered Indra - the god of thunder and lightning, king (raja) of the gods, generous patron of people; the embodiment of strength, courage and fertility. Along with good deities in ancient Indian mythology, there were also evil spirits and demons: asuras and rakshasas - enemies of gods and people, as well as pichashas - who brought misfortune, illness, ruin and deprived of offspring.

These ideas are reflected in the Atharva Veda. On the one hand, it reveals the empirical experience of the people in the use of medicinal plants, the action of which was understood as healing power, counteracting evil spirits. On the other hand, diseases in the Atharva Veda are associated with evil spirits or are regarded as punishment from the gods; and the healing of illnesses is explained by the effect of sacrifices, prayers and spells.

Ancient healers that's what they were called - bhisaj(“casting out demons”) This name remained with them for more later periods history of Ancient India, when the healer-exorcist turned into a healer-healer. Over time, ideas about the causes of diseases have also changed. Thus, the Yajurveda mentions the juices of the body.

Only representatives of the three highest varnas had the right to engage in healing and study the Vedas - brahmama (knowing sacred teachings, i.e. priest), kshatriya (endowed with power, i.e. military nobility and members of the royal families - the ruling class, the historical Buddha was a kshatriya) , Vaishyas (free community members, i.e. mainly farmers, cattle breeders, traders). Shudras and pariahs: had practically no rights. They were not allowed to listen and repeat the Vedas.

By the beginning of our era, a highly developed traditional healing system - Ayurveda(ayurveda - the doctrine of long life).

Ayurveda, or Ayurvedic medicine, uses the natural medicines of the region, based on the national philosophical tradition. For two thousand years it has been successfully developing and is highly valued in India and abroad.

In ancient times, the outstanding figures of traditional Indian medicine were the legendary healers Charaka (1st -2nd centuries AD) and Sushruta (around 4th century AD) - the authors of two classical Ayurvedic treatises: “Charaka Samhita” (dated to 1st -2nd centuries AD) centuries AD), which describes the treatment of internal diseases, and “Sushruta Samhita” (dating to the 4th century AD), which is largely devoted to surgical healing.

Representation about the structure of the human body in Ancient India were the most complete in ancient history. The study of corpses in Ancient India was not prohibited by religion and was easily bathed in cleansing baths, touching a sacred cow or looking at the sun.

According to Sushruta, Indian healers believed that the human body consists of six members (head, torso and four limbs), seven membranes, 500 muscles, 900 ligaments, 90 tendons, 300 bones, including teeth and cartilage), which were divided into flat, round, long , 107 joints, 40 main vessels and 700 of their branches (for blood, mucus and air), 24 nerves, nine sense organs and three fluids (mucus, bile and air). Some areas (palm, soles, testicles, groin areas, etc.) were highlighted as particularly important. Their damage was considered life-threatening. At the same time, the ancient Indians did not have a clear idea of ​​the purpose of the brain and believed that the seat of the mind was the heart (similar ideas existed among the ancient Egyptians).

The knowledge of Indian healers in the field of the structure of the human body played a significant role in the development of ancient Indian surgery.

Ideas about the causes of diseases During the classical period the history of Ancient India changed somewhat. Healers began to move away from the supernatural understanding of illness that was dominant in the Vedic period. Man was considered in close connection with the surrounding world, which, according to the ancient Indians, consisted of five elements: earth, air, fire, water and ether. The vital activity of the body was considered through the interaction of three substances: air, fire and water, the carriers of which in the body were considered to be three primary fluids: wind, bile and mucus (mucus - above the heart, bile - between the navel and heart, air - below the navel). From the five elements and three liquids, seven organic products that make up the human body are formed: blood - the first source of life, muscles, fat, bones, brain and male seed.

Wind in nature is the carrier of light, coolness, sound spreading in space, and quickly rushing streams. Inside the human body, the Wind controls blood circulation, digestion, excretion and even metabolism, which involves the active movement of complex molecular biochemical complexes. Accelerating or slowing down the “movement of juices and substances” through the Wind disrupts the normal functioning of the body.

Bile is represented in nature by fire, and in the body it causes “natural heat”, maintains body temperature and ensures the activity of the digestive organs and the activity of the heart muscle.

Phlegm in space and man was associated with all sorts of “soft” substances. It has been compared to a lubricating oil that coats all hard and rough substances and promotes their movement and interaction.

If there is any disturbance in the action of wind, bile and mucus, disease occurs. It is all the more dangerous and difficult, the more deeply the harmony between the three primary elements is disturbed. And the doctor restores health, bringing all three primary elements into the necessary balance through strictly prescribed therapeutic instructions.

Sushruta divided all diseases into natural ones, associated with nature (for example, air causes 80 diseases, bile - 40, mucus - 30), and supernatural, sent by the gods (leprosy, venereal and other infectious diseases, the causes of which were still impossible to understand at that time ).

Diagnosis of diseases was based on a detailed survey of the patient and a study of body warmth, skin and tongue color, discharge, noise in the lungs, voice characteristics, etc. Sushruta describes sugar diabetes, which he identified by the taste of urine.

Treatment of internal diseases most fully presented in the treatise “Charaka Samhita”, which contains information on more than 600 medicines of plant, animal and mineral origin. Their use is reported in eight sections: wound care; treatment of diseases of the head area; treatment of diseases of the whole body; treatment of mental illness; treatment of childhood diseases; antidotes; elixirs against senile decrepitude; means that increase sexual activity.

Treatment tactics in Ancient India, as in other countries of the Ancient World, were determined, first of all, by the curability or incurability of the disease. If the prognosis was favorable, the healer took into account the characteristics of the disease, time of year, age, temperament, strength and intelligence of the patient (they said that “fools are more easily cured because they follow advice more carefully”).

Treatment was aimed at restoring the disturbed balance of fluids (substances), which was achieved, firstly, by diet, secondly by drug therapy (emetics, laxatives, diaphoretics, etc.) and thirdly by surgical methods of treatment, in which ancient Indians have reached high perfection.

Only healers were involved in the preparation of medicines, poisons and antidotes (for snake bites).

The art of surgical treatment (surgery) in Ancient India, in terms of its skill and effectiveness, was the highest in the Ancient World (it was famous in all countries in the Middle Ages).

Sushruta considered surgery "the first and best of all medical sciences, the precious work of heaven, the sure source of glory." The Sushruta Samhita describes more than 300 operations, over 120 surgical instruments and at least 750 plant medicines, among which there is not a single remedy of European origin.

Not yet having scientific ideas about antiseptics and asepsis, Indian healers, following the customs of their country, achieved careful observance of cleanliness during operations.

Surgical instruments were made by experienced blacksmiths from steel, which India learned how to produce in ancient times. They were stored in special wooden boxes.

The wounds were bandaged linen, silk and woolen fabrics soaked in melted cow butter, as well as bandages made of leather and palm bark. Used for seams flax and tendon threads and horsehair.

The doctors of Ancient India performed amputations of limbs, laparotomies, stone surgery, hernia repairs, plastic surgeries, and sutured wounds on the head, face, and even windpipe. Plastic surgeries of ancient Indians deserve special attention. They “knew how to restore noses, ears and lips that were lost or mutilated in battle or by sentence. In this area, Indian surgery was ahead of European surgery until the 18th century.

In the ancients Indian texts The operation to remove a clouded lens - cataract - was also described for the first time. Sushruta described 76 eye diseases and their treatment.

Obstetrics in ancient India it was considered an independent field of healing. Sushruta's treatise details advice to pregnant women on maintaining cleanliness and a healthy lifestyle; Deviations from the normal course of labor, fetal deformities, cesarean section (used after the death of the mother in labor to save the baby), rotation of the fetus onto a leg and embryotomy (which was recommended in cases where it was impossible to rotate the fetus onto a leg or head) were described.

Hygienic traditions have long been developed in ancient India. The first attempts were made to prevent contagious diseases, including smallpox. Great importance was given to personal hygiene, beauty, cleanliness of the body, cleanliness of the home, the influence of climate and seasons on human health.

Hygienic skills, developed empirically, are enshrined in the “Laws of Manu”:

“You should never eat food... that is sick, or that has insect hairs on it, or that has been deliberately touched with your foot... or that has been pecked by a bird, or that has been touched by a dog.”

“Let him not bathe either after eating, or when he is sick, or in the middle of the night... or in an untested pond” -

“Urine, water used for washing feet, food debris and water used in cleansing rites must be removed far from the home.”

