The system of medicinal healing in ancient India was called. Features of ancient Indian medicine

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 - the Vedas, 1st millennium BC; “Injunctions of Manu”, 2nd century BC; samhi-tas of the Charakas. (“Caraka-samhita”) and 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.

SANITATION OF THE HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION PERIOD

In the second half of the 3rd millennium BC. e. in the river basin The Indus formed a highly developed urban culture, which later received the name “Harappan” (from the city of Harappa on the territory of modern Pakistan). The heyday of the Harappan culture occurred at the end of the 3rd - beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. e. Its characteristic features are monumental architecture, planned development of cities, a high level of sanitary improvement, the development of artificial irrigation, crafts (ceramics, terracotta, metal and stone products) and foreign trade, the creation of proto-Indian writing, which, unfortunately, has not yet been completely deciphered .

In many respects (in terms of the size of the territory, the level of urban construction, sanitary improvement, etc.) the Harappan culture significantly surpassed the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia of the corresponding period.

The construction of Harappan cities (more than 800 settlements were discovered in the Indus Valley) was carried out according to a pre-developed plan. The straight streets, oriented from west to east and from south to north, indicate strict control of construction over the centuries and represent the oldest example of urban planning known in human history.

One of them, Mohenjo-Daro (translated from Sindhi as “Hill of the Dead”) was discovered at a depth of 12 m and dates back to at least the 25th century. BC e. - the time when civilizations were formed on the island. Crete (see p. 89). Mohenjo-Daro covered an area of about 2.5 square kilometers; According to scientists, 35-100 people lived in it. thousand people.

The city had workshops, a granary (size 61X46 m), a platform for grinding grain, sanitary facilities: wells, baths, a swimming pool, a sewage system - the oldest known at present.

The most remarkable of them is the bathhouse. In its center there was a unique pool (possibly for religious purposes) 12 m long, 7 m wide and about 3 m deep (Fig. 29). The bottom of the pool was covered with bitumen; its water resistance has been maintained for more than four thousand years. On both sides there are two staircases with swimming platforms leading to the pool. The water in it was running: flowing through some pipes, it constantly flowed out through others. The entire perimeter of the pool was surrounded by an arcade of small ablution rooms. There were also two baths here, which, according to researchers, were heated with hot air and used for religious rituals.

In various areas of the city there were wells lined with baked bricks (Fig. 30). Their diameter reached 1 m. Large houses built their own wells. The rooms where they were located were carefully paved.

Residential buildings in Mohenjo-Daro were built of baked bricks, were two- or three-story, reached a height of 7.5 m and had up to 30 rooms. There were no windows to the street. The hearth was located in the middle of the courtyard.

Each brick house had a room for ablutions, which was usually a small square or rectangular room with a carefully laid brick floor that sloped towards one of the corners. A drain was placed in this corner. The close laying of bricks with which the floor was paved prevented water from seeping through. Drainpipes through the thickness of the wall led into the city’s sewer system, which, according to the famous English Indologist A. Baschem, represents “one of the most impressive achievements of Indian civilization... No other ancient civilization, even the Roman, had such perfect water supply systems."

Each street and each alley had its own brick-lined channel for sewage drainage with a depth of 30 to 60 cm and a width of 20 to 50 cm. On top of all the channels were covered with well-fitted bricks, which could easily be removed when inspecting and cleaning the system, which was given particular importance meaning. This is also evidenced by the size of the main pipes, the diameter of which reached 2 m. Before entering the canals, wastewater and sewage passed through settling tanks and cesspools covered with tightly ground lids. Much more attention was paid to the construction of the sewage system in Mohenjo-Daro than to the construction of residential buildings. This speaks of the high culture of the ancient civilization of the Indus Valley, which managed to create the most perfect example of sanitary construction of antiquity two thousand years before the Roman water supply system.

The high sanitary condition of the ancient cities of the Harappan civilization allows us, even in the absence or insufficiency of deciphered texts of medical content, to conclude about a relatively high level of empirical healing. In the Indus Valley in the middle of the 3rd - early 2nd millennium BC. e.

At the same time, the high level of sanitary and technical structures of the Harappan 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 and no longer reached the level of the Harappan culture.

In the XIX-XVIII centuries. BC e. in the Indus Valley (as well as in Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia) there is a decline in cultural centers. Its causes, according to researchers, were mainly of an internal nature (floods, droughts, depletion of internal resources).

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) and the "Atharva-veda" ("Atharva-veda" - the 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 Ashvin twins - gods-healers and guardians, 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 of 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 Jivaka (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 are divided into flat, round and long , 107 joints, 40 main vessels and 700 their branches (for blood, mucus and air), 24 nerves, 9 sense organs and 3 substances (prana, mucus and bile). Some areas of the body (palm, soles, testicles, groin areas, etc.) were highlighted as “particularly important” (Sanskrit - marman). Their damage was considered life-threatening. The knowledge of Indian doctors in the field of the structure of the human body was an important milestone in the history of anatomy and played a significant role in the development of ancient Indian surgery.

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 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 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... The knowledge of the ancient Indian healer is evidenced by the famous words of Sushruta: “A healer familiar with the healing properties of roots and herbs is a person; a demon familiar with the properties of a knife and fire; he who knows the power of prayers is a prophet; 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 unless he turned to Indian healers; the Indians themselves cured those who were bitten” “Kndika”. XV. II.

The fame of the healing properties of Indian plants spread widely beyond the borders of 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 heaven healers - 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 cleanliness during operations. They are distinguished by 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 doctors of ancient India performed amputations of limbs, laarotomy, 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. Hygienic 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 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: “with the help of a surgical knife, 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 the hand of another person until there is blood, 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 Ashwin twins were respectfully called miraculous healers. Towards the end of antiquity, with the development of the 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 the Indian campaign of Alexander the Great, Taxila became a place 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-taamhita.

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.

India surprises with both its exotic centuries-old architectural “highlights” and no less exotic ancient works, which contain unique knowledge about the surrounding world and the nature of man himself. Buddhist traditions have roots going back to the distant past, but they contain truly impressive knowledge that is not so inferior to modern achievements. Among such ancient Indian knowledge is the traditional medical system of Ayurveda, the foundations of which were formed in ancient times, but to this day enjoy considerable authority in the field of medicine.

The Science of Long Life from a Buddhist Deity

The main goal of Ayurveda is to help every person live a long and disease-free life. Translated from Sanskrit, the name of this ancient system of ordered medical information and recommendations sounds like “knowledge of life” (“knowledge of long life”) or “the doctrine of the principles of a healthy life,” which most subtly defines its main purpose.

According to ancient Indian legends, Ayurveda is part of the great knowledge about the Universe and arose even before the appearance of people, and its creator was the healing god Dhanvantari. It was he who transmitted this system of medical knowledge to earthly sages.

The first mentions of this healing system are found in the Vedas. One of the collections of these ancient Indian scriptures is devoted exclusively to medical aspects. It not only describes a variety of medicinal plants and the use of the first antibiotics (lichens with similar properties), but also provides a description of human bones. Ancient Ayurvedic treatises, which were created by the most ancient Indian medical dynasties, contain information about more than 600 medicines of plant and animal origin and their areas of application, about poisons and antidotes, about operations and instruments for surgical interventions.

The art of healing with philosophical overtones

Ayurveda is a combination of medicine and philosophy. Unlike Western medicine, this practice is based on 6 philosophical ideas set forth in the Vedas, which assume a close relationship between man and the Universe. Ayurveda considers a person as a single whole, implying the unity of body and spirit, thoughts and feelings and taking into account not only the physical, but also the psychological and emotional state of a person, taking into account their harmonious combination. Violation of this state provokes the occurrence of diseases, so the main task of Ayurvedic medicine is to restore this harmonious integrity. According to Ayurveda, the key to a healthy life is a person’s harmony with himself and with nature, and one of the basic principles of healing is changing lifestyle. If the human body is in balance, then no microbes, even the most dangerous ones, can damage it. Therefore, the first thing the doctor strives to do is return the body to this state.

The ancient Indian method of treatment provides for 2 ways to combat the disease: shaman and shodhan. The first path involves only mitigating the signs of the disease, the second direction is responsible for eliminating the cause of the disease, which often may not be an infection at all. If in the first case the disease can continue to progress, then the second method completely eliminates the progression of the disease, providing only for the complete recovery of the patient.

Principles of Ayurvedic medicine

The treatment principles of Ayurveda are very different from other medical systems. This technique involves an individual approach to each person. Treatment is based on the study of prakriti - the structural features of an individual person and his psychophysiological parameters. Medicinal mixtures and preparations are also selected individually.

Most Ayurvedic medicines are created exclusively from herbs that grow mainly in the Himalayas. There are about 700 medicinal plants listed in the Rig Veda. Ayurveda also provides for the use of medicines of animal origin and treatment with minerals (including precious and semi-precious stones). One medicine is prepared in such a way that it can help against several ailments. It must have a strong medical effect and at the same time be well preserved for a long time. Ayurvedic texts contain more than 1000 recipes for medicines, but every doctor should be able to combine them based on his experience and intuition.

