Medicina Tradicional y Naturopatía Clínica

Abstracto

Endometriosis in Ayurvedic Perspective

Krishna K Kokate and Nilesh G Kulkarni

Aim: To make an equivalent correlation of endometriosis with gynecological disorders from an ayurvedic perspective. Objective: Women are the original source of progeny. Any pathology in the female reproductive system definitely affects this progeny. Endometriosis is a disease in which abnormal growth of a tissue, histologically resembling the endometrium, is present in the location other than the uterine lining. The exact cause of endometriosis is unknown to modern medicine. Infertility is one of the clinical features of endometriosis along with pelvic pain, menorrhagia, dysmenorrhea, retroversion of uterus etc. The subject endometriosis mentioned in modern science is not directly available in Ayurvedic texts; however Ayurveda has its own principles of classifying and diagnosing diseases. In Charak Sutrasthan 18/44 it is said that even if a physician is unable to name a particular disease, a full knowledge of therapeutic properties of doshas, site of its manifestation, etiological factors, and due regard given to scriptural instructions would never fail his attempt to cure a disease. Coordination of four factors; rutu (season and/or regular menstruation), kshetra (uterus), ambu (nutritious fluids) and beej (sperm and ovum) for conception are necessary. In Charak Chikitsasthana 30/5 it is indicated that healthy yoni (vagina) is needed for receiving the sperm and for conception to occur. Here the word yonivyapat may be understood as the functional and structural abnormalities of female reproductive organs. For this purpose, diseases having comparable features with endometriosis in accordance with Ayurveda will be discussed.