Neurological Disorders

Disturbances of Vayu were thought to create many neurological diseases. These included Dhanustam- bha (literally a pillar curved like a bow) or tetanus. Other conditions caused by disturbed Vayu included convulsions, the two types of which may well have been descriptions of petit mal and grand mal epi­lepsy; paralysis of one lower extremity; paraplegia; sciatica; brachial palsy; and facial palsy. Other dis­eases that we now do not think of as being neuro­genic are also ascribed to disturbed Vayu. These include one that appears to be synovitis of the knee joint, another that seems suggestive of paresthesias of the feet, and still another that seems to have been bowel obstruction. Dumbness, nasal speech, and in­distinct speech were also seen to stem from the same cause.