To cleanse the body of structures that disturb its balance, Ayurveda uses the Panchakarma technique, which means “5 actions”, since its course includes 5 areas, the main of which are diets, the use of medicinal herbs and massage using specific oils. This is a real body cleansing therapy. Religious practices (chanting mantras, meditation and deity worship) also have a place in Ayurvedic practice. This medical system offers more than just valuable guidance on diagnosis and treatment, and can provide more help than traditional Western medicine for many chronic diseases.

Ayurveda in the modern world

Ayurveda has had a significant influence on the development of traditional Tibetan medicine and medicine in the Arab world, and also underlies many modern healing techniques. By the middle of the 20th century. Traditional Indian teachings regarding health and medical aspects have become widespread in the West. By the end of the 20th century. Students of medical universities in the USA and Israel began to study Ayurveda. Such training includes a mandatory internship in India.

The basic procedures of Ayurveda have entered world medical practice, and many of its ancient practices have completely transferred into modern medicine. In the modern world, Ayurveda, as before, is widespread and popular in India, where it is a state-recognized medical practice, as well as in Nepal and Sri Lanka, and is of particular interest to tourists who want to get acquainted with the ancient methods of treatment in the homeland of this alternative medicine.

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 called 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 The 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, not even the Romans, had 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 are mythological characters who are directly or indirectly associated with ideas about healing, health and illness. Important deities were considered Agni - the god of fire, the hearth, 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 picashas - 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 a healing force that counteracts 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 was retained by them in later periods of the 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 practice healing and study the Vedas - brahmama (knowledge of 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 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 heart was the seat of the mind (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”).

The treatment was aimed at restoring 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 ancient Indians have achieved great 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.

An operation to remove a clouded lens - a cataract - was also described for the first time in ancient Indian texts. 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 attached to personal hygiene, beauty, cleanliness of the body, cleanliness of the home, and 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.

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.

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 in yoga is paid to 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 well-being 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 of your 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 anywhere else, and the condition of the sick person should not be told to anyone who, using the knowledge gained, could harm the sick person or others.”

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 the early civilizations of 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 was formed in the history of China (from the 12th century BC - Yin);

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 of healing (XVII - III centuries BC), when philosophical concepts were formed, the formation of traditional Chinese medicine was underway 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.

The ideas of ancient 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 motion 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.

The structure of the human body and the functioning of its organs were 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 six ortans-fu - the gallbladder, stomach, large intestine, small intestine, three heaters and 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 tires, 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 the traditional method of Zhenjiu therapy (acupuncture, moxibustion, a system of breathing exercises (qi-gong), acupressure (an-mo), medicinal healing, dietetics, traditional Chinese gymnastics, etc. e. the entire complex of the Chinese traditional health maintenance system.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 of the philosophical thought of 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. Chinese traditional medicine has entered world practice: 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 the strength of 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.

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 The 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.

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.

Ancient healers that's what they were called - bhisaj(“casting out demons”) This name was retained by them in later periods of the 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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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, it was the highest in the Ancient world (it was famous in all countries in the Middle Ages).

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.

An operation to remove a clouded lens - a cataract - was also described for the first time in ancient Indian texts. 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 attached to personal hygiene, beauty, cleanliness of the body, cleanliness of the home, and the influence of climate and seasons on human health.

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

“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.

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.

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.

You should not betray your patients even at the cost of your 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...

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...”

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

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

In Ancient India, much attention was paid to issues of medical ethics and the selection of people who could be allowed to practice medicine.

All medical literature was united there under one name - “Ayurveda” - the science of life. These were mainly treatises and commentaries on them.

The works of Sushruta, the founder of Indian surgery, were very famous in ancient times and continue to be in modern India. His works and the works of his contemporaries reflect such a high level of development of surgery for that time that in many ways it may seem simply implausible to us.

In the treatises of Sushruta, Charaka, Vagbhatta and others, several main directions, or sections, in surgical ethics can be clearly distinguished:

general ethics (attitude of medical personnel towards patients);
professional ethics (the study of medicine, the relationship between theory and practice, relations between specialists in various fields of medicine, as well as the attitude of doctors to healers);
ethics in the preoperative period, at the time of surgery and in the postoperative period;
ethics towards the dying;
ethics in cases requiring urgent intervention.

First section: internal qualities of a doctor

The first section includes prescriptions regarding the internal qualities necessary for a doctor.

To become a doctor, you need not only to receive “knowledge from a teacher” for many years, but also to cultivate certain qualities of mind and character. “There is no better gift than the gift of life,” says Charaka. “The future doctor must, without sparing his strength, carefully study all aspects of medicine, so that the people call him the giver of life,” says Sushruta.

“When going to a patient, calm your thoughts and feelings, be kind and humane and do not look for profit in your work”; “sympathy for the patient, joy from his recovery and the desire to treat even enemies - these qualities determine the doctor’s behavior”; “let humanity be your religion”; “The patient may doubt his relatives, sons and even parents, but he must trust the doctor, so treat him better than his children and parents.”

