Traditional Chinese medicineAlternative medicine categoryVietnamese nameVietnamese alphabetY học cổ truyền Trung QuốcĐông ythuốc Bắcthuốc TàuHán-Nôm醫學古傳中國東醫𧆄北艚Korean nameHangul중의학Hanja中醫學Japanese nameHiraganaかんぽうShinjitai漢方Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China.
Alternative medicineUnscientific healthcare practicesAlternative medicine comprises practices that aim to achieve the healing effects of medicine, but that lack biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or supporting evidence of effectiveness. Such practices are not part of mainstream evidence-based medicine.
Systematic reviewComprehensive review of research literature using systematic methodsA systematic review is considered the most trusted form of evidenceA systematic review is a scholarly synthesis of the evidence on a clearly presented topic using critical methods to identify, define and assess research on the topic.
Wuxing (Chinese philosophy)Wuxing (Chinese: 五行; pinyin: wǔxíng; Jyutping: Ng5 Hang4), translated as Five Moving Ones, Five Circulations, Five Types of Energy, Five Elements, Five Transformations, Five Phases or Five Agents, is a fivefold conceptual scheme used in many traditional Chinese fields of study to explain a wide array of phenomena, including terrestrial and celestial relationships, influences, and cycles, that characterise the interactions and relationships within science, medicine, politics, religion and social relationships and education within Chinese culture.
PseudoscienceUnscientific claims presented as scientificA typical 19th-century phrenology chart: during the 1820s, phrenologists claimed the mind was located in areas of the brain, and were attacked for doubting that mind came from the nonmaterial soul. Their idea of reading "bumps" in the skull to predict personality traits was later discredited.
QuackeryQuackery, often synonymous with health fraud, is the promotion of fraudulent or ignorantmedical practices. A quack is a "fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill" or "a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have skill, knowledge, qualification or credentials they do not possess; a charlatan or snake oil salesman".
ScienceSystematic endeavour to gain knowledgeScience is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable explanations about nature and society. It is driven by the scientific method: an empirical cycle that typically involves making observations, producing hypotheses, testing them with evidence, and drawing conclusions.
Adverse effectAn adverse effect is an undesired harmful effect resulting from a medication or other intervention, such as surgery. An adverse effect may be termed a "side effect", when judged to be secondary to a main or therapeutic effect. The term complication is similar to adverse effect, but the latter is typically used in pharmacological contexts, or when the negative effect is expected or common.
PneumothoraxA pneumothorax is collection of air in the pleural space between the lung and the chest wall. Symptoms typically include sudden onset of sharp, one-sided chest pain and shortness of breath.Eight principlesThe eight principles are a core concept of traditional Chinese medicine based on Confucianism. The identification and differentiation of syndromes according to the eight principles is one of the earliest examples of critical and deductive thinking for diagnosis.
AsepsisAsepsis is the state of being free from disease-causing micro-organisms (such as pathogenic bacteria, viruses, pathogenic fungi, and parasites). There are two categories of asepsis: medical and surgical. The modern day notion of asepsis is derived from the older antiseptic techniques, a shift initiated by different individuals in the 19th century who introduced practices such as the sterilizing of surgical tools and the wearing of surgical gloves during operations.
TaoismTaoism or Daoism ( , ) is a philosophical and Chinese tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao (道). With a range of meanings and interpretations in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', 'path', or 'technique', all dependent on intention as the Chinese language is polysemic in design, but generally understood in the Taoist sense as an enigmatic process of transformation ultimately underlying what is understood as reality.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.