“In the morning you need to get dressed, take a bath, brush your teeth, rub your eyes with collyrium and honor the gods.”

“Having cut hair, nails and beard, humble, in white clothes, clean, let him always study the Vedas and do things useful to him,” etc.

In cities and villages it was forbidden to throw sewage onto the streets. The places and methods of burning the corpses of the dead were regulated. In doubtful cases of death of a person, an examination (autopsy) was ordered; the body of the deceased was examined and covered with special oil to protect it from decomposition. Strict penalties were also established for mixing poisons in food, medicine and incense.

Urban planning in the classical period of Indian history did not reach the high level that distinguished the ancient Indus civilization.

In ancient India earlier than in Western Europe, almshouses (at Buddhist temples) and premises for the sick - dharmashala (hospitals) appeared.

Doctor's position in Ancient India was different at different stages of history. In the Vedic period, the practice of healing was not reprehensible. In the final period of the history of the Ancient World, with the development of the caste system and social inequality, the tendency to consider certain occupations as ritually “unclean” and those who practiced them as untouchables intensified. This applied to those caring for horses and chariots, carpenters, healers (in all likelihood, those who practiced surgery and were associated with ritual “uncleanness”), magicians, acrobats, dancers, etc. However, in general the practice of healing is spoken of in ancient texts with great respect.

Important role Monasteries and monks, among whom there were many knowledgeable doctors, played a role in the development of healing in Ancient India. All monks had some knowledge in the field of medicine, since providing medical assistance to the laity was considered a high virtue.

Healing in Ancient India was closely connected with religious and philosophical teachings, among which a special place occupies yoga. It combined religious philosophy, moral and ethical teaching and a system of exercises and poses. Much attention Yoga focuses on cleanliness of the body and a unique lifestyle.

Among medical education centers In ancient India, the city of Taxila occupied a special place. A student of medicine had to master all facets of the medical art: “A doctor, unskilled in operations, becomes confused at the patient’s bedside, like a cowardly soldier who finds himself in battle for the first time; a doctor who only knows how to operate and neglects theoretical information does not deserve respect and can even endanger the lives of kings. Each of them has only half of his art and is like a bird with only one wing,” says the Sushruta Samhita.

At the end of the training, the teacher delivers a sermon to his students, which is given in the Charaka Samhita.

“If you want to achieve success in your activities, wealth and fame and heaven after death, you must pray every day, rising from sleep and going to sleep, for the welfare of all beings, especially cows and brahmanas, and you must strive with all your heart for healing sick.

You should not betray your patients even at the cost own life...

You should not drink alcohol, you should not do evil or have evil friends...

Your speech should be pleasant...

You must be reasonable and always strive to improve your knowledge.

When you go into the house of a sick person, you must direct your words, thoughts, mind and feelings to nothing other than your sick person and his treatment...

Nothing that happens in the house of a sick person should be told elsewhere, and the condition of the sick person should not be told to anyone who, using the knowledge gained, could harm the sick person or another.”

The right to practice medicine was given by the Raja. He also controlled the activities of healers and compliance with medical ethics.

Medical ethics Ancient India strictly demanded that a healer, “who wishes to be successful in practice, should be healthy, neat, modest, patient, wear a short-cropped beard, carefully cleaned, trimmed nails, white clothes scented with incense, and leave the house only with a stick.” and an umbrella, and especially avoided chatter...”

Remuneration for treatment was forbidden to be demanded from the disadvantaged, the doctor's friends and Brahmins; and vice versa, if wealthy people refused to pay for treatment, the healer was awarded their property. For improper treatment, the doctor paid a fine depending on the social status of the patient.

Unlike the great civilizations of the Middle East (Mesopotamia and Egypt), the Indian civilization (like the Chinese) did not perish - it continued its progressive development after the era of the Ancient World. In the Middle Ages, Indian doctors were famous all over the world, and Indian medicine had and continues to have a great influence on the development of medicine in various Regions of the globe.

Features of medicine in Ancient China (mid-2nd millennium BC–III century AD).

The oldest state in Chinese history, Shang (later called Shang-Yin) was formed somewhat later than early civilizations Mesopotamia, Egypt and India - in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. in the Yellow River Valley - Yellow River.

The creation of Chinese hieroglyphic writing also dates back to this time. Ancient China gave the world silk and porcelain, paper and ink for writing, a compass and black gunpowder. Paper was invented in China in the 1st century. BC.

For thousands of years, China has provided a unique example of the stability of national culture and traditional medicine.

Periodization of history and healing.

1) the Shang-Yin period (VII-XI centuries BC), when the first early class society and state of Shang (from the 12th century BC - Yin) was formed in the history of China;

2) the period of the Zhou dynasty (XI-III centuries BC), when many independent states existed on the territory of China;

3) the period of the Qin Empire (221 - 207 BC), when the country was first united into a single Empire.

4) the period of the Han Empire (206 BC - 3rd century AD) - the time of the highest prosperity of Ancient China; adoption of the laws of the Empire; establishment of Confucianism as a unified state ideology.

In the III - IV centuries. Feudal relations developed on the territory of China, which persisted until the 20th century.

In the history of healing Ancient China is clearly defined by two large periods:

1) the period of formation of the traditional chinese art healing (XVII - III centuries BC), when philosophical concepts were formed, traditional Chinese medicine was being developed and the oral tradition prevailed;

2) the period of the Han Empire (3rd century BC - 3rd century AD), when the medical works that reached us were recorded and the chronicles of the Han Dynasty were compiled.

Philosophical foundations of Chinese medicine

Original Chinese philosophy has gone through a long path of formation and development: from the cult of nature (mountains, Earth, Sun, Moon and planets) to religious and philosophical systems (Confucianism and Taoism from the 6th century BC) and the philosophy of spontaneous materialism (natural philosophy) , which formed in China by the middle of the 1st millennium BC. and was developed in the works of Chinese scientists during the era of ancient empires.

Representations of the Ancients Chinese philosophers about the surrounding world and human nature formed the basis for their understanding of health and the causes of illness. Traditional Chinese philosophy is set out in an anonymous natural philosophical treatise of the 4th-3rd centuries. BC. “Xi qi zhuan” is as follows.

The single primordial matter of taiji gives rise to two opposite substances - yang and yin, which are one and indivisible. Originally, yin meant “northern, shadowy”, and yang meant “southern, sunny slope of the mountain.” Later, yin was perceived as negative, cold, dark and feminine, and yang as positive, light, warm and masculine. The concept of yin-yang was adopted by traditional healing.

The interaction and struggle of these principles give rise to five elements (primary elements): water, fire, wood, metal and earth, from which the entire diversity of the material world arises - “ten thousand things” - wan wu, including man. The five elements are in constant movement and harmony, mutual generation (water gives birth to wood, wood - fire, fire - earth, earth - metal, and metal - water and mutual overcoming (water extinguishes fire, fire melts metal, metal destroys wood, wood - the earth, and the earth covers the water).

The objective world is knowable and is in constant motion and change. Man is part of nature, part of the great triad of Heaven - Man-Earth and develops in harmony with the world around him.

Structure human body and the work of its organs also understood through the prism of traditional Chinese philosophy. In Chinese traditional medicine, each organ of the body is associated with yang or yin substances. Thus, the substance yin corresponds to five zang organs - liver, heart, spleen, lungs and kidneys. They “perform a conservation function” and do not give up “the substance stored within them.” The yang substance corresponds to the six ortans-fu - gall bladder, stomach, colon, small intestine, three heaters and a bladder. These organs “are constantly emptied and do not retain anything.” The concept of “three heaters” implies a system for maintaining internal heat, which depends on breathing, digestion and urination.

Anatomical views began to form in China in ancient times. However, after the establishment of Confucianism as the official ideology (around the 2nd century BC), the dissection of the bodies of the dead was stopped, as it conflicted with religious ethics: according to the teachings of Confucius, the human body that he received from his parents could not be mutilated after death, he had to be returned to his parents intact and safe. These traditions existed for centuries (until the Chinese revolution), so bodies were dismembered extremely rarely and secretly. The anatomical knowledge of the ancient Chinese was significantly lower than the anatomical knowledge of the ancient Indians.

Ideas about health and illness in Ancient China were also based on traditional Chinese philosophy. Health was understood as the result of the balance of the principles of yin and yang and the five elements of the shins, and illness was understood as a violation of their correct interaction. Various ratios of these disorders were combined into several syndromes, which were divided into two groups: excess syndromes - yang syndrome and deficiency syndromes - yin syndrome.