The authors of the treatises are especially wary against arrogance and excessive conceit: “If you yourself doubt anything, turn to other doctors in a friendly manner and ask them for advice”; “be modest in life and behavior, do not flaunt your knowledge and do not emphasize that others know less than you - let your speech be pure, truthful and restrained.”

The authors of the treatises emphasize that a person who has devoted himself to medicine must tirelessly monitor his physical perfection and pay great attention to personal hygiene: “Your nails and hair should be cut short, your hands and whole body washed clean, wear only clean and white, don’t wear jewelry.”

Special instructions are also addressed to physician assistants. Only persons of noble character, neat, distinguished by good behavior and love for people, who know their job, should be allowed to care for the sick. High demands were also placed on nurses. They had to not only give massages, know various diets, but also be able to make medicines.

Second section: study of medicine

The second section contains advice to deeply and comprehensively study all branches of medicine, and for the surgeon - anatomy. “Even a surgeon who has studied everything may encounter surprises when examining tissues, internal organs, vessels, nerves, joints, bones, cartilage, fetal development in the womb, when removing foreign objects from the body, when identifying ulcers and wounds, various fractures and dislocations, etc. . p., - what can we say about a dropout! " - exclaims Sushruta.

The list of possible diseases and injuries known to ancient Indian surgeons testifies to their comprehensive and in-depth study of the human body. Moreover, they were even able to observe the development of the fetus in the womb.

Surgeons were required to become widely familiar with the theory of medicine, knowledge of related sciences, and participation in discussions. But at the same time, “he who knows only theory will tremble before the patient, like a coward on the battlefield.” On the other hand, the one who knows only practice is also not a doctor, and each of them is like a “bird with one wing.”

Ancient Indian doctors knew that a person in poor health may not be able to tolerate strong, caustic or burning medicines. They also paid great attention to the nervous system. “Wounds heal quickly in people who are young, strong, in good body condition and with a calm mind.” Therefore, it was recommended that all measures be taken to maintain a good mood in the patient. “Since life depends on resistance, we need to increase this resistance,” said Sushruta.

The list of instruments and various means used during operations is also of great interest. These are probes, probes, horns that were used instead of cans. Vessels made from pumpkin, used for suctioning blood. Caustic substances (probably aseptics), cauterizing agents for wounds, cotton, soft cloth, medicinal leaves, bandages, honey, ghee, lard, milk.

Vegetable oil (all of these oils, hot and cold, were used to cauterize and cover wounds and cuts). Refreshments, internal medicines, fans for fanning the patient, cold and hot water, etc.

Technique and techniques of the operation

Before surgery, especially abdominal surgery, the patient was prescribed a strict diet or complete fasting. Judging by the list of operations, ancient Indian surgeons knew how to perform a caesarean section and induce artificial birth, remove stones from the kidneys and gall bladder, etc.

During the operation, great attention was paid to protecting the patient from certain “dangerous but invisible creatures ... harmful and powerful, which penetrate the body through wounds and ulcers and “settle” in the tissues and blood.” Vagbhatta's treatise instructs doctors to cover their mouth or face with something when sneezing, laughing and yawning. And Sushruta indicates that all instruments should be burned on fire before the operation.

Obviously, the doctors of Ancient India had a (purely empirical) understanding of bacteria and other pathogens.

The technique and methods of performing the operation are described in treatises with all the details. For example, it was recommended to “make a cut with a firm hand, in one quick movement.” Blood loss should be minimal. It was necessary to revive a patient who had lost consciousness with the same speed “with which a person picks up a thing dear to him falling into deep water.”

After the operation, the patient was to be placed in a clean room and surrounded by people who were friendly to him and “able to have an entertaining conversation with him.” A highly nutritious but light diet was prescribed and special caution was prescribed in relation to potent drugs.

Next section: the fight for the patient’s life

In the section “Ethics towards the Dying,” it is prescribed to tirelessly fight for the life of the patient until his last breath, since “a person sometimes returns back from the very gates of the kingdom of Yama” (that is, the god of death).

The doctor, who clearly saw that the patient would not survive, had to assure him to the very end that he would recover, and also try not to hurt his family with some careless confession.

Last section: emergency care

And finally, the essence of the last section - “Ethics in cases requiring emergency care” - is well illustrated by the following words of Sushruta: “In urgent cases, the doctor should not hesitate, but act as if his own house was suddenly engulfed in flames.”

Ayurveda and medicine

The works of ancient Indian doctors and medical theorists are very popular in modern India. They are republished both in Sanskrit, the language of ancient Indian culture, and in translations into modern Indian languages.