* Branches of Alternative Medicine provides a MASTER LIST of categories.
* A * Acupuncture: * Auriculotherapy: * Korean Hand Acupuncture: * Medical Acupuncture: * Meridian Therapy: * Sonopuncture: * Acupressure: * Alexander Technique: * Alternative Medical Systems: * Ayurveda: * Homeopathy: * Naturopathic Medicine: * Osteopathy: * Traditional Chinese Medicine: * Unani Medicine: * Affirmations: * Affirmation Visualizations: * Allopathic Medicine: * Applied Kinesiology: * Apitherapy: * Aromatherapy: * Bach Flower Therapy: * Flower Essence Therapy: * Ascended Masters: * Astrology: * Astronomer: * Astronomy: * Astrophysics: * Astrogenetics: * Babylonian Astrology: * Constellations: * Cosmic: * Cosmos: * Equinox: * Horoscopes: * Iatromathematics: * Medical Astrology: * Solstices: * Zodiac: * Aura * Auras: * Aura Balancing: * Aura Healing: * Auroras: * Autogenic Training: * Autosuggestion: * Ayurveda: * Bach Flower Therapy: * Aromatherapy: * Flower Essence Therapy: * Bates Method: * B * Biologically Based Therapies: * Apitherapy: * Bates Method: * Chinese Food Therapy: * Fasting: * Herbal Therapy: * Macrobiotic Lifestyle: * Natural Health: * Natural Therapy: * Diet and Food: * Dietary Supplements: * Exercise: * Naturopathy: * Orthomolecular Medicine: * Urine Therapy: * Bowen Technique: * Body-Based Manipulative Therapies: * Body Mind Spirit: * Body work or Massage Therapy: * Bowen Technique: * Chiropractic Medicine: * Craniosacral Therapy: * Medical Acupuncture: * Osteopathy: * Rolfing: * Body work or Massage Therapy: * Breathing Therapy: Techniques: * C * Chelation Therapy: * Chinese Food Therapy: * Chinese Medicine: * Chinese Pulse Diagnosis: * Chinese Martial Arts: * Chiropractic Medicine: * Chromotherapy: * Coin Rubbing: * Colloidal Silver Therapy: * Color Therapy: * Colon Hydrotherapy: * Concentration Meditation: * Conscientiotherapy: * Conversion Therapy: * Craniosacral Therapy: * Creative Visualization: * Crystal Healing: * Crystal Healing: * Crystals: * Ball: * Sructure: * Crystallography: * Geology: * Gem: * Gems: * Gemstones: * Gemologists: * Gifting: * Materials Science: * Mineralogy: * Mineral: * Minerals: * Planetary Geology: * Vibrational Medicine: * Cupping: * D * Dermovision: * Dowsing: * Deep Breathing Techniques: * E * Ear Candling: * Electrodermal Screening: * Energy Diagnosis: * Energy Therapies: * Acupuncture: * Kofutu: * Magnet Therapy: * Medical Acupuncture: * Reiki: * Qigong: * Shiatsu: * Therapeutic Touch: * Eyology: * F * Facial Diagnosis: * Faith Healing: * Fasting: * Feldenkrais Method: * Feng Shui (creating a soothing, tranquil renewing environment): * Flower Essence Therapy: * Chinese Food Therapy: * Functional Medicine: * G * Gua Sha: * H * Hair Analysis (Alternative Medicine): * Hand Analysis: * Hatha Yoga: * Hawaiian Massage: * Healing: * Healing Touch: * Kofutu Therapeutic Touch Healing: * Health Psychology: * Herbal Crystallization Analysis: * Herbalism: * Herbology: * Herbal Therapy: * Whole Healing: * Holistic Living: * Holistic Medicine: * Homeopathy: * Bach Flower Remedies: * Flower Essence Therapy: * Isopathy: * Home Wave Therapy: * Hypnosis: * Hypnotherapy: * I * Integrative Medicine: * Iridology: * Isopathy: * J * Journaling: * K * Kirlian Energy and Photography: * Korean Hand Aacupuncture: * L * Life Force: * Light Therapy: * M * Magnetic Healing: * Manipulative Therapy: * Manual Lymphatic Drainage: * Massage Therapy: * Medical Acupuncture: * Medical Intuition: * Medical Qigong: * Meditation: * Concentration Meditation: * Mindfulness Meditation: * Transcendental Meditation: * Vipassana: * Mega-Vitamin Therapy: * Meridian Therapy: * Mind-Body Interventions: * Alexander Technique: * Aromatherapy: * Autogenic Training: * Autosuggestion: * Bach Flower Therapy: * Feldenkrais Method: * Hatha Yoga: * Hypnotherapy: * Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP): * Pilates: * Journaling: * Light Therapy: * Meditation: * Music Therapy: * Prayer: * Rebirthing: * Self-Hypnosis: * Sound Therapy: * Support Groups: * T'ai Chi Ch'uan: * Visualization: * Yoga: * Mindfulness Meditation: * Moxibustion: * Music Therapy: * N * Natural Health: * Natural Therapies: * Diet and Food: * Dietary Supplements: * Exercise: * Organic Foods: * Home Remedies: * Naturopathic: * Naturopathic Medicine: * Nutrition: * Botanical Medicine: * Homeopathy: * Hydrotherapy: * Minor Surgery: * Manipulative Therapy: * Pharmacology: * Unani Medicine: * Neuro-Linguistic Programming: * Nutritional Healing: * Nutritional Supplements: * O *Odic Force: Radionics: * Omega-3 Fatty Acid: * Organic Diet: * Orgonomy: * Orthomolecular Medicine: * Osteopathy: * P * Panchakarma: * Pilates: * Plum blossom (Chinese Medicine): * Polarity Therapy: * Prayer: * Psychosocial Interventions: * Power Yoga: * Psychic Surgery: * Q * Qigong: * R * Rebirthing-Breathwork: * Reflexology * Reiki: * Relaxation Techniques: * Rolfing: * S * Scientific investigation of Chiropractic * Sclerology: * Self-Hypnosis: * Seitai: * Soil Bath Therapy (Mrittika snan): * Somapractic: * Sonopuncture: * Support Groups: * Suseunghwagang (Meditation Breathing): * T * T'ai Chi Ch'uan: * Tantra Massage: * Thalassotherapy: * Therapeutic Horseback Riding: * Therapeutic Touch: * Theta Healing: * Tibetan Eye Chart: * Tongue Diagnosis: * Traditional Chinese Medicine: * Acupressure: * Acupuncture: * Acupuncture Point: * Auriculotherapy: * Chinese Pulse Diagnosis: * Chinese Food Therapy: * Coin Rubbing: * Cupping: * Five Elements: * Gua Sha: * Herbology: * History of Traditional Chinese Medicine: * Korean Hand Acupuncture: * Meridian: * Moxibustion: * Plum blossom: * Qi: * Qigong: * Seven Star: * Shiatsu: * Sonopuncture: * Trigger Point: * Tui Na: * Zang Fu Theory: * Traditional Japanese Medicine: * Meridian Therapy: * Shiatsu: * Traditional Mongolian Medicine: * Traditional Tibetan Medicine: * Transcendental Meditation: * Trigger Point: * Tui Na: * U * Unani Medicine: * Urine Therapy: * Ujjay Breathing Technique: * V * Visualization: * Vipassana Meditation: * W * X * Y * Yoga: * Astanga Yoga: * Astanga Vinyasa Yoga: * Bikram Yoga: * Hatha yoga: * Iyengar Yoga: * Kundalini Yoga: * Power yoga: * Sivananda Yoga: * Tantric Yoga: * Viniyoga: * Vinyasa Yoga: * Yogic Breathing: * Z
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine or (NCCAM), is a United States government agency. NCCAM is dedicated to exploring Complementary and Alternative Healing Practices in the context of rigorous science, training complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) researchers, and disseminating authoritative information to the public and professionals.
* Conventional Medicine (CM): Conventional Medicine: Medicine as practiced by holders of M.D. (medical doctor) or D.O. (doctor of osteopathy) degrees and by their allied health professionals, such as physical therapists, psychologists, and registered nurses. Other terms for Conventional Medicine include Allopathy and Allopathic medicine; Western Medicine, Mainstream Medicine, Orthodox Medicine, and Regular Medicine; and Biomedicine.
* Mainstream (Western) Medicine (MM): As it is practiced today as part of the health care system in the industrial states of the first world. Very few alternative medical practitioners are licensed to practice Conventional Medicine. Since many Conventional Medical practitioners often extend the scope of their practice to alternative procedures (sometimes for seeing more clients) the reverse is not true. This article looks into the necessity of finding acceptable alternatives for purposes of serving the patient's best interest first, within the body of Mainstream Medicine. It also voices criticism concerning the human, individual and social issues involved in current Medical Practices, both Conventional and Alternative.
* Complementary Medicine: Different from Alternative Medicine (AM) whereas Complementary Medicine is used together with Conventional Medicine, Alternative Medicine is used in place of Conventional Medicine. An example of an Alternative Therapy is using a special diet to treat cancer instead of undergoing surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy that has been recommended by a physician. Complementary Medicine is a group of diagnostic and therapeutic disciplines that are used together with Conventional Medicine. Complementary Medicine is usually not taught or used in Western medical schools or hospitals. Complementary Medicine any of the practices (as Acupuncture) of Alternative Medicine accepted and utilized by mainstream medical practitioners; An example of a Complementary Therapy is using Aromatherapy to help lessen a patients discomfort following surgery. Complementary Medicine includes a large number of practices and systems of health care that, for a variety of cultural, social, economic, or scientific reasons, have not been adopted by mainstream Western Medicine.
* Traditional Medicine (TM)(Indigenous Medicine or Folk Medicine): Describes Medical knowledge systems, which developed over centuries within various societies before the era of modern medicine; traditional medicines include practices such as herbal medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, Unani medicine, acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, South African Muti, Yoruba Ifa, as well as other medical knowledge and practices all over the globe. WHO defines traditional medicine as "the health practices, approaches, knowledge and beliefs incorporating plant, animal and mineral based medicines, spiritual therapies, manual techniques and exercises, applied singularly or in combination to treat, diagnose and prevent illnesses or maintain well-being"
* Countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America: Use traditional medicine to help meet some of their primary health care needs. For example, in Africa, up to 80% of the population uses traditional medicine for primary health care. The WHO, however, also notes that its use is spreading in popularity in industrialized countries. For example, in the United States, 158 million adults use complementary medicine (a field which incorporates traditional medicine but is broader in scope).