The variety of diseases was explained by the breadth of interactions of the body with the surrounding world and nature, the characteristics of the body itself, a long stay in one of the emotional states (anger, joy, sadness, reflection, grief, fear and fear) and other natural reasons. For example, cold and wind, dryness and dampness can negatively affect a person and be one of the causes of his illness.

Much attention was paid to studying the area where the sick person lives.

On this fertile soil, during the Early Middle Ages, the doctrine of four temperaments arose.

Concept "traditional Chinese medicine"(or rather, “traditional Chinese art of healing”) includes traditional method Zhenjiu therapy (acupuncture, moxibustion, a system of breathing exercises (qi-gong), acupressure (an-mo), medicinal healing, dietetics, traditional Chinese gymnastics, i.e. the whole complex of the Chinese traditional system of maintaining health. Treatment methods are selected after a thorough examination and diagnosis.

Diagnosis in Ancient China was based on the above provisions of traditional Chinese philosophy.

“A doctor, perfect in the art of diagnosis, will study with serious care the condition of the five zang organs and six fu organs, and determine the direct and reverse sequence of circulation. It will clarify the relationship between the substances yin and yang, between the superficial and deep levels, between the masculine and feminine principles,” says the treatise “Nei Jing”.

When making a diagnosis, four main examination methods were used:

1) examination of the patient’s skin, eyes, mucous membranes and tongue;

2) listening to sounds arising in the human body and identifying its odors;

3) a detailed interview with the patient;

4) palpation, which includes examination of the pulse and pressure on active points. (For comparison, we note that the diagnostic methods used by doctors of the classical period of Greek history in the V-IV centuries BC are largely similar to the ancient Chinese methods listed above.)

According to legend, these methods were introduced by the legendary healer who lived in the 6th-5th centuries. BC. and known under the pseudonym Bian Chue. Bian Chue is also considered the founder of pulse diagnostics. Doctrine of the Pulse became the pinnacle of the art of diagnosis in Ancient China: “He who knows how to make a diagnosis studies color, feels the pulse, first of all distinguishing the actions of yin and yang substances, examines the pure and the muddy, and establishes in which part of the body the disease is localized...”.

Chinese healers studied the pulse at no less than nine points and distinguished up to 28 types of pulse. The main ones were considered: superficial, deep, rare, frequent, thin, excessive, loosely viscous, tense, gradual. Pulse diagnostics is closely related to the idea of ​​​​the circular movement of blood, which is one of the greatest achievements philosophical thought Ancient China. The treatise “Nei Jing” says: “The vessels communicate with each other in a circle. There is no beginning and no end in it... The blood in the vessels circulates continuously and in a circular manner... and the heart rules over the blood.”

Outside of Ancient China, the doctrine of the pulse spread relatively late. In the ancient Indian treatises of Charaka (1st -2nd centuries) and Sushruta (4th century) the pulse is not mentioned. This is explained by the relatively late establishment of mutual contacts between China and India (the first centuries AD).

In the Middle Ages, the method of pulse diagnostics penetrated into the territory of Central Asia - the diagnostic characteristics of the pulse in the “Canon of Medicine” by the outstanding physician of the Medieval East Ibn Sina (980 - 1037) are in many ways similar to the provisions of traditional Chinese medicine.

Zhen-jiu. The first written evidence of acupuncture is contained in the Historical Notes of Sima Qian and the work Zuo Zhu An, compiled by Zuo Chiu Ming, who lived between the 5th and 3rd centuries. The empirical roots of this method go back to ancient times, when in Eastern China it was noticed that injections, cuts or wounds at certain points of the body lead to the healing of certain ailments. For example, compression of the central fossa of the upper lip allows you to bring the patient out of a state of fainting, inserting needles at the base of the first and second fingers on the back of the hand cysts cures insomnia.

The first needles were made of stone. They had a very thin hole through which the active principle of yang was believed to move. Subsequently, needles began to be made from jasper, bone, bamboo, bronze, silver, gold, platinum, stainless steel.

The acupuncture method was used to prevent diseases, for pain relief during operations, and also in combination with massage and the burning method with smoldering cigarettes, i.e. thermal effect on “vital points” through lit cigarettes stuffed with dry leaves of medicinal plants, for example moxa - wormwood).

Medicines in Ancient China reached high perfection. IN world practice from Chinese traditional medicine included: from plants - ginseng, lemongrass, camphor, tea, rhubarb, resin; from products of animal origin - antlers, deer, liver, gelatin; from mineral substances - iron, mercury, sulfur, etc.

In handwritten medical writings of the late 2nd century. BC. contain 280 prescriptions for the treatment of 52 diseases (including fevers, nervous disorders, hernias, women's and children's diseases). Prescriptions include more than 200 medicinal ingredients, moxibustion and acupuncture, therapeutic exercises and recommendations for various diets.

In ancient China, there already existed institutions that today are called pharmacies. The first “pharmacopoeia” that has come down to us is the “Book of Medicines of Shen Nun,” compiled between the 2nd century. BC e. and II century. n. e. and became the basis for all subsequent Chinese pharmacopoeias. Its author, Shen Nong, collected more than 300 prescriptions of simple and complex medicines used in his time in China.

First special medical schools also appeared in China only in the Middle Ages (from the 6th century). Until this time, knowledge about traditional healing was passed down by inheritance or in a narrow circle of initiates.

Development of surgical treatment in Ancient China (like the autopsy of human corpses) was constrained by religious prohibitions that arose in connection with the establishment of Confucianism.

The largest surgeon of Ancient China is considered to be Hua Tuo (110 - 208), who became famous as a skilled diagnostician, an expert in Zhen Ju and the inventor of pain relief (using needles and medicinal infusions). He was a contemporary of Galen. Hua Tuo successfully treated injuries and fractures, performed operations on the skull, chest and abdominal cavities. Hua Tuo developed the foundations of the famous Chinese therapeutic gymnastics Wu Ching Shi - the game of five animals, based on imitation of the stork, monkey, deer, tiger and bear.

Disease Prevention was strong point ancient Chinese medicine. For the Chinese, “a real doctor is not the one who treats the sick, but the one who prevents the disease.”

The treatise “Nei Jing” says: “A completely wise person cures a disease before it has yet appeared. It puts the body in order not during times of unrest, but when it is not yet there... If you take medicine when the disease has arisen, if you begin to put things in order during times of unrest, it is very similar to digging a well during thirst, similar to making weapons, when the battle has already begun. At this stage it is too late to take such measures.”

There is evidence of widespread adoption variolation to prevent smallpox. So, according to legend, in the 12th century. BC. During the smallpox epidemic, Chinese healers tried to prevent the spread of the disease by rubbing crusts of smallpox pustules into the nostrils of healthy children (for girls - in the right nostril, for boys - in the left).

Among the most important therapeutic and preventive measures in Ancient China were massage, therapeutic exercises (wu chin shi) and breathing exercises (qi gong).

In Chinese chronicles reports on the improvement of ancient cities from the middle of the 1st millennium BC (pavements, sewerage, water supply).

Thus, the traditional Chinese art of healing is based on traditional Chinese philosophy (the doctrine of the surrounding world and human nature) and the centuries-old empirical experience of the Chinese people (folk healing).

Traditional Chinese healing art is a classic example of stability. For a long time it developed in isolation from other healing systems and cultures around the globe. The first information about traditional Chinese medicine reached Europe only in the 13th century.

Many achievements of the traditional Chinese art of healing - the study of the pulse two thousand years before the discovery of W. Harvey, pain relief two centuries BC, variolation almost two millennia before E. Jenner - show that in a number of positions ancient Chinese medicine has important priorities in history of science.

League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

In 1919, national Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies united into an international federation - the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (LORCR). Its goal is to promote the development of national Societies that are members of the federation, coordinate their activities at the international level and promote the creation of new national Societies.

The Union of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies of the USSR (reorganized in 1992) became a member of the LOKK and KP in 1934 and took an active part in the activities of the League and the bodies created by it.

Currently, LOKK and KP unites more than 150 national Societies with total number members - more than 250 million people.

The main goal of the LOCC and CoP, enshrined in its Charter, is to inspire, support, develop the humanitarian activities of national Societies with the aim of preventing and alleviating human suffering and, thus, contributing to the maintenance and strengthening of peace throughout the world.

