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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Indian J Plast Surg 2009; 42(02): 219-223
DOI: 10.1055/s-0039-1699347
Reflections
Association of Plastic Surgeons of India

Through the mists of time: Sushrutha, an enigma revisited

Philip Philip Puthumana
Senior Plastic Surgeon, Department of Plastic and Microvascular Surgery, Little Flower Hospital and Research Centre, Angamaly, Kerala, India.
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Publication History

Publication Date:
15 January 2020 (online)

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ABSTRACT

Sushrutha had been viewed in textbooks of plastic surgery as belonging to the caste of potters who performed surgery in India. We have examined the available source documents and other references to the technology of the period to examine this assertion and are convinced that there is no evidence to support this. The period, technology and geographic references in Sushrutha Samhitha are correlated with settled positions on these to arrive at an understanding of the time and knowledge which is described. Source of erroneous interpretation of Sushrutha as a potter is also examined and clarified.

KEY WORDS

Bower manuscript - history of plastic surgery - Sushrutha
 

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