* The WHO also notes, though, that: Inappropriate use of (TM) or practices can have negative or dangerous effects and that "further research is needed to ascertain the efficacy and safety" of several of the practices and medicinal plants used by traditional medicine systems. * Core disciplines: Which study traditional medicine include ethnomedicine, ethnobotany, and medical anthropology.
* Medicine: Is the science and "art" of maintaining and restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of patients. The term is derived from the Latin ars medicina meaning the art of healing. * The modern practice of Medicine: occurs at the many interfaces between the art of healing and various sciences. Medicine is directly connected to the health sciences and biomedicine. Broadly speaking, the term 'Medicine' today refers to the fields of clinical medicine, medical research and surgery, thereby covering the challenges of disease and injury.
* History of Medicine Physician treating a patient: The earliest type of medicine in most cultures was the use of empirical natural resources like plants (herbalism), animal parts and minerals. In all societies, even in Western ones, there were also religious, ritual and magical resources. In aboriginal societies, there is a large scope of medical systems related to religious thinking, cultural experience, and natural resources. The religious ones more known are : animism (the notion of inanimate objects having spirits); spiritualism (here meaning an appeal to gods or communion with ancestor spirits); shamanism (the vesting of an individual with mystic powers); and divination (the supposed obtaining of truth by magic means). The field of medical anthropology studies the various medical systems and their interaction with society, while prehistoric medicine addresses diagnosis and treatment in prehistoric times.
* The practice of Medicine developed gradually: In ancient Egypt, Babylonia, India, China, Greece, Persia, the Islamic world, medieval Europe, and elsewhere. Medicine as it is now practiced largely developed during the Middle Ages and early modern period in Persia (Rhazes and Avicenna), Spain (Abulcasis and Avenzoar), Syria/Egypt (Ibn al-Nafis, 13th century), England (William Harvey, 17th century), Germany (Rudolf Virchow, 19th century) and France (Jean-Martin Charcot, Claude Bernard and others). The new "scientific" or "experimental" medicine (where results are testable and repeatable) replaced early Western traditions of medicine, based on herbalism, the Greek "four humours" and other pre-modern theories.
* The Sumerian god Ningizzida was the patron of Medicine: In the image he is accompanied by two gryphons. It is the oldest known image of snakes coiling around an axial rod, dating from before 2000 BCE. A similar image with two snakes coiling around a rod is called the Caduceus and, although historically inappropriate, appears in the logo/emblem of a significant number of private (rather than professional or academic) medical practices. The focal points of development of clinical medicine shifted to the United Kingdom and the USA by the early 1900s (Canadian-born) Sir William Osler, Harvey Cushing). Possibly the major shift in medical thinking was the gradual rejection, especially during the Black Death in the 14th and 15th centuries, of what may be called the 'traditional authority' approach to science and medicine. This was the notion that because some prominent person in the past said something must be so, then that was the way it was, and anything one observed to the contrary was an anomaly (which was paralleled by a similar shift in European society in general - see Copernicus's rejection of Ptolemy's theories on astronomy). Physicians like Ibn al-Nafis and Vesalius led the way in improving upon or indeed rejecting the theories of great authorities from the past (such as Hippocrates, Galen and Avicenna), many of whose theories were in time discredited. Such new attitudes were made possible in Europe by the weakening of the Roman Catholic church's power in society, especially in the Republic of Venice.
* Evidence-Based Medicine: Is a recent movement to establish the most effective algorithms of practice (ways of doing things) through the use of the scientific method and modern global information science by collating all the evidence and developing standard protocols which are then disseminated to healthcare providers. One problem with this 'best practice' approach is that it could be seen to stifle novel approaches to treatment.
* Genomics and knowledge of human genetics: Is already having some influence on medicine, as the causative genes of most monogenic genetic disorders have now been identified, and the development of techniques in molecular biology and genetics are influencing medical practice and decision-making.
* Pharmacology: Has developed from herbalism and many drugs are still derived from plants (atropine, ephedrine, warfarin, aspirin, digoxin, vinca alkaloids, taxol, hyoscine, etc). The modern era began with Robert Koch's discoveries around 1880 of the transmission of disease by bacteria, and then the discovery of antibiotics shortly thereafter around 1900. The first of these was arsphenamine Salvarsan discovered by Paul Ehrlich in 1908 after he observed that bacteria took up toxic dyes that human cells did not. The first major class of antibiotics was the sulfa drugs, derived by French chemists originally from azo dyes. Throughout the twentieth century, major advances in the treatment of infectious diseases were observable in (Western) societies. The medical establishment is now developing drugs targeted towards one particular disease process. Thus drugs are being developed to minimise the side effects of prescribed drugs, to treat cancer, geriatric problems, long-term problems (such as high cholesterol), chronic diseases type 2 diabetes, lifestyle and degenerative diseases such as arthritis and Alzheimer's disease.
* The practice of medicine combines: Both science as the evidence base and art in the application of this medical knowledge in combination with intuition and clinical judgment to determine the treatment plan for each patient. Central to medicine is the patient-physician relationship established when a person with a health concern seeks a physician's help; the 'medical encounter'. Other health professionals similarly establish a relationship with a patient and may perform various interventions, e.g. nurses, radiographers and therapists.