The Union of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies of our country provides practical assistance to healthcare various countries peace; organizes Red Cross hospitals in foreign countries; sends its medical units and humanitarian aid to the population of countries in... those suffering from natural Disasters, accidents, as well as military operations; carries out work to search for its own and foreign citizens and restore contact with them; participates in the development and improvement of international humanitarian law.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is one of the largest specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN). The day of the official establishment of WHO is considered to be April 7, 1948, the day of ratification of the Organization's Charter by 26 UN member states. As main goal Organizations The WHO Charter proclaimed service to the humane idea - “the achievement by all peoples of the highest possible level of health.”

Emergence of cooperation different countries in the field of health care is due to the need for international coordination of measures for sanitary protection of the territories of states in connection with periodically occurring epidemics and pandemics. This was most clearly evident during the period classical middle ages when specific measures against epidemics in Europe began to be applied (quarantines, hospitals, outposts, etc.). The low effectiveness of sanitary and anti-epidemic measures carried out at the national level forced us to look for a solution to the problem on an interstate basis.

The first Pan American Sanitary Conference took place in December 1902 in Washington. The conference created a permanent body, the International (Pan American) Sanitary Bureau, which since 1958 has been known as the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO).

Another important step towards the development of international health care was the creation in 1907 in Paris International Bureau Public Hygiene (PHH) - a permanent international organization whose tasks included: “collecting and bringing to the attention of participating countries facts and documents of a general nature relating to public health, especially infectious diseases such as cholera, plague and yellow fever, and also the collection and dissemination of information on measures to combat these diseases.” The MBOG was also involved in the development of international conventions and agreements in the field of health, monitoring their implementation, issues of ship hygiene, water supply, food hygiene, resolving international quarantine disputes and studying national sanitary and quarantine legislation. Russia participated in the establishment of the MBOG and had its own permanent member in it representative. Thus, in 1926, A. N. Sysin was appointed permanent representative of our country to the MBOG.

The League of Nations Health Organization (HLOH) was created after the First World War in 1923 due to sharp deterioration epidemic situation in Europe and the widespread spread of pandemics and epidemics of typhus, cholera, smallpox and other infectious diseases. The scope of her activity was much wider. than the range of issues that MBOG dealt with. The goal of the League of Nations Health Organization was “to take all measures of international scope for the prevention and control of disease.”

The main directions of the work of the OZLN were: coordination and stimulation scientific research on the most pressing problems of public health, the creation of international standards of biological and medicines, development of an international classification of diseases and causes of death, unification of national pharmacopoeias, combating the most dangerous and common diseases, as well as the creation and development organizational foundations an extensive system of global epidemiological information.

In 1946, the League of Nations, and with it its Health Organization, ceased to exist.

After the Second World War, the leading organization of the international community became the United Nations (UN), established in 1945 on the initiative of the victorious countries. In February 1946, the UN conference decided on the need to create a specialized UN agency for health issues. After appropriate preparatory work, the International Health Conference was convened in June 1946 in New York, which developed and adopted the Charter of a new international health organization - the World Health Organization-WHO (Fig. 158).

The WHO Charter proclaimed the basic principles of cooperation between member states of the Organization, necessary “for happiness, harmonious relations between all peoples and for their security.”

The Soviet Union was among the founding states of WHO and actively participated in the creation and implementation of the vast majority of WHO programs, sending specialists as experts, consultants and staff at WHO headquarters and its regional offices. The Soviet Union was the initiator of many important WHO initiatives. Thus, in 1958, at the proposal of the Soviet delegation, the XI World Health Assembly adopted a program to eradicate smallpox from the world.

Healing in countries Ancient East. Ancient India and Ancient China.

The ancient and original civilization of India developed in the 3rd millennium BC. e. within the Hindustan subcontinent. In the history of healing in ancient India, three stages are clearly visible:

1) Indian civilization (23-18 BC, Indus River Valley), when the first slave-owning city-states in the history of ancient India were formed on the territory of modern Pakistan;

2) the Vedic period (18-6 BC, Ganges River valley), when, with the arrival of the Aryans, the center of civilization moved to the eastern part of the subcontinent and the compilation of “sacred texts” began, transmitted over a long period in oral tradition;

3) Buddhist (5th-3rd centuries BC) and classical period (2nd century BC - 5th century AD) - the time of the highest flowering of the traditional culture of ancient INDIA. the development of agriculture, crafts and trade, the rise of a unique culture, the establishment and spread of Buddhism, successes in various fields of knowledge, the widespread development of trade and cultural ties between India and the countries of the ancient world, which brought it the fame of the “Country of the Sages”.

Sanitation of the period of Indian civilization

In the second half of the 3rd millennium BC. e. in the river basin Indus formed a highly developed urban culture, which later received the name Indian civilization. Its characteristic features are a high level of sanitary improvement of cities. Drainpipes went through the thickness of the wall into the city's sewer system. Each street and each alley had its own brick-lined channel for sewage drainage. Before entering the canals, wastewater and sewage passed through settling tanks and cesspools covered with tightly ground lids. The design of the sewage system receives much more attention than the construction of residential buildings. The high sanitary condition of ancient cities allows us to conclude that there was a relatively high level of empirical healing.

Healing in the Vedic period

The center of civilization at this stage in the history of ancient India was the river. Ganges. Indications of medical knowledge are preserved in the Rigveda and Atharvaveda. Three ailments are mentioned in the Rigveda: leprosy, consumption, bleeding. Some sections of the Rig Veda contain texts about magical healing rituals. During the Vedic period, people worshiped medical deities. In ancient Indian mythology there were also evil demons who brought people misfortune, illness, ruin, and deprived them of offspring. Thus, in the Atharva Veda, illnesses are either associated with evil spirits, or are regarded as punishment from the gods; the cure of illnesses was explained by the effect of sacrifices, prayers and spells. At the same time, the Atharva Veda also reflects the practical experience of the people in the use of medicinal plants, the action of which at that time was understood as a healing force that counteracts evil spirits. At the end of the Vedic period, ancient Indian society was finally divided into four main classes: Brahmans (i.e. priest), Kshatriyas (i.e. military nobility and members of royal families), Vaishyas (i.e. mainly farmers and herders) and Shudras (sud-ga - disenfranchised poor). Each of the varnas consisted of many castes and sub-castes. there was a fifth, lowest class - pariahs (untouchables), used in the most unpleasant and humiliating jobs.

Healing of the classical period

The main directions of traditional ancient Indian medicine of the classical period are reflected in two outstanding monuments of ancient Ayur-Vedic writing: “Charaka-Samhita” and “Sushruta-Samkhnta”. The earlier “Charaka-Samhita” is devoted to the treatment of internal diseases and contains information on more than 600 medicines plant, animal and mineral origin. Their use is reported in eight sections: wound care; treatment of diseases of the head area; treatment of diseases of the whole body; treatment of mental illness; treatment of childhood diseases; antidotes; elixirs against senile decrepitude; means that increase sexual activity. The Sushruta Samhita is mainly devoted to surgical treatment; it describes more than 300 operations, over 120 surgical instruments and at least 650 medicines. The knowledge of Indian healers about the structure of the human body was the most complete in the ancient world. The ancient Indians distinguished: membranes, ligaments, bones and their classification, tendons, joints, organs, nerves. During this period, elements of natural scientific knowledge were also revealed. Man was considered in close connection with the surrounding world of five elements: earth, air, fire, water and ether. The different quality of objects was explained by different combinations of tiny particles of anu (“atoms”). The vital activity of organicism was considered through the interaction of three substances: air, fire and water (the carriers of which in the body were considered to be prana, bile and mucus). Health was understood as the result of a balanced relationship between three substances, the correct performance of vital functions of the body, normal condition sense organs and clarity of mind, and illness is a violation of these correct relationships and a negative impact on a person of the five elements. Sushruta divided all diseases into natural, associated with nature, and supernatural, sent by the gods.

Diagnosis of diseases was based on a detailed interview of the patient and examination of body warmth, skin and tongue color, discharge, noise in the lungs, voice, etc. Sushruta describes diabetes mellitus, which he determined by the taste of urine. Sushruta's treatise describes three stages of inflammation, the signs of which he considered: in the first period - minor pain; in the second - shooting pain, swelling, local heat, redness and dysfunction; in the third - reduction of swelling and formation of pus. To treat inflammation, Sushruta suggested local medicines and surgical methods.

Treatment was aimed at balancing the disturbed ratio of fluids (substances), which was achieved, firstly, by diet, secondly by drug therapy (emetics, laxatives, diaphoretics, etc.), and thirdly by surgical methods of treatment, in which the ancient Indians achieved high perfection. Only healers were involved in the preparation of medicines, poisons and antidotes (for snake bites).

