An Interactive Annotated World Bibliography of Printed and Digital Works in the History of Medicine and the Life Sciences from Circa 2000 BCE to 2022 by Fielding H. Garrison (1870-1935), Leslie T. Morton (1907-2004), and Jeremy M. Norman (1945- ) Traditionally Known as “Garrison-Morton”

15961 entries, 13944 authors and 1935 subjects. Updated: March 22, 2024

AINSLIE, Whitelaw

2 entries
  • 6975

Materia medica of Hindoostan, and artisan’s and agriculturist’s nomenclature.

Madras: Government Press, 1813.

The first book in English on the materia medica of India, and a pioneering work in the field of Indian medical history. Ainslie joined the British East India Company as an assistant surgeon in 1788 and spent the next 27 years in India, eventually rising to the position of superintending surgeon of the southern division of the army in Madras. He was one of the first European scholars to investigate the traditional Hindu medical system known as Ayurveda,. The specific purpose of his book was to make indigenous remedies available to the British Army, thus reducing its reliance on expensive imported drugs; however, his larger purpose was to bridge the gap between the medical cultures of Europe and Asia. He was careful to distinguish the Indian medicines already known in Europe from those exclusively used by native physicians. Ainslie drew upon works in Sanskrit, Tamil, Persian and Arabic, all of which he cited in his bibliography. The names of the medicaments listed in the work are given in several languages, using roman, Tamil and Arabic types. Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.



Subjects: BOTANY › Ethnobotany, BOTANY › Medical Botany, COUNTRIES, CONTINENTS AND REGIONS › India, PHARMACOLOGY › PHARMACEUTICALS › Materia medica / Herbals / Herbal Medicines
  • 8523

Materia Indica; or, some account of those articles which are employed by the Hindoos and other eastern nations, in their medicine, arts, and agriculture; comprising also formulae, with practical observations, names of diseases in various eastern languages, and a copious list of oriental books immediately connected with general science. 2 vols.

London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown & Green, 1826.

Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.



Subjects: Agriculture / Horticulture, INDIA, Practice of Medicine in, PHARMACOLOGY › PHARMACEUTICALS › Materia medica / Herbals / Herbal Medicines