* As part of the medical encounter: The healthcare provider needs to:
* Develope a relationship with the patient. * Gather data (medical history, systems enquiry, and physical examination, combined with laboratory or imaging studies investigations. * Anlyze and synthesize that data (assessment and or differential diagnoses), and then: * Develop a treatment plan (further testing, therapy, watchful observation, referral and follow-up): * Treat the patient accordingly: * Assess the progress of treatment and alter the plan as necessary (management).
* The Medical Encounter: Is documented in a medical record, which is a legal document in many jurisdictions.
* Medicine: Is practiced within the Medical System: Which is a legal, credentialing and financing framework, established by a particular culture or government. The characteristics of a health care system have significant effect on the way medical care is delivered. Most industrialized countries and many developing countries deliver health care though a system of universal health care which guarantees health care for all through a system of compulsory private or co-operative health insurance funds or via government backed social insurance. This insurance, (in effect, a form of taxation) ensures the entire population has access to medical care on the basis of need rather than ability to pay.
* The delivery systems may be provided: By private medical practices or by state owned hospitals and clinics, or by charities. Most tribal societies but also some communist countries (e.g. China) and at least one industrialized capitalist country (the United States) provide no guarantee of health care for the population as a whole. In such societies, health care is available to those that can afford to pay for it or have self insured it (either directly or as part of an employment contract) or who may be covered by care financed by the government or tribe directly.
* Transparency of information: Is another factor defining a delivery system. Access to information on conditions, treatments, quality and pricing greatly affects the choice by patients / consumers and therefore the incentives of medical professionals. While US health care system has come under fire for lack of openness, new legislation may encourage greater openness. There is a perceived tension between the need for transparency on the one hand and such issues as patient confidentiality and the possible exploitation of information for commercial gain on the other.
* Medical care delivery is classified into primary, secondary and tertiary care: Primary care medical services are provided by physicians or other health professionals who have first contact with a patient seeking medical treatment or care. These occur in physician offices, clinics, nursing homes, schools, home visits and other places close to patients. About 90% of medical visits can be treated by the primary care provider. These include treatment of acute and chronic illnesses, preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes.
* Secondary care medical services: Are provided by medical specialists in their offices or clinics or at local community hospitals for a patient referred by a primary care provider who first diagnosed or treated the patient. Referrals are made for those patients who required the expertise or procedures performed by specialists. These include both ambulatory care and inpatient services, emergency rooms, intensive care medicine, surgery services, physical therapy, labor and delivery, endoscopy units, diagnostic laboratory and medical imaging services, hospice centers, etc. Some primary care providers may also take care of hospitalized patients and deliver babies in a secondary care setting. Tertiary care medical services are provided by specialist hospitals or regional centers equipped with diagnostic and treatment facilities not generally available at local hospitals. These include trauma centers, burn treatment centers, advanced neonatology unit services, organ transplants, high-risk pregnancy, radiation oncology, etc. Modern medical care also depends on information - still delivered in many health care settings on paper records, but increasingly nowadays by electronic means.
* This kind of relationship and interaction: Is a central process in the practice of medicine. There are many perspectives from which to understand and describe it. An idealized physician's perspective, such as is taught in medical school, sees the core aspects of the process as the physician learning the patient's symptoms, concerns and values; in response the physician examines the patient, interprets the symptoms, and formulates a diagnosis to explain the symptoms and their cause to the patient and to propose a treatment. The job of a physician is similar to a human biologist: that is, to know the human frame and situation in terms of normality. Once the physician knows what is normal and can measure the patient against those norms, he or she can then determine the particular departure from the normal and the degree of departure.
* This is called the diagnosis: The four great cornerstones of diagnostic medicine are anatomy (structure: what is there), physiology (how the structure/s work), pathology (what goes wrong with the anatomy and physiology) and psychology (mind and behavior). In addition, the physician should consider the patient in their 'well' context rather than simply as a walking medical condition. This means the socio-political context of the patient (family, work, stress, beliefs) should be assessed as it often offers vital clues to the patient's condition and further management. A patient typically presents a set of complaints (the symptoms) to the physician, who then obtains further information about the patient's symptoms, previous state of health, living conditions, and so forth.
* Physicians: Medical Practitioner or Medical Doctor: Have many specializations and subspecializations into certain branches of medicine, which are listed below. There are variations from country to country regarding which specialties certain subspecialties are in. A Physician is a person who practices medicine and is concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease and injury. This is accomplished through a detailed knowledge of anatomy, physiology, diseases and treatment - the science of medicine - and its applied practice - the art or craft of medicine.
* The physician then makes a review of systems (ROS) or systems inquiry: Which is a set of ordered questions about each major body system in order: general (such as weight loss), endocrine, cardio-respiratory, etc. Next comes the actual physical examination and often laboratory tests; the findings are recorded, leading to a list of possible diagnoses. These will be investigated in order of probability. The next task is to enlist the patient's agreement to a management plan, which will include treatment as well as plans for follow-up. Importantly, during this process the healthcare provider educates the patient about the causes, progression, outcomes, and possible treatments of his ailments, as well as often providing advice for maintaining health. This teaching relationship is the basis of calling the physician doctor, which originally meant "teacher" in Latin. The patient-physician relationship is additionally complicated by the patient's suffering (patient derives from the Latin patior, "suffer") and limited ability to relieve it on his/her own. The physician's expertise comes from his knowledge of what is healthy and normal contrasted with knowledge and experience of other people who have suffered similar symptoms (unhealthy and abnormal), and the proven ability to relieve it with medicines (pharmacology) or other therapies about which the patient may initially have little knowledge.