Obstetrics in ancient India was considered an independent field of healing. Sushruta's treatise details advice to pregnant women on maintaining cleanliness and a correct lifestyle, describes deviations from the normal course of childbirth, fetal deformities, embryotomy (which was recommended in cases where it was impossible for the fetus to turn onto a leg or head), cesarean section (used after the death of the mother in labor to save the baby ) and turning the fetus onto its leg.

The art of surgical treatment (surgery) in ancient India was the highest in the ancient world. Sushruta considered surgery “the first and best of all medical sciences, the precious work of heaven. Still having no idea about antiseptics and asepsis, Indian healers, following the customs of their country, achieved careful observance of cleanliness during operations. Surgical instruments were made by experienced blacksmiths from steel, which in India learned to produce in ancient times, sharpened so that they could easily cut hair. The doctors of ancient India performed amputations of limbs, stone cuttings, hernia repairs, and plastic surgeries. They “knew how to restore noses, ears and lips lost or mutilated in battle or by court verdict. The method of rhinoplasty, described in detail in Sushruta’s treatise, went down in history under the name “Indian method”. A skin flap to form the future nose was cut out on a vascular pedicle from the skin of the forehead or cheek.

Hygienic traditions have long developed in India. Great importance was attached to personal hygiene, beauty and neatness of the body, cleanliness of the home, and the influence of climate and seasons on people's health. Hygienic skills are enshrined in the Millennium Prescriptions. Hygienic traditions contributed to the development of medicine. In the Mauryan Empire (IV-II centuries BC), strict rules were in force that prohibited the discharge of sewage onto the city streets and regulated the place and methods of burning the corpses of the dead; in doubtful cases of human death, an autopsy was ordered; the body of the deceased was examined and covered with special oil to protect it from decomposition. Strict penalties were also established for mixing poisons in food, medicine and incense. During the time of Ashoka, almshouses and rooms for the sick were built.

Somewhat later, they began to build special houses for the crippled, disabled, widows, orphans and the sick.

The medicine of ancient India was closely related to yoga. Much attention in yoga is paid to cleanliness of the body and a unique lifestyle. The teaching of yoga consists of two levels: hatha yoga (physical yoga) and raja yoga (mastery of the spirit).

Monasteries and monks, among whom there were many knowledgeable doctors, played an important role in the development of healing in ancient India. All monks had some knowledge in the field of medicine, since providing medical assistance to the laity was considered a high virtue.

Among the centers of medical education, the city of Taxila (ind. Takshashila) occupies a special place. A student of medicine had to master all facets of the medical art. This sermon conveys character traits of its time, however, in its main provisions it is very similar to the Oath of ancient Greek healers.

The medical ethics of ancient India strictly demanded that a healer, “who wishes to be successful in practice, should be healthy, neat, modest, patient, wear a short-cropped beard, carefully cleaned, trimmed nails, white clothes scented with incense, and leave the house no other way than with a stick and an umbrella, and especially avoided chatter...” Remuneration for treatment was forbidden to be demanded from the disadvantaged, the doctor's friends and Brahmins; and the traditional Chinese art of healing, on the contrary, if wealthy people refused to pay for treatment, the healer was awarded all their property. For improper treatment, the doctor paid a fine depending on the social status of the patient.

(3rd millennium BC - mid-1st millennium AD)

1. Periodization and chronology of the history and healing of ancient India.
2. Sources information about healing.
3. Harappan civilization period(III - beginning of the 2nd millennium BC, Indus River valley).

The oldest sanitary and technical structures (sewage system, wells, swimming pools).

1. Vedic period(end of the 2nd - mid-1st millennium BC, Ganges River valley).

Holy books: "Rigveda", "Samaveda", "Yajurveda", "Atharvaveda" "as a source of information about diseases ( their characteristics).

Philosophical teachings ( Hinduism, Brahmanism, Yoga, Buddhism ) and their influence on ideas about diseases and healing.

1. Classical period(second half of the 1st millennium BC - 4th century AD).

Religious and philosophical systems and ideas about health and illness (the doctrine of three substances and 5 elements).

- Ayurveda - the doctrine of long life, the art of healing.

Ideas about the structure of the human body (autopsy of the dead). Medicinal healing. ABOUT internal medicine ("Charaka Samhita ", dates back to the 2nd century AD).

Surgery. High development of surgical methods of treatment and obstetrics (" Sushruta Samhita ", dates back to the 4th century AD).

1. Hygienic traditions . "Injunctions of Manu" on maintaining cleanliness. Hospitals (dharmashalas).
2. Medical ethics (“Emergency” on the requirements for a healer). Medical schools at churches.

HEALING IN ANCIENT INDIA (3rd millennium BC - 4th century AD)

The ancient and original civilization of India developed in the 3rd millennium BC. e. within the Hindustan subcontinent (Fig. 28) long before the appearance of Indo-Iranian (Aryan) tribes in the country. Currently, modern states are located on its territory: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal. Periodization of the history of healing In the history of healing in ancient India, three stages are clearly visible, separated both in time and space:

1) the period of the Harappan civilization (III - beginning of the 2nd millennium BC, Indus River Valley), when the first slave-owning city-states in the history of ancient India were formed on the territory of modern Pakistan;

2) the Vedic period (late 2nd - mid-1st millennium BC, Ganges River valley), when, with the arrival of the Aryans, the center of civilization moved to the eastern part of the subcontinent and the compilation of “sacred texts” (Sanskrit - Veda) began, transmitted during , a long period in oral tradition;

3) the classical period (second half of the 1st millennium BC - the beginning of the 1st millennium AD, Hindu subcontinent) - the time of the highest flowering of the traditional culture of ancient INDIA. It is characterized by the high development of agriculture, crafts and trade, the rise of a distinctive culture, the establishment and spread of Buddhism, the first of the three world religions, successes in various fields of knowledge, literature and art, the widespread development of trade and cultural relations between India and the countries of the ancient world, which brought it the glory of the “Land of the Wise”.

Sources on the history and healing of ancient India

The main sources are: ancient literary monuments(religious and philosophical works - Vedas, 1st millennium BC; “Injunctions of Manu”, 2nd century BC; samhi-tas of Charaka (“Caraka-samhita”) and Sushruta (“Sushruta” -samhita"), first centuries AD), archaeological and ethnographic data, material monuments, folk epic (Table 7). Famous historians, philosophers and travelers of antiquity wrote about ancient India: the Greek historians Herodotus, Strabo and Diodorus, participants in the campaigns of Alexander the Great, the Seleucid ambassador at the court of King Chandragupta - Megasthenes, the Chinese historian Sima Qian, the pilgrim Fa Xian and others.

HEALING IN THE VEDIC PERIOD

The center of civilization at this stage in the history of ancient India was the river. Ganges in the northeast of the country, where several states were formed after the arrival of the Indo-Iranian Aryan tribes.

Information about healing during the Vedic period is very limited. Indications of medical knowledge are preserved in the Rigveda (“Rigveda” - the Veda of hymns and mythological stories, the oral tradition of which dates back to the 12th-10th centuries. BC BC) and “Atharvaveda” (“Atharva-veda” - Veda of spells and conspiracies, VIII-VI centuries BC). The recording of sacred texts began in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. (c. 500 BC, see diagram 4). "

The Rig Veda mentions three ailments: leprosy, consumption, bleeding, and once speaks of a healer in the following words: “Our desires are different, the carter thirsts for firewood, the healer for diseases, and the priest for sacrificial libations.” Some sections of the Rig Veda contain texts about magical healing rituals - in the Vedic period, medical knowledge was closely intertwined with religious beliefs and magical ideas.

The main medical deities of the Vedic period were: the Ashwin twins - healer and guardian gods, Rudra - the lord of medicinal herbs and the patron of hunters, as well as the highest deities: Agni - the god of fire and regenerating life, Indra - the symbol of heavenly thunder and the giver of rain and Surya - Sun God.

There were also evil demons in the vast ancient Indian mythology. (asuras and rakshasas), who (it was believed) brought misfortune, illness, ruin to people, and deprived them of offspring. Thus, in the Atharva Veda, illnesses are either associated with evil spirits, or are regarded as punishment from the gods; the cure of illnesses was explained by the effect of sacrifices, prayers and spells. At the same time, the Atharva Veda also reflects the practical experience of the people in the use of medicinal plants, the action of which at that time was understood as a healing force that counteracts evil spirits. Ancient healers were called that way - bhishadj (“exorcist of demons”). This name was retained by them in later periods of Indian history, when the healer-exorcist turned into a healer-healer. Over time, ideas about the causes of diseases also changed. Thus, in the “Yajurveda” (“Yajurveda” - the Veda of sacrificial spells, VIII-VII centuries BC) the four juices of the body are already mentioned.

