Sushruta on Human Dissection as Pre-requisite to Surgery

Abstract

In the western surgical tradition there has been little acknowledgement of the ancient Vedic surgeon Sushruta who initiated many aspects of surgical practice. In his compendium the Sushruta Samhita, Sushruta systematised medicine in various areas. His meticulous knowledge in many branches of medicine is evident. A brilliant surgeon, he developed plastic surgical techniques, types of bandaging, hygiene practices and over one hundred surgical instruments. In this article, I focus on Sushruta's ideas on human dissection as a pre-requisite for surgery, his method of preparation of human cadavers and his anatomical pedagogy. Sushruta pioneered the instruction of cadaveric based anatomical learning which is still being used in medical teaching.