* The physician-patient relationship can be analyzed from the perspective of ethical concerns: In terms of how well the goals of non-maleficence, beneficence, autonomy, and justice are achieved. Many other values and ethical issues can be added to these. In different societies, periods, and cultures, different values may be assigned different priorities. For example, in the last 30 years medical care in the Western World has increasingly emphasized patient autonomy in decision making. The relationship and process can also be analyzed in terms of social power relationships (e.g., by Michel Foucault), or economic transactions. Physicians have been accorded gradually higher status and respect over the last century, and they have been entrusted with control of access to prescription medicines as a public health measure.
* This represents a concentration of power: Carries both advantages and disadvantages to particular kinds of patients with particular kinds of conditions. A further twist has occurred in the last 25 years as costs of medical care have risen, and a third party (an insurance company or government agency) now often insists upon a share of decision-making power for a variety of reasons, reducing freedom of choice of healthcare providers and patients in many ways. The quality of the patient-physician relationship is important to both parties. The better the relationship in terms of mutual respect, knowledge, trust, shared values and perspectives about disease and life, and time available, the better will be the amount and quality of information about the patient's disease transferred in both directions, enhancing accuracy of diagnosis and increasing the patient's knowledge about the disease. Where such a relationship is poor the physician's ability to make a full assessment is compromised and the patient is more likely to distrust the diagnosis and proposed treatment. In these circumstances and also in cases where there is genuine divergence of medical opinions, a second opinion from another physician may be sought or the patient may choose to go to another doctor. In some settings, e.g. the hospital ward, the patient-physician relationship is much more complex, and many other people are involved when somebody is ill: relatives, neighbors, rescue specialists, nurses, technical personnel, social workers and others.
* Medical history and Physical examination: Complete medical evaluation includes a medical history, a systems enquiry, a physical examination, appropriate laboratory or imaging studies, analysis of data and medical decision making to obtain diagnoses, and a treatment plan.
* The components of the medical history are:
* Chief complaint (CC): the reason for the current medical visit. These are the 'symptoms.' They are in the patient's own words and are recorded along with the duration of each one. Also called 'presenting complaint.' * History of present illness complaint (HPI): the chronological order of events of symptoms and further clarification of each symptom. * Current activity: occupation, hobbies, what the patient actually does. * Medications (DHx): what drugs the patient takes including prescribed, over-the-counter, and home remedies, as well as alternative and herbal medicines herbal remedies such as St John's wort. Allergies are also recorded. * Past medical history (PMH PMHx): concurrent medical problems, past hospitalizations and operations, injuries, past infectious diseases and or vaccinations, history of known allergies. * Social history (SH): birthplace, residences, marital history, social and economic status, habits (including diet, medications, tobacco, alcohol). * Family history (FH): listing of diseases in the family that may impact the patient. A family tree is sometimes used. * Review of systems (ROS) or systems inquiry: a set of additional questions to ask which may be missed on HPI: a general enquiry (have you noticed any weight loss, fevers, lumps and bumps? etc), followed by questions on the body's main organ systems (heart, lungs, digestive tract, urinary tract, etc).
* The Physical Examination: Is the examination of the patient looking for signs of disease ('Symptoms' are what the patient volunteers, 'Signs' are what the healthcare provider detects by examination). The healthcare provider uses the senses of sight, hearing, touch, and sometimes smell (taste has been made redundant by the availability of modern lab tests). Four chief methods are used: inspection, palpation (feel), percussion (tap to determine resonance characteristics), and auscultation (listen); smelling may be useful (e.g. infection, uremia, diabetic ketoacidosis). * The clinical examination involves study of:
* Vital signs including height, weight, body temperature, blood pressure, pulse, respiration rate, hemoglobin oxygen saturation * General appearance of the patient and specific indicators of disease (nutritional status, presence of jaundice, pallor or clubbing) * Skin * Head, eye, ear, nose, and throat (HEENT) * Cardiovascular (heart and blood vessels) * Respiratory (large airways and lungs) * Abdomen and rectum * Genitalia (and pregnancy if the patient is or could be pregnant) * Musculoskeletal (spine and extremities) * Neurological (consciousness, awareness, brain, cranial nerves, spinal cord and peripheral nerves) * Psychiatric (orientation, mental state, evidence of abnormal perception or thought)
* Laboratory and imaging studies results may be obtained: The medical decision-making (MDM) process involves analysis and synthesis of all the above data to come up with a list of possible diagnoses (the differential diagnoses), along with an idea of what needs to be done to obtain a definitive diagnosis that would explain the patient's problem. The treatment plan may include ordering additional laboratory tests and studies, starting therapy, referral to a specialist, or watchful observation. Follow-up may be advised. This process is used by primary care providers as well as specialists. It may take only a few minutes if the problem is simple and straightforward. On the other hand, it may take weeks in a patient who has been hospitalized with bizarre symptoms or multi-system problems, with involvement by several specialists. On subsequent visits, the process may be repeated in an abbreviated manner to obtain any new history, symptoms, physical findings, and lab or imaging results or specialist consultations.
