The Suśrutasanhitā is an important Sanskrit text on medicine, considered to be one of the earliest major works related to detailed study of medicine and surgery. Written by Sushruta, it is commonly dated to the period of 6th century BC.
It is one of the foundational texts of Ayurveda (Indian traditional medicine), alongside the Charaka Samhita, Bhela Samhita, and the medical portions of the Bower Manuscript.
The Sushruta Samhita, in its extant form, is divided in 184 chapters and contains descriptions of 1,120 illnesses, 700 medicinal plants, 64 preparations from mineral sources and 57 preparations based on animal sources. The text discusses surgical techniques of making incisions, probing, extraction of foreign bodies, alkali and thermal cauterization, tooth extraction, excisions, and trocars for draining abscess, draining hydrocele and ascitic fluid, the removal of the prostate gland, urethral stricture dilatation, vesiculolithotomy, hernia surgery, caesarian section, management of haemorrhoids, fistulae, laparotomy and management of intestinal obstruction, perforated intestines, and accidental perforation of the abdomen with protrusion of omentum and the principles of fracture management, viz., traction, manipulation, appositions and stabilization including some measures of rehabilitation and fitting of prosthetics. It enumerates six types of dislocations, twelve varieties of fractures, and classification of the bones and their reaction to the injuries, and gives a classification of eye diseases including cataract surgery.
The text was translated to Arabic as Kitab-i-Susrud in the 8th century.