Dissecting method of dessection
#1. Dissecting method of dissection
#10 reasons why Sushruta is called as the father of surgery
Do you know that not only in India but all over the world
- Who
is called as 'Father of Surgery'?
- What exactly has he done to be called 'Father of Surgery'?
- Is it necessary to study the body through dissection before becoming a surgeon?
- Do surgeons of past time really conducted dissection? What was the method implemented for the same?
Actually surgery and dissection are two very different topics. Surgery is performed on a living person to cure a disease [like appendicitis, tonsillitis etc.], to remove a foreign body that has gone into the body [thorn, knife, sharp objects, etc.], to suture a wound for early recovery. While dissection is performed on the dead body to obtain practical, detailed, and demonstrated knowledge of anatomy.
Acharya Sushruta is regarded as the Father of Surgery not only in India but all over the world. He described the importance and process of dissection in the Sushruta Samhita, a 2200-year-old Ayurvedic scripture. But you may ask what does the description of dissection have to do with Sushruta calling him 'Father of Surgery'? Let's understand….
Sushruta Acharya was a renowned surgeon
[with special experience and knowledge of almost all branches of surgery]. He
mentions many successful surgeries in the Sushruta Samhita [that is about 2200 year
old Ayurvedic scripture]. He was of the view that surgery is that special branch
of medical science that requires a detailed study of all the internal and
external structures of the body.
Sushruta Samhita Sharirasthan Chapter No. 5 Verse No. 46
So
a medical graduate only an expert in bookish knowledge cannot become a good
surgeon. Do you know any surgeon [with mastery in bookish knowledge but devoid
of any practical experience] will behave when posted his first-ever surgery? Just like Munnabhai...
Do you remember that Munnabhai MBBS dissection movie scene? Munna's hands began to tremble when he was told to dissect with a scalpel in his hand for the first time, his eyes began to darken, everything seemed to be moving and he collapsed due to dizziness. Such would be the case with surgeons who have just read piled books but lacking practical experience.
For this reason, Sushruta has a detailed description of
dissection with a noble idea of giving the students practical knowledge along with the
theory, how to conquer the fears, doubts, disgusts, and how the structures look
when the body is in its natural state.
Sushruta Samhita Sharirasthan Chapter No. 5 Verse No.47-48Without having a thorough knowledge of normal [anatomical] body structures, one cannot identify abnormalities, deformities, and pathological changes. That’s how a person cannot fix these abnormalities & fails as a surgeon.
For achieving excellence a particular process should be
performed according to the SOP [Standard Operating Protocol]. Similarly,
Sushruta has briefly described the protocol of dissection.
In order to get information about the natural structures of the body, one should acquire the corpse [dead body] of a person who is not poisoned, limbs are not broken & the body is not worn out. This condition is due to the fact that if you do not follow these things, you will not know the natural structures & will add to your confusion.
Let’s find out the reason why dissection was not performed on the corpses of people who had been ill for a long time and died of poisoning. It is essential to take care of the health of the students who want to study this corpse while performing this dissection. The study of the corpse of a person who has died from a chronic illness and or has been poisoned may lead to various ill effects on students handling it.
Let’s get into the main procedure of dissection. In a river where there is slow-flowing water, deep - where there will be little darkness due to lack of direct sunlight, the body should be kept in a cage made of plants wrapped with leaves, bark, and vines of all plants for a week.
Considering the reasons behind these processes, you will know that this treatment will decompose the skin on the body. The leaves, vines, and cages were used to protect the body from aquatic animals during this skin decaying process. Slow flowing water is considered to be purer as it has less bacterial growth than stagnant water. If the corpse is kept in deep slow-flowing water, the sunlight will not reach the place and the temperature of the place will also below to make the decomposition process slow.
After this preliminary procedure, Sushruta describes findings in dissection like layers of skin, membranes, viscera, blood vessels, joints & structure, number, locations of many different body structures.
All in all, modern medical and surgical science incorporated the process of dissection & made it essential very late in the 7th-8th century into their studies. Whereas Acharya Sushruta has explained [a few hundred years ago] that for those who want to perform surgery, dissection is essential in order to gain detailed and practical knowledge of the Human Body.
This futuristic & expert approach towards the field of
surgery makes Acharya Sushruta the father of surgery and this makes Ayurveda OMG Amazing Ayurved…!
OMG Amazing Ayurved fact- Acharya Sushruta emphasized surgeons to study dissection thorough knowledge of body 2200years before & had given procedure of the same.
Info about the author
Dr.Ninad Nayan Sadvilkar, M.D. Ayurved
[Strong supporter, believer, motivator, teacher & practitioner of Ayurveda]
Assistant professor, MES Ayurved Mahavidyalaya, Lote, Tal.-Khed, Dist.- Ratnagiri, Maharashtra &
Owner, Aarogyavardhan Ayurved & panchakarma Treatment Centre, Shop number-1, Sagar plaza, Chiplun
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Courtesy & references:-
1. Image- https://www.dermascope.com/body/anatomy-of-the-body
2. Munnabhai MBBS https://tvnewsguide.net/2018/11/20/seriously-funny-10-greatest-bollywood-comedies-to-watch-before-you-die/
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