* Branches of Medicine: Asclepius was the demigod of medicine, and the Rod of Asclepius with its single snake, is an ancient Greek symbol associated with medicine. The American Medical Association, the American Osteopathic Association, the Royal Society of Medicine, the Australian Medical Association, the British Medical Association, and the World Health Organization display the Rod of Asclepius in their logos or emblems.
* Working together as an interdisciplinary team: Many highly trained health profession also besides medical practitioners are involved in the delivery of modern health care. Some examples include: nurse(s) emergency medical technicians and paramedics, laboratory scientists, (pharmacy, pharmacists), (physiotherapy,physiotherapists), respiratory therapists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, radiographers, dietitians and bioengineers.
* The scope and sciences underpinning human medicine overlap many other fields: Dentistry and Psychology, while separate disciplines from medicine, are considered medical fields. A patient admitted to hospital is usually under the care of a specific team based on their main presenting problem, eg the Cardiology team, who then may interact with other specialties, eg surgical, radiology, to help diagnose or treat the main problem or any subsequent complications/ developments.
* Basic Sciences of Medicine: This is what every physician is educated in, and some returns to in Biomedical research # Preclinical research:
* Interdisciplinary Fields: where different medical specialties are mixed to function in certain occasions.
* Basic sciences:
* Anatomy: Is the study of the physical structure of organisms. In contrast to macroscopic or gross anatomy, cytology and histology are concerned with microscopic structures. * Biochemistry: Is the study of the chemistry taking place in living organisms, especially the structure and function of their chemical components. * Biostatistics: Is the application of statistics to biological fields in the broadest sense. A knowledge of biostatistics is essential in the planning, evaluation, and interpretation of medical research. It is also fundamental to epidemiology and evidence-based medicine. * Cytology: Is the microscopic study of individual cells. * Embryology: Is the study of the early development of organisms. * Epidemiology: Is the study of the demographics of disease processes, and includes, but is not limited to, the study of epidemics. * Genetics: Is the study of genes, and their role in biological inheritance. * Histology: Is the study of the structures of biological tissues by light microscopy, electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry. * Immunology: Is the study of the immune system, which includes the innate and adaptive immune system in humans, for example. * Microbiology: Is the study of microorganisms, including protozoa, bacteria, fungi, and viruses. * Neuroscience: Includes those disciplines of science that are related to the study of the nervous system. A main focus of neuroscience is the biology and physiology of the human brain and spinal cord. * Nutrition: Is the study of the relationship of food and drink to health and disease, especially in determining an optimal diet. Medical nutrition therapy is done by dietitians and is prescribed for diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, weight and eating disorders, allergies, malnutrition, and neoplastic diseases. * Pathology: As a science is the study of disease—the causes, course, progression and resolution thereof. * Pharmacology: Is the study of drugs and their actions. * Physiology: Is the study of the normal functioning of the body and the underlying regulatory mechanisms. * Toxicology: Is the study of hazardous effects of drugs and poisons.
* Medical Specialty: In the broadest meaning of 'medicine there are many different specialties. However, within medical circles, there are two broad categories: "Medicine" and "Surgery." "Medicine" refers to the practice of non-operative medicine, and most subspecialties in this area require preliminary training in "Internal Medicine." "Surgery" refers to the practice of operative medicine, and most subspecialties in this area require preliminary training in "General Surgery." There are some specialties of medicine that do not fit into either of these categories, such as radiology, pathology, or anaesthesia, and those are also discussed further below.
* Surgical Specialties: Employ operative treatment. In addition, surgeons must decide when an operation is necessary, and also treat many non-surgical issues, particularly in the surgical intensive care unit (SICU), where a variety of critical issues arise. Surgery has many subspecialties, e.g. general surgery, trauma surgery, cardiovascular surgery, neurosurgery, maxillofacial surgery, orthopedic surgery, otolaryngology, plastic surgery, oncologic surgery, vascular surgery, and pediatric surgery. In some centres, anesthesiology is part of the division of surgery (for logistical and planning purposes), although it is not a surgical discipline.
* Surgical Training: In the U.S. Requires a minimum of five years of residency after medical school. Sub-specialties of surgery often require seven or more years. In addition, fellowships can last an additional one to three years. Because post-residency fellowships can be competitive, many trainees devote two additional years to research. Thus in some cases surgical training will not finish until more than a decade after medical school. Furthermore, surgical training can be very difficult and time-consuming. A surgical resident's average work week is approximately 75 hours. Some subspecialties of surgery, such as neurosurgery, require even longer hours, and utilize an extension to the 80 hour regulated work week, allowing up to 88 hours per week. Many surgical programs still exceed this work hour limit. Attempts to limit the amount of hours worked has been difficult because of the large volume of patients who require surgical care, the limited amount of resources (including a shortage of people willing to enter into surgery as a career), the need to perform long operations and still provide care to all pre- and post-operative patients, and the need to provide constant coverage in the OR, ICU, and ER.
