The circulation of blood
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Did Ayurveda describe the circulation of blood before William Harvey in 1628?
Indian claim not supported by evidenceMedicine & health
Indian claim
Passages in the Sushruta Samhita describe a fluid pumped from the heart through channels to the whole body, which some writers read as blood circulation.
Evidence for the Indian claim
- Ayurvedic texts describe channels (srotas and dhamanis) carrying nourishing fluid from the heart around the body.
- A 1990 article in the journal Ancient Science of Life argued these passages show knowledge of circulation.
Commonly credited to
William Harvey proved by experiment in 1628 that blood moves in a closed loop from the heart through arteries and back through veins. Ibn al-Nafis in Cairo had described blood passing through the lungs in the 13th century.
Evidence for the other claim
- Sanskrit scholar Dominik Wujastyk points out that the key passage is about rasa (the juice made from digested food), not blood, and describes a one-way, river-like flow with no return to the heart.
- The texts do not describe the lungs' role or a closed loop, which are the defining parts of circulation.
What historians and scientists say
Ayurveda described body fluids moving outward from the heart, but not a closed circulation of blood. That was first shown by Harvey, building on earlier work by Ibn al-Nafis.