darshanam

darshanam (där·shäˑ·nm),

n in Ayurveda, observation; the book that provides a fundamental basis for the eight classical methods—urine, pulse, tongue, feces, voice and speech, assessment of the eyes, evaluation by touch, and general physical assessment used throughout the examination. In Ayurvedic medicine, it is thought that each patient resembles a book that lives and breathes. To understand this book, a practitioner must hone his or her abilities in the application of the eight clinical markers listed here to perceive and announce the correct diagnosis. See also sparshanam and prashnam.