* Internal Medicine: Is concerned with systemic diseases of adults, i.e. those diseases that affect the body as a whole (restrictive, current meaning), or with all adult non-operative somatic medicine (traditional, inclusive meaning), thus excluding pediatrics, surgery, gynaecology and obstetrics, and psychiatry. Practitioners of such specialties are referred to as Physicians. There are several subdisciplines of internal medicine:
* Cardiology: * Critical care medicine: * Endocrinology: * Gastroenterology: * Hepatology: * Hematology: * Infectious diseases: * Nephrology: * Oncology: * Proctology: * Pulmonology: * Rheumatology: * Neurology: * Geriatrics:
* Pediatrics and Family Practice: Are also considered to fall under the category of "Medicine."
* Medical Training, as opposed to Surgical Training: Requires three years of residency training after medical school. This can then be followed by a one to two year fellowship in the subspecialties listed above. In general, resident work hours in medicine are less than those in surgery, averaging about 60 hours per week.
* Following are some selected fields of Medical Specialties:
* Clinical laboratory sciences: Are the clinical diagnostic services which apply laboratory techniques to diagnosis and management of patients. In the United States these services are supervised by a pathologist. The personnel that work in these medical laboratory departments are technically trained staff who do not hold medical degrees, but who usually hold an undergraduate medical technology degree, who actually perform the tests, assays, and procedures needed for providing the specific services. Subspecialties include Transfusion medicine, Cellular pathology, Clinical chemistry, Hematology, Clinical microbiology and Clinical immunology. * Pathology: As a medical specialty is the branch of medicine that deals with the study of diseases and the morphologic, physiologic changes produced by them. As a diagnostic specialty, pathology can be considered the basis of modern scientific medical knowledge and plays a large role in evidence-based medicine. Many modern molecular tests such as flow cytometry, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), immunohistochemistry, cytogenetics, gene rearragements studies and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) fall within the territory of pathology. * Radiology: Is concerned with imaging of the human body, e.g. by x-rays, x-ray computed tomography, ultrasonography, and nuclear magnetic resonance tomography. * Clinical Neurophysiology: Is concerned with testing the physiology or function of the central and peripheral aspects of the nervous system. These kinds of tests can be divided into recordings of: (1) spontaneous or continuously running electrical activity, or (2) stimulus evoked responses. Subspecialities include Electroencephalography, Electromyography, Evoked potential, Nerve conduction study and Polysomnography. Sometimes these tests are performed by techs without a medical degree, but the interpretation of these tests is done by a medical professional. * Ophthalmology: exclusively concerned with the eye and ocular adnexa. Combines conservative and surgical therapy, and has its own College. * Dermatology: Is concerned with the skin and its diseases. In the UK, dermatology is a subspeciality of general medicine. * Emergency Medicine: Is concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of acute or life-threatening conditions, including trauma, surgical, medical, pediatric, and psychiatric emergencies. * Obstetrics and Gynaecology (often abbreviated as Ob Gyn): Are concerned respectively with childbirth and the female reproductive and associated organs. Reproductive medicine and fertility medicine are generally practiced by gynecological specialists. * Palliative Care: Is a relatively modern branch of clinical medicine that deals with pain and symptom relief and emotional support in patients with terminal illnesses including cancer and heart failure. * Pediatrics (AE): or Paediatrics (BE): Is devoted to the care of infants, children, and adolescents. Like internal medicine, there are many pediatric subspecialities for specific age ranges, organ systems, disease classes, and sites of care delivery. * Physical Medicine: and Rehabilitation (or Physiatry): Is concerned with functional improvement after injury, illness, or congenital disorders. * Psychiatry: Is the branch of medicine concerned with the bio-psycho-social study of the etiology, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cognitive, perceptual, emotional and behavioral disorders. Related non-medical fields include psychotherapy and clinical psychology.
* Interdisciplinary fields: Interdisciplinary sub-specialties of medicine are:
* General Practice (GP), Family Practice, Family Medicine or Primary Care: Is, in many countries, the first port-of-call for patients with non-emergency medical problems. Many other health science fields, e.g. Dietetics. * Bioethics: Is a field of study which concerns the relationship between biology, science, medicine and ethics, philosophy and theology. * Biomedical Engineering: Is a field dealing with the application of engineering principles to medical practice. * Clinical Pharmacology: Is concerned with how systems of therapeutics interact with patients. * Conservation Medicine: Studies the relationship between human and animal health, and environmental conditions. Also known as ecological medicine, environmental medicine, or medical geology. * Disaster Medicine: Deals with medical aspects of emergency preparedness, disaster mitigation and management. * Diving Medicine (or hyperbaric medicine): Is the prevention and treatment of diving-related problems. * Evolutionary Medicine: Is a perspective on medicine derived through applying evolutionary theory. * Forensic Medicine: Deals with medical questions in legal context, such as determination of the time and cause of death. * Gender-Based Medicine: Studies the biological and physiological differences between the human sexes and how that affects differences in disease. * Hospital Medicine: Is the general medical care of hospitalized patients. Physicians whose primary professional focus is hospital medicine are called hospitalists in the USA. * Keraunomedicine: Is the medical study of lightning casualties. * Medical Humanities: Includes the humanities (literature, philosophy, ethics, history and religion), social science (anthropology, cultural studies, psychology, sociology), and the arts (literature, theater, film, and visual arts) and their application to medical education and practice. * Medical Informatics: Medical Computer Science, medical information and eHealth are relatively recent fields that deal with the application of computers and information technology to medicine. * Naturopathic Medicine: Is concerned with primary care, natural remedies, patient education and disease prevention. * Nosology: Is the classification of diseases for various purposes. * Preventive Medicine is the branch of medicine concerned with preventing disease. * Community Health or Public Health: Is an aspect of health