At the end of the Vedic period, ancient Indian society was finally divided into four main classes (varnas): brahmans (brahma-pa - knowledgeable of sacred teachings, i.e. priest), kshatriyas (ksatriya - endowed with power, i.e. military nobility and members of royal families ), Vaishyas (vaisya - free community members, i.e. mainly farmers and cattle breeders) and Shudras (sud-ga - powerless poor people). Each of the varnas consisted of many castes and subcastes (Portuguese casto - pure; in Sanskrit jati - a group of people of the same origin). In addition, outside the varnas and, as it were, outside the law, there existed a fifth, lowest class - pariahs (untouchables), used in the most unpleasant and humiliating jobs.

This social structure ancient India, based mainly on the division of functions, was considered primordial, unshakable, established by the divine will of Brahma, the greatest of the ancient gods. Shudras and pariahs had practically no rights. They were not allowed to listen to or repeat the Vedas. Only representatives of the three highest varnas had the right to practice healing and study the Vedas.

MEDICATION OF THE CLASSICAL PERIOD (Magadha-Mauri and Kushana-Gupta eras)

In the VI century. BC e. ancient India entered a period of intense, spiritual and intellectual development. It is characterized by major achievements in various fields of knowledge and the creation of outstanding monuments of ancient Indian writing: “Prescriptions of Maku” (II century BC - II century AD), mathematical, astronomical and medical treatises (first centuries AD) , as well as the emergence and spread of religious and philosophical teaching - Buddhism (from the 6th century BC) - the first world religion.

By the beginning of our era, a highly developed system of medical knowledge had developed in ancient India, “in some respects: similar to the system of Hippocrates and Galen, and in some going even further forward,” as A. Basham wrote about it.

The art of healing (Sanskrit Ayurveda - the doctrine of long life) was highly valued in ancient India. Buddhist traditions and texts have preserved the glory of the miraculous healers D-zhivaka (VI-V centuries BC), Charaka and Sushruta (first centuries AD).

The main directions of traditional ancient Indian medicine of the classical period are reflected in two outstanding monuments of ancient Ayur-Vedic writing: “Charaka-Samhita” (dated to the 1st-2nd centuries AD) and “Sushruta-Samkhnta” (dated to the 4th century AD). ).

The earlier Charaka Samhita is devoted to the treatment of internal diseases and contains information on more than 600 medicines of plant, animal and mineral origin. Their use is reported in eight sections: wound care; treatment of diseases of the head area; treatment of diseases of the whole body; treatment of mental illness; treatment of childhood diseases; antidotes; elixirs against senile decrepitude; means that increase sexual activity.

The Sushruta Samhita is mainly devoted to surgical treatment; it describes more than 300 operations, over 120 surgical instruments and at least 650 medicines.

The knowledge of Indian healers about the structure of the human body was the most complete in the ancient world. Despite the imperfection of the research method, which was based on maceration of the body of the deceased in running water, the ancient Indians distinguished: 7 membranes, 500 muscles,

900 ligaments, 90 tendons, 300 bones

(this includes teeth and cartilage), which

divided into flat, round

and long, 107 joints, 40 main

vessels and 700 of their branches (for

blood, mucus and air), 24 nerves,

9 sense organs and 3 substances (pra-

na, mucus and bile). Some zones

body (palm, soles, testicles, groin

high areas, etc.) were highlighted as

“especially important” (Sanskrit - marman).

Their damage was considered dangerous

for life. Knowledge of Indian warriors

whose in the field of human body structure

were an important milestone in the history of Ana

Tomia and played a significant role

on the formation of ancient Indian chi

It should be noted here that the comparison of the achievements of the ancient Indians with the knowledge of the ancient Egyptians and Aztecs is very conditional: Egyptian medical texts were written down in the 2nd millennium BC. e. (i.e. almost two millennia earlier), and the heyday of Aztec medicine occurred in the middle of the 2nd millennium AD. e. (i.e. more than a millennium later). In the classical period of the history of ancient India, healers moved away from the supernatural ideas about the causes of diseases that prevailed in the Vedic period. The religious and philosophical systems on which they were based in the search for the foundations of the universe also revealed elements of natural scientific knowledge. Man was considered in close connection with the surrounding world, which, according to the ancient Indians, consisted of five elements: earth, air, fire, water and ether. The different quality of objects was explained by different combinations of tiny particles of anu (“atoms”). The vital activity of organicism was considered through the interaction of three substances: air, fire and water (the carriers of which in the body were considered to be prana, bile and mucus). Health was understood as the result of a balanced ratio of three substances, the correct performance of vital functions of the body, the normal state of the senses and clarity of mind, and illness was understood as a violation of these correct ratios and a negative impact on a person of the five elements (the influence of seasons, climate, indigestible food, unhealthy water and so on.). Sushruta divided all diseases into natural, associated with nature, and supernatural, sent by the gods (for example, leprosy, venereal and other infectious diseases, the causes of which were still impossible to understand at that time).

Diagnosis of diseases was based on a detailed interview of the patient and examination of body warmth, skin and tongue color, discharge, noise in the lungs, voice, etc. It is interesting that neither Sushruta nor Charaka report anything about examining the pulse. At the same time, Sushruta describes sugar diabetes, unknown even to the ancient Greeks, which he determined by the taste of urine.

Sushruta's treatise describes three stages of inflammation, the signs of which he considered: in the first period - minor pain; in the second - shooting pain, swelling, a feeling of pressure, local heat, redness and dysfunction; in the third - reduction of swelling and formation of pus. To treat inflammation, Sushruta suggested local medicines and surgical methods.

Treatment tactics in ancient India, as well as in other countries of the ancient world, were determined primarily by the curability or incurability of the disease. With a favorable prognosis, the healer took into account the characteristics of the disease, time of year, age, temperament, strength and intelligence of the patient. Treatment was aimed at balancing the disturbed ratio of fluids (substances), which was achieved, firstly, by diet, secondly by drug therapy (emetics, laxatives, diaphoretics, etc.), and thirdly by surgical methods of treatment, in which the ancient Indians achieved great perfection.

About the versatility of skills and. knowledge of an ancient Indian healer" is evidenced by the famous words of Sushruta: "A healer who is familiar with the healing properties of roots and herbs is a man; one who is familiar with the properties of a knife and fire is a demon; one who knows the power of prayers is a prophet; and one who is familiar with the properties of mercury is a god!" The best medicinal plants were brought from the Himalayas. Only healers were involved in the preparation of medicines, poisons and antidotes (for snake bites): “for those bitten by an Indian snake there was no healing if he did not turn to Indian healers; the Indians themselves cured those who were bitten” ["Kndika". XV.

Glory o healing properties Indian plants spread widely beyond ancient India; They were transported via sea and land trade routes to Parthia, the countries of the Mediterranean and Central Asia, the Caspian and Black Sea basins, Southern Siberia, and China. The main export items were spikenard, musk, sandalwood, quinnamon, aloe and other plants and incense. In the Middle Ages, the experience of Indian medicine was borrowed by Tibetan doctors, as evidenced by the famous treatise of Indo-Tibetan medicine “Zhud-shi” (VIII-IX centuries AD, see p. 169).

Obstetrics in ancient India (Fig. 31) was considered an independent area of ​​healing. Sushruta's treatise details advice to pregnant women on maintaining cleanliness and a correct lifestyle, describes deviations from the normal course of childbirth, fetal deformities, embryotomy (which was recommended in cases where it was impossible for the fetus to turn onto a leg or head), cesarean section (used after the death of the mother in labor to save the baby ) and the rotation of the fetus onto its stem, also described by the Roman physician Soran in the 2nd century, i.e. two centuries before Sushruta (in the Indian port of Arikalidu in the 1st-2nd centuries there was a Roman trading post; therefore, it is possible that Soran could have borrowed this method from earlier Buddhist writings, which often mention successful cures through surgical healing).

