Traditional Chinese medicine: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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'''Traditional Chinese medicine''' ('''TCM'''; {{zh|t=中醫|s=中医|p=zhōng yī|l=Chinese medicine}}) is a broad range of medicine practices sharing common concepts which have been developed in China and are based on a tradition of more than 2,000 years, including various forms of [[Chinese herbology|herbal medicine]], [[acupuncture]], [[Tui na|massage (Tui na)]], [[Qigong|exercise (qigong)]], and dietary therapy.<ref name=TCMNCCAM>Traditional Chinese Medicine, National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, [http://nccam.nih.gov/health/whatiscam/chinesemed.htm Traditional Chinese Medicine: An Introduction]</ref>

The doctrines of Chinese medicine are rooted in books such as the ''[[Huangdi Neijing|Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon]]'' and the ''[[Shanghan lun|Treatise on Cold Damage]]'', as well as in cosmological notions such as [[Yinyang|yin-yang]] and the [[five phases]]. Starting in the 1950s, these precepts were standardized in the People's Republic of China, including attempts to integrate them with modern notions of [[anatomy]] and [[pathology]]. Nonetheless, the bulk of these precepts, including the [[TCM model of the body|model of the body]], or [[Traditional Chinese medicine#Concept of disease|concept of disease]], are not supported by [[science]] or [[evidence-based medicine]]. The TCM theory is not based upon the current body of knowledge related to health care in accordance with the [[scientific community]].<ref name="Quackwatch"/> It has been described as "fraught with [[pseudoscience]]", with no valid [[mechanism of action]] for the majority of its treatments.<ref name=swallow/>"

TCM's view of the body places little emphasis on anatomical structures, but is mainly concerned with the identification of functional entities (which regulate digestion, breathing, aging etc.). While health is perceived as harmonious interaction of these entities and the outside world, disease is interpreted as a disharmony in interaction. TCM diagnosis aims to trace symptoms to [[Traditional Chinese medicine#Patterns|patterns]] of an underlying disharmony, by measuring the pulse, inspecting the tongue, skin, and eyes, and looking at the eating and sleeping habits of the person as well as many other things.

In traditional Chinese herbal medicine, plant elements are by far the most commonly, but not solely, used substances; animal, human, and mineral products are also utilized. The effectiveness of Chinese herbal medicine remains poorly documented.<ref name="Shang-2007"/> There are concerns over a number of potentially toxic Chinese medicinals that consist of plants, animal parts, and minerals.<ref name="Shaw-2012"/> Therethere is a lack of existing [[cost-effectiveness]] research for TCM.<ref name="Zhang-2012"/> Although some TCM textbooks recommend preparations containing animal substances, littlePharmaceutical research to justify the claimed clinical efficacy of many TCM animal products have been done.<ref name="Still 2003"/> Poachers hunt restricted or [[endangered species]] animals to supply the [[black market]] with TCM products.<ref name="Weirum"/><ref name="Newscientist.com"/> With an eye to the Chinese market, pharmaceutical companies havehas explored the potential for creating new drugs from traditional remedies.<ref name=swallow/> Successful results have however been scarce: [[artemisinin]], for example, which is an effective treatment for [[malaria]], was fishedextracted out offrom a herb traditionally used to treat fever.<ref name=swallow/> Although advocates have argued that research had missed some key features of TCM, such as the subtle interrelationships between ingredients, it is largely [[pseudoscience]], with no valid [[mechanism of action]] for the majority of its treatments.<ref name=swallow/>

Little research has been done to justify the claimed clinical efficacy of many animal products recommended in TCM textbooks.<ref name="Still 2003"/> Poachers hunt restricted or [[endangered species]] animals to supply the [[black market]] with TCM products.<ref name="Weirum"/><ref name="Newscientist.com"/> There are also concerns over a number of potentially toxic herbal, animal and mineral Chinese medicinals.<ref name="Shaw-2012"/>

==History==

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{{main|TCM model of the body}}

TCM has been described as a pre-science, similar to European [[humorism|humoral theory]].<ref>{{cite web|title=What Is Traditional Chinese Medicine? |author=Steven Novella|publisher=Science-based Medicine|url=http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/what-is-traditional-chinese-medicine/|date=25 January 2012}}</ref>

TCM'sIts view of the human body is only marginally concerned with [[anatomy|anatomical]] structures, but focuses primarily on the body's ''functions''<ref>Matuk, C. [http://www.sesp.northwestern.edu/docs/publications/6074956944509ac426aaa6.pdf "Seeing the Body: The Divergence of Ancient Chinese and Western Medical Illustration"], JBC Vol. 32, No. 1 2006, page 5</ref><ref name="Ross 1984"/> (such as digestion, breathing, temperature maintenance, etc.):

{{Quote|"The tendency of Chinese thought is to seek out dynamic functional activity rather than to look for the fixed somatic structures that perform the activities. Because of this, the Chinese have no system of anatomy comparable to that of the West."|Ted Kaptchuk|''The Web That Has No Weaver''}}

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The primary functional entities used by traditional Chinese medicine are qì, xuě, the five zàng organs, the six fǔ organs, and the meridians which extend through the organ systems.<ref name="Aung, S.K.H. 2007 p. 19">Aung, S.K.H. & Chen, W.P.D. (2007): Clinical introduction to medical acupuncture. Thieme Mecial Publishers. ISBN 978-1-58890-221-4, p. 19</ref> These are all theoretically interconnected: each zàng organ is paired with a fǔ organ, which are nourished by the blood and concentrate qi for a particular function, with meridians being extensions of those functional systems throughout the body.

Attempts to reconcile these concepts with modern science – in terms of identifying a physical correlate of them – have so far failed.<ref>"... Even more elusive is the basis of some of the key traditional Eastern medical concepts such as the circulation of qi, the meridian system, and the five phases theory, which are difficult to reconcile with contemporary biomedical information but continue to play an important role in the evaluation of patients and the formulation of treatment in acupuncture." As seen at: {{cite web |author=NIH Consensus Development Program |title=Acupuncture – Consensus Development Conference Statement |url=http://consensus.nih.gov/1997/1997Acupuncture107html.htm |date= 3–5 November 1997 |publisher=[[National Institutes of Health]] |accessdate=2012-02-28}}</ref>

[[Quackwatch]] stated that: