The seven Dhatus - their structure, function and origin »

Āyurveda has developed its own classification of body components with the concepts of doṣas, agnis, dātus, upadhātus, malas and srotas. These can be divided into two groups:

1.  functional components (doṣas and agnis)
2. structural components (dhātus, upadhātus, malas and srotas)

Āyurveda distinguishes seven dhātus which, together with the seven upadhātus, form the essential structural components of the body:

Seven dhātus:

• rasa: plasma, leukocytes and platelets
• racta: erythrocytes
• māṃsa: muscle tissue
• medas: adipose tissue
• asthi: bone tissue
• majjā: bone marrow and brain cells
• śukra: male principles (male hormones, spermatozoa).

Each of these dhātus has specific functions in the body that are essential to physiology, some of which cannot be derived from their anatomical features.

Seven upadhātus:

• stanya: breast milk forming tissue
• ārtava: female principles (female hormones, eggs, menstrual blood)
• kaṇḍarā: tendons
• sirā: blood vessels
• tvak: skin
• vasā: intramuscular fats
• snāyu: ligaments and nerves

With the concept of dhātu-pariṇāma (process of dhātu transformation), Āyurveda also describes the formation of the essential structural body components (dhātus, upadhātus and ojas).

The term dhātu-pariṇāma refers to the gradual process of transforming nutrients into new body cells. In this process, agni is the central transforming principle. Agni is a thermal principle that carries out all kinds of splitting and transformation processes in the body. The correction of dhātu-pariṇāma is the overall therapeutic goal of Ayurvedic medicine.

The presentation will further elaborate on the aspects outlined above.