The art of surgical treatment (surgery) in ancient India was the highest in the ancient world. Sushruta considered surgery “the first and best of all medical sciences, the precious work of heaven (according to legend, the first surgeons were the healers of the sky - the Ashvin twins) a sure source of glory.” Still having no idea about antiseptics and asepsis, Indian healers, following the customs of their country, achieved careful adherence to chis-gota during operations. They are distinguished by their courage, dexterity and excellent use of tools.

Surgical instruments were made by experienced blacksmiths from steel, which in India learned to produce in ancient times, sharpened so that they could easily cut hair, they were stored in. special wooden boxes.

The healers of ancient India performed amputations of limbs: arotomy, stone cutting, hernia repair, and plastic surgery. They “knew how to restore noses, ears and lips lost or mutilated in battle or by court verdict. In this area, Indian surgery was ahead of European surgery until the 18th century, when the surgeons of the East India Company did not consider it humiliating for Indians to learn the art of rhinoplasty,” wrote A. Bzshem.

The method of rhinoplasty, described in detail in Sushruta’s treatise, went down in history under the name “Indian method”. A skin flap to form the future nose was cut out on a vascular pedicle from the skin of the forehead or cheek. Other reconstructive operations on the face were performed in a similar way.

In India, hygienic traditions have long been developed. Great importance was attached to personal hygiene, beauty and neatness of the body, cleanliness of the home, and the influence of climate and seasons on people's health. Hygiene-4 skills, developed empirically, are enshrined in the “Prescriptions of the Million”:

You should never eat food... that is sick, or that has hair or insects on it, or that has been deliberately touched with your foot... or that has been pecked by a bird, or that has been touched by a dog.

It is necessary to remove urine, water used for washing feet, food debris and water used in cleansing rituals far from the home.

In the morning you need to get dressed, bathe, brush your teeth, rub your eyes with collyrium; and honor the gods.

Disease prevention was one of the most important areas of Indian healing. Already in ancient times, attempts were made to prevent the disease of smallpox, which was widespread in India.

Thus, the text, which is attributed to the legendary healer of antiquity Dhanvantari (dating back to the 5th century AD), says: “Use a surgical knife to take smallpox matter either from the udder of a cow or from the hand of an already infected person, make a puncture between the elbow and shoulder on another person’s hand until it bleeds, and when the pus enters with the blood into the body, a fever is detected.” (In Europe, vaccination against smallpox was discovered by the English doctor E. Jenner in 1796).

Hygienic traditions contributed to the development of medicine. In the Mauryan Empire (IV-II centuries BC), strict rules were in force that prohibited the discharge of sewage onto the city streets and regulated the place and methods of burning the corpses of the dead; in doubtful cases of human death, an autopsy was ordered; the body of the deceased was examined and covered with special oil to protect it from decomposition. Strict penalties were also established for mixing poisons in food, medicine and incense.

During the time of Ashoka (268-231 BC), the most outstanding ruler of ancient India (see Fig. 28), almshouses and rooms for the sick were built at Buddhist temples - dharma shala (hospitals), which appeared in India several centuries earlier than in Europe. Ashoka also encouraged the cultivation of medicinal plants, the construction of wells, and the landscaping of roads.

Somewhat later, during the period of the Gupta Empire (IV-VI centuries AD) - the golden age of Indian history - special houses began to be built in the country for the crippled, disabled, widows, orphans and the sick. The activities of Sushruta and his followers belong to this era.

The medicine of ancient India was closely connected with religious and philosophical teachings, among which yoga occupies a special place. It combined religious philosophy, moral and ethical teaching and a system of exercises and postures (asanas). Much attention in yoga is paid to cleanliness of the body and a unique lifestyle. The teaching of yoga consists of two levels: hatha yoga (physical yoga) and raja yoga (mastery of the spirit). In modern India, healthy and sick people practice yoga (in yoga therapy clinics); Research institutes continue to study this ancient empirical system.

The position of the doctor in ancient India varied throughout history. In the Vedic period, the practice of healing was not reprehensible: even Agny and the Ashvin twins were respectfully called miraculous healers. By the end of antiquity, with the development caste system and social inequality, some activities (for example, surgery) began to be considered ritually “unclean.” However, in general, the profession of healing aroused great respect.

Monasteries and monks, among whom there were many knowledgeable doctors, played an important role in the development of healing in ancient India. All monks had some knowledge in the field of medicine, since providing medical assistance to the laity was considered a high virtue.

Among the centers of medical education, the city of Taxila (ind. Takshashila) occupies a special place. According to the Buddhist tradition, Jivaka (VI-V centuries BC), a famous healer at the court of the Magadha king Bimbisara, studied medicine there for seven years (according to legend, Jivaka also treated Buddha). After Indian campaign Alexander the Great's Taxila became the site of settlement for the Greeks, who eventually became Indianized and influenced the development of local culture.

A student of medicine had to master all facets of the medical art: “A doctor, unskilled in operations, becomes confused at the patient’s bed, like a cowardly soldier who finds himself in battle for the first time; a doctor who only knows how to operate and neglects theoretical information does not deserve respect and can even endanger the lives of kings. Each of them masters only half of his art and is like a bird with only one wing,” as recorded in the Sushru-ta-samhita.

At the end of his training, the future Healer delivered a sermon, which... given in the Charaka Samhita:

If you want to achieve success in your activities, wealth and fame and heaven after death... You must strive with all your soul to heal the sick. You shouldn't even betray your patients. at the cost of your own life... You should not get drunk, you should not do evil or have evil comrades... Your speech should be pleasant... You should be reasonable and always strive to improve your knowledge... About none of the things that happens in the house of a sick person, one should not tell... anyone who, using the knowledge gained, could harm the patient or another.

Recorded in the 1st-2nd centuries. n. e., this sermon bears the characteristic features of its time, but in its main provisions it is very similar to the Oath of the ancient Greek healers (recorded in the 3rd century BC). This indicates uniform principles of medical ethics in the countries of the ancient world.

The medical ethics of ancient India strictly demanded that a healer, “who wishes to be successful in practice, should be healthy, neat, modest, patient, wear a short-cropped beard, carefully cleaned, trimmed nails, white clothes scented with incense, and leave the house no other way than with a stick and an umbrella, and especially avoided chatter...” Remuneration for treatment was forbidden to be demanded from the disadvantaged, the doctor's friends and Brahmins; and vice versa, if wealthy people refused to pay for treatment, the healer was awarded all their property. For improper treatment, the doctor paid a fine depending on the social status of the patient.

During the classical period, traditional Indian medicine reached the apogee of its development. In time, this coincides with the Hellenistic era and the rise of the Roman Empire in the West, with the states of which ancient India had trade and cultural ties by land (from the 1st millennium BC) and sea (from the 2nd century BC) ways. Throughout history, Indian medicine has had and continues to have a great influence on the development of medicine in various regions of the globe.

Related information.

By the end of the 4th - beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. e. In India, a slave system developed; the remnants of the patriarchal community persisted for a long time.

The population of slave-owning India was divided into castes: Brahmins - priests; warriors - kshatriyas, free peasants, artisans and traders - vaishyas, slaves - shudras, dasa - a completely powerless caste, obliged to serve the rest “with humility”. Not only marriages, but also other forms of communication (for example, sharing food) between people of privileged castes and the common people, between freemen and slaves, were prohibited and punished.

Sources for studying medicine of ancient India are: the code of laws of Manu (1000-500 BC), the “Vedas” - collections of everyday and religious prescriptions, often in artistic form, works of folk epic, the laws of Manu, which have come down to us in later adaptations of the first centuries AD. e. According to the laws of Manu, a doctor was subject to a fine for unsuccessful treatment, the amount of which was determined by the caste status of the patient. The position of the doctor in the Hindu slave society is outlined in the Rig-Veda: “Our desires are different: the driver craves firewood, the doctor craves illness, and the priest craves sacrificial libations.” Health was considered the result of a normal combination of three principles of the body: air (gaseous, similar to the “pneuma” of the ancient Greeks), mucus and bile. The three organic principles were considered to be closely related to the basic elements or elements of nature.

The strength of medicine in ancient India was the elements of hygiene. The laws of Manu cover many issues of hygiene: the influence of climate and seasons on health, cleanliness in the home, rules of personal hygiene, gymnastics, nutrition, moderation in food, early rising, oral hygiene, bathing, neatness in clothing, cutting hair and nails. The laws of Manu condemned satiety, limited the consumption of meat and recommended fresh plant foods, as well as milk and honey.

