Traditional Chinese medicine

• Published in: The Lancet (British edition) Vol. 372; no. 9654; pp. 1938 - 1940
• Main Authors: Tang, Jin-Ling, Liu, Bao-Yan, Ma, Kan-Wen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 06.12.2008; Elsevier; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; China; Chinese medicine; Developing countries; Disease; General aspects; Herbal medicine; Herbs, Therapeutic use; Humans; Industrialized nations; Internal Medicine; LDCs; Medical sciences; Medicine; Medicine, Chinese; Medicine, Chinese Traditional - adverse effects; Medicine, Chinese Traditional - utilization; Patients; Systematic review; Yin-Yang; China; Folk medicine; Chinese medicine
• ISSN: 0140-6736; 1474-547X
• DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61354-9

Systematic reviews show that Chinese herbs and acupuncture can be effective for atopic eczema and chemotherapy-induced nausea, respectively.32 Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is one of the oldest healing systems. In 2006, the TCM sector provided care for over 200 million outpatients and some 7 million inpatients, accounting for 10%-20% of health care in China.3 Most of the principles of TCM were derived from the philosophical basis that contributed to the development of Taoism, and Confucianism.4,5 Ancient Chinese scholars noted that all natural phenomena could be categorised into Yin and Yang (two opposite, complementary, interdependent, and exchangeable aspects of nature), everything in the universe consisted of five basic elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water), and the universe was constantly changing towards dynamic balance or harmony.