Ayurvedic Marman
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Anatomical considerations
Apart from the classification of the five constitutional marman groups, it is believed by some Ayurvedic practitioners that the anatomical consideration of a marman is extremely significant. According to Pandit, Head of Anatomy and Physiology, Tilak Ayurveda Medical College, Pune, a marman occupies the physical area of an organ or a structural mechanism, such as the knee joint. This idea is validated by the historical use of marman in warfare, and by the claim that Susruta was the first person to advocate the dissection of cadavers in order to train surgeons to avoid the structural landmarks of marman (Ranade, 1993). In this view, a marman is seen as a physical structure and does not need any other theory to validate its mechanism, such as the theory of an energy-centre:

When physical trauma is applied to vital areas of the body, such as the basti marman, located in the region on the anterior mid-line and superior to the edge of the pubic synthesis, effects such as reproductive dysfunction will result. In the example of trauma to basti marman, the prognosis will be impotence in males due to the blockage of the physical structure of the channel (srota), the ductus vas deferens (Pandit, interview, 5/9/98).

This view was reflected by teachers at many Indian Ayurvedic colleges. Marman are often taught from a surgical viewpoint, with cadaver dissection a common teaching practice in India today. The marman locations are taught in a traditional manner, in chart form, according to the precepts of Susruta Samhita (See Fig. 1).