Page:Sushruta Samhita Vol 1.djvu/351

 CHAPTER XXVI.

Now we shall discourse on the Chapter which treats of the exploration of splinters lost or deep-seated in the organism (Pranashta-Shalya-Vijnaniya-madhyayam).

Definition:—The term Shalyam is derived from the root "Shala" or Shvala" (to go swiftly) joined to the Unadi affix "Yat." Shalyas may be divided into two kinds according as they are extrinsic (Agantuka) or idiopathic (Sharira) in their origin.

A Shalyam usually serves to act as an impeding or obstructing agent to the entire organism, and, hence, the science which deals with its nature and characteristics is called the Shalya-Shastram (Surgery). An idiopathic (Sharira) Shalyam may be either a hair, nail, embolised blood (Dhatus)*, etc., excrements (Mala), or deranged humours of the body (Dosha), while an extrinsic Shalyam should be regarded as one which afflicts the body and is originated from a source other than any of the preceding ones, including particles of iron and bone, stems of grass, scrapings of bamboo, and bits of horns, etc. But an Agantuka (extrinsic) Shalyam specifically denotes an article of iron, inasmuch as it