"India is the cradle of human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend and the great grandmother of tradition. The most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only." - Mark Twain
History of mankind is inseparably entwined in the history of India. Medicine is as old as man and must have come into being with the first awakening of human consciousness.
1 Is it then a wonder that history of medicine should be an integral part of history of India? Anatomy is the oldest and the most important of all medical sciences. There is enough evidence of practice of this science in the ancient Hindu India. In this article, evidence is presented to show that the Hindus were the first scientific cultivators of the most important and essential department of medical knowledge namely practical anatomy.
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