What examination methods are used in a Panchakarma?

Certain mandatory examinations must be conducted to discover the root cause of a disease in Ayurveda.

• Darsanam is the Stage of inspection and observation. In this stage various factors such as age
  and other physical characteristics of the patient are thoroughly examined.
• Sparsanam is the stage in which the observation is done through touch. Palpation, Percussion and Auscultation are three different techniques used.
• Prasnam is a stage of questioning during which the patient is asked about his/her ailments and the symptoms that he/she is observing on a daily basis. It is done in order to synchronize the observation of the physician with those of the patient.

Apart from this threefold examination the patient is also subjected to further detailed examination in order to discover all the possible causative elements behind the ailment. The three steps are then elaborated in two ways Dasavidha Pareeksha (tenfold examination) and Ashtasthana Pareeksha (eightfold examination).

Aparna K. BAMS, MD, PhD

Aparna is one of the few specialists worldwide with a PhD in Ayurveda. Born into an Ayurvedic family which operates a traditional Ayurvedic Panchakarma hospital in Kerala, India, she grew up observing her father, the renowned Dr Padmanabhan.