The First Surgeons – Part 3: Herbal Medicine & Early Pharmacology: The Systematic Science of 700 Plants
The First Surgeons: Cutting-Edge Medicine Before Anesthesia 1 The First Surgeons – Part 1: Sushruta Samhita: The Cradle of Plastic Surgery 2 The First Surgeons – Part 2: Surgical Sterilization: Boiling Tools and Herbal Vapors in Antiquity 3 The First Surgeons – Part 3: Herbal Medicine & Early Pharmacology: The Systematic Science of 700 Plants 4 The First Surgeons – Part 4: Operating on the Living Skull: Bone Setting and Trepanation in the Ancient World ← Series Home The Natural Pharmacy: Integrating Botany into Surgical Science The foundation of the ancient world’s surgical accomplishments extended deeply into its command of botany and pharmacology. Ancient Indian physicians understood that successful surgery required not just precise cutting and delicate manipulation, but effective wound management and infection control. This necessity drove the development of a comprehensive body of knowledge that detailed the therapeutic application of the natural world. The culmination of this research, meticulously documented in the Sushruta Samhita, included a categorized pharmacopeia listing the medicinal properties of more than 700 distinct plants. ...