Attention was paid to the cleanliness of the dishes. Rules for caring for the body were carefully developed: brushing teeth with brushes and powders, bathing, rubbing the body, changing clothes, etc. It was proposed to take leftover food, dirty water, urine, and excrement far from home. Hygienic regulations applied primarily to privileged castes, to a lesser extent to those subordinate to them, and did not refer to slaves at all.

Along with personal hygiene, there were also elements of public hygiene. During excavations in Mahenjo-Daro (in northwestern India), dating back to the end of the 4th - beginning of the 3rd millennium BC were discovered. e. traces of the improvement of a large ancient Indian city: a city sewer system was organized, and the main lines of these pipes reached a diameter of 2 m. Each house had a swimming pool.

Religion in India, first Brahmanism, later replaced by Buddhism, as in other countries, had a strong influence on medicine.

Therefore, in the texts of the Vedas that have come down to us (in their later edition) and in most other documents devoted to medicine, prayers, spells, etc. are added to the actual medical aspects. Materialistic thought in Ancient India was inextricably linked with the rudiments of natural science. There is direct evidence that the ancient Indians had some medical beliefs similar to those later held by Hippocrates.

The source of information on the medicine of ancient India is the written monument Ayurveda (“Knowledge of Life”), the compilation of which dates back to the 9th-3rd centuries BC. e. There are three known editions of Ayurveda. The most complete edition was written by the doctor Sushruta. His book is an extensive encyclopedia of medical knowledge, where, along with a reflection of priestly medicine, there are elements of rational medicine based on the centuries-old experience of the people.

The causes of disease were recognized not only by the wrath of the gods, but also by climate and weather changes, violation of diet, and personal hygiene rules.

The doctor interviewed the patient, examined him, palpated him, paid attention to the color and temperature of the skin, the condition of the tongue, examined the color and smell of the departments.

Ayurveda describes the signs of more than 150 acute and chronic, general and local diseases of the brain, heart, abdomen, urinary and genital organs, joints and other parts of the body. Along with dietary advice, massage and bath recommendations, 760 medicinal plants are described. Animal products were used (milk, lard, brain, bile).

Of the minerals, mercury was most often used. In Indian medicine, drugs were classified according to their effects. There were known diaphoretics, emetics, laxatives, diuretics, narcotic and stimulants, which were used in various forms and in different ways (powders, pills, infusions, tinctures, decoctions, ointments, rubbing, fumigation, inhalation, dousing). When prescribing medications, the seasons, weather, the patient’s physique, his temperament, gender, age, and the nature of the disease were taken into account.

More than 120 surgical instruments are described in Ayurveda.

Doctors of Ancient India were able to perform many surgical operations: bloodletting, amputation, hernia repair, stone cutting, laparotomy, cataract removal, plastic surgery on the face to compensate for defects of the ears, nose and lips (“Indian method”), they knew a number of obstetric techniques (turning the fetus on its leg and head, craniotomy and embryotomy operations). Attributed to the Roman author C. Celsus, a description of the classic signs of inflammation (redness, swelling, heat, pain and dysfunction) is given in Ayurveda. It also describes methods of treating wounds with bandages soaked in oils and pouring boiling liquids onto wounds, which were widespread later in the era of feudalism in Europe, as well as acupuncture treatment specific to Chinese medicine.

Among the Indians, dissection of corpses was not pursued, but the methods of anatomy were imperfect. The corpse was macerated for 24 hours in running water. After this, the soaked parts were successively scraped off with a brush or bark, or the process of natural decomposition was simply observed. Anatomical terms found in the Vedas indicate the presence of inaccurate anatomical knowledge (including about the brain and spinal cord).

Many have heard about Indian Ayurveda, but few understand its true description. Translated from Sanskrit, Ayurveda means life and knowledge.

Indian and... were the first in the world to begin to develop. The medical knowledge gained since then has been applied throughout the world. The main principles of medicine are based on Ayurveda, the traditional Indian healing system. Ayurveda contains knowledge about longevity and health that is passed on from generation to generation.

Knowledge of Ancient India The first ideas about science, which has something similar to medicine, appeared in 2 thousand BC. e. According to literary sources This was the beginning of the development of medicine in Ancient India and the treatment of ailments. This knowledge was called “Vedas”.

The explanation for this was the following interpretation: the human body is the shell of the soul, but it is tied to material wealth. The causes of bodily ailments should be sought in this imperfection of human nature.

The development of medicine in Ancient India had a huge impact on Chinese healing. If we briefly describe the development of medicine in India, the following information is known: “Rigveda” is the oldest Vedic scripture that describes the treatment of bleeding, leprosy, and consumption. This scripture was similar to a collection of magical rituals, and the disease had to be treated by reading prayers and performing rituals.

The formation of Indian Ayurveda

Complete medical knowledge was described at the beginning of our era. A system of healing called Ayurveda was formed at that time. This system implies the “teaching of long life.” The first experience of healing was gained by the Vaidyas, small group people living a “wild life”. They lived in forests and among mountains.

The history of medicine in Ancient India was based on the five elements (air, fire, earth, air, ether), and cosmic energy. The Vaidyas were the first to notice the dependence of human well-being on the cycles of the Moon. Observing, they suggested that animals have analogues of human organs.

Development of Indian medicine

Healing and alternative medicine in India were characterized by rapid development and received universal recognition. Ayurveda methods began to be used in the East.

Acupuncture, plastic surgery, hirudotherapy (leech treatment), organ transplantation, acupuncture - people learned about these therapeutic and surgical methods thanks to Ayurvedic knowledge. Widely used in India herbal teas, infusions, decoctions.

During the classical period of history, India dramatically changed its ideas about medicine. Healers began to forget about the supernatural causes of diseases and devoted more time to man as a part of the world.

Elements and liquids of Indian medicine

Five elements carry 3 fluids: mucus (located above the heart), bile (responsible for the area between the navel and the heart muscle), wind (the area below the navel). These 3 fluids and 5 elements form the 6 products of the human body:

• the seed of a man;
• fat layer;
• brain;
• bones;
• muscles;
• blood.

For example, the wind is responsible for metabolism, excretion, blood circulation, and digestion. This is because the wind carries sound, freshness and coolness. Medicine in Ancient India was based on peculiar knowledge, some of which may seem unusual and not at all like medical treatises:

1. Disease of the body begins with a disturbed flow of bile, wind and mucus. The severity and development depends on the degree of imbalance between the 3 primary elements.
2. Phlegm is a soft substance that acts as a lubricant and is responsible for vigorous activity.
3. Bile belongs to the fire element. It is responsible for body temperature, heart activity and digestive function.

Ayurveda in India: types of people

Depending on the 3 liquids, types of people are distinguished according to Ayurveda. They have different body types and susceptibility to diseases:

1. Wind or Vata – dominant nervous system, they have difficulty gaining weight. They are like fireworks, they are capable of a powerful start, but get tired quickly. According to the teachings of Ayurveda, they should try to see the positive aspects in life. They develop early wrinkles, problems with joints and muscles.
2. Slime or Kapha are tall people with a large build. They are balanced and calm, optimists in life. Thick skin, excellent health, but negative qualities include laziness. They are advised to stop eating bad food, follow a daily routine and rest. Obesity often occurs.
3. Bile or Pitt – have a normal build and average height, they are diligent, enterprising, have an agile mind, and are active. They know how to defend their position, however, they get irritated for any reason. People have a loud voice and a pleasant timbre. They need to learn to channel their energy into useful things. They suffer from skin pathologies and heart disease.

Description of types of people according to Ayurveda

Ayurveda: benefits for women

Representatives of the fair sex use the best Ayurvedic knowledge to improve their health and maintain beauty. Proper nutrition leads to normalization of the state of mind and body. There is a term “Ayurvedic products”, which include:

• vegetables;
• pulses;
• dairy products;
• fruits.

Eat different kinds Ayurvedic massage. The treatment procedure using medicinal herbs is called Potli massage. Other massages include:

1. Abhyanga - massage using vegetable oil.
2. Nasya - massaging the nose.
3. During the Shirodhara procedure, a thin stream of oil is poured onto the patient's forehead, which stimulates brain activity and is good for hair.
4. Foot massage stimulates all the necessary points, which helps the functioning of all body systems.

Oil is poured in a trickle onto the “third eye”

Interesting fact: the level of medicine in India is the same as in European countries. Every year this country is visited by more than 270 thousand tourists who come for treatment. At first, medicine was studied in India through internships in the United States.

Then all clinics in India received the most respected accreditation - JCI. The undoubted advantage of this country is the cost of the services provided, it is much lower than in European countries, but the quality does not suffer.