Introduction: The development of Mongolian traditional medicine (MTM) has historical roots in Indian Ayurvedic and Tibetan medical systems. The Four Medical Tantras significantly influenced MTM’s education, theory, and practice. Disease classifications within the Four Medical Tantras have long been foundational for diagnosis, treatment, and teaching.
Mongolian scholar Lama Gegeen Luvsandanzanjantsan expanded the Four Medical Tantras’ classification system in his seminal work, A Comprehensive Explanation of Disease Differentiation from the Decrees of Khamba Nomun Khan. This study compares disease classifications from this work with the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) specific to Traditional Medicine (TM). Goal: To analyze and compare the disease classifications in A Comprehensive Explanation of Disease Differentiation from the Decrees of Khamba Nomun Khan with ICD-10 TM classifications, providing detailed insights. Methods: The study utilized the following materials:
• Lama Gegeen Luvsandanzanjantsan’s A Comprehensive Explanation of Disease Differentiation from the Decrees of Khamba Nomun Khan.
• ICD-10 classifications of diseases. Research methods included source study, comparative analysis, and systematic categorization. Results: Lama Gegeen Luvsandanzanjantsan authored four volumes comprising 79 sections and 220 chapters, detailing 404 diseases classified by “place,” “cause,” “nature,” and “root.” While aligned with the Four Medical Tantras, his classifications offer deeper specificity, such as diseases caused by combinations of the five vital energies (wind, bile, phlegm, etc.).
This study focused on 101 diseases classified by “place” and 101 by “cause” for comparison. The ICD-10 TM classification system organizes diseases into 15 segments based on diagnostic criteria and etiology. A comparative analysis of the 202 diseases from Lama Gegeen’s text revealed alignment and divergence in categorization principles. Conclusion Lama Gegeen Luvsandanzanjantsan’s “A Comprehensive Explanation of Disease Differentiation” (1639–1704), written in Tibetan, provides an extensive classification of 404 diseases. While the ICD-10 TM system organizes diseases into 15 categories with etiology-based diagnostics, it lacks the detailed elaboration found in Lama Gegeen’s work. Integrating these classification systems could enhance diagnostics, treatment strategies, and research in traditional medicine.