services concerned with threats to the overall health of a community based on population health analysis. * Occupational Medicine's: principal role is the provision of health advice to organizations and individuals to ensure that the highest standards of health and safety at work can be achieved and maintained. * Aerospace Medicine: Deals with medical problems related to flying and space travel. * Osteopathic Medicine: Claims that much disease results from problems with bones and joints. * Pharmacogenomics: Is a form of individualized medicine. * Sports Medicine: Deals with the treatment and preventive care of athletes, amateur and professional. The team includes specialty physicians and surgeons, athletic trainers, physical therapists, coaches, other personnel, and, of course, the athlete. * Therapeutics: Is the field, more commonly referenced in earlier periods of history, of the various remedies that can be used to treat disease and promote health. * Travel Medicine: or Emporiatrics: Deals with health problems of international travelers or travelers across highly different environments. * Professions Complementing Physicians: * Nursing specialties; Medical specialties performed by Nurses. * Mid-level Practitioners: Performance of medical sciences by other certified people than physicians or nurses; Nurse practitioners, midwives and physician assistants, treat patients and prescribe medication in many legal jurisdictions. * Urgent Care: Focuses on delivery of unscheduled, walk-in care outside of the hospital emergency department for injuries and illnesses that are not severe enough to require care in an emergency department. * Veterinary Medicine: Veterinarians apply similar techniques as physicians to the care of animals. The original focus of veterinary medicine was primarily the health care of domestic animals. In recent years the discipline has broadened to include all vertebrate animals and even some of the more economically valuable or scientifically interesting invertebrates. Veterinary and human medicine had similar origins but diverged in the West largely under the influence of Christian doctrine which emphasized a fundamental difference between humans and all other species. The two disciplines re-converged to some degree after the Renaissance when scientific study of anatomy and physiology revealed undeniable similarities between humans and other animals. The similarities further extend into pathology and disease control leading the early pioneer in scientific pathology Rudolph Virchow to proclaim the doctrine of "one medicine."
* Medical Education: Is education connected to the practice of being a medical practitioner, either the initial training to become a physician or further training thereafter. Medical Education and training varies considerably across the world, however typically involves entry level education at a university medical school, followed by a period of supervised practice (Internship and/or Residency) and possibly postgraduate vocational training. Continuing medical education is a requirement of many regulatory authorities. Various teaching methodologies have been utilised in medical education, which is an active area of educational research. Presently, in England, a typical medicine course at university is 5 years after secondary education (4 if the student already holds a degree). Amongst some institutions and for some students, it may be 6 years (including the selection of an intercalated BSc taking one year at some point after the pre-clinical studies).
* This is followed by 2 Foundation years afterwards: Namely F1 and F2. Students register with the UK General Medical Council at the end of F1. At the end of F2, they may pursue further years of study. In the US and Canada, a potential medical student must first complete an undergraduate degree in any subject before applying to a graduate medical school to pursue an (M.D.) program. Some students opt for the research-focused MD PhD dual degree, which is usually completed in 7-8 years. There are cetain courses which are pre-requisite for being accepted to medical school, such as general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, mathematics, biology, english, labwork, etc. The specific requirements vary by school. In Australia, there are two pathways to a medical degree. Students can choose to take a five or six year undergraduate medical degree Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS or BMed) straight from high school, or complete a bachelors degree (generally three years, usually in the medical sciences) and then apply for a four year graduate entry Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) program.
* In most countries: It is a legal requirement for a medical doctor to be licensed or registered. In general, this entails a medical degree from a university and accreditation by a medical board or an equivalent national organization, which may ask the applicant to pass exams. This restricts the considerable legal authority of the medical profession to physicians that are trained and qualified by national standards. It is also intended as an assurance to patients and as a safeguard against charlatans that practice inadequate medicine for personal gain. While the laws generally require medical doctors to be trained in "evidence based", Western, or Hippocratic Medicine, they are not intended to discourage different paradigms of health.
* Criticism of Medicine has a long history: In the Middle Ages, some people did not consider it a profession suitable for Christians, as disease was often considered God-sent. God was considered to be the 'divine physician' who sent illness or healing depending on his will. However, many monastic orders, particularly the Benedictines, considered the care of the sick as their chief work of mercy. Barber-surgeons generally had a bad reputation that was not to improve until the development of academic surgery as a speciality of medicine, rather than an accessory field. Through the course of the twentieth century, healthcare providers focused increasingly on the technology that was enabling them to make dramatic improvements in patients' health.
* The ensuing development of a more mechanistic, detached practice: With the perception of an attendant loss of patient-focused care, known as the medical model of health, led to further criticisms. This issue started to reach collective professional consciousness in the 1970s and the profession had begun to respond by the 1980s and 1990s. The noted anarchist Ivan Illich heavily criticized modern medicine. In his 1976 work Medical Nemesis, Illich stated that modern medicine only medicalises disease and causes loss of health and wellness, while generally failing to restore health by eliminating disease. This medicalisation of disease forces the human to become a lifelong patient. Other less radical philosophers have voiced similar views, but none were as virulent as Illich. Another example can be found in Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology by Neil Postman, 1992, which criticises overreliance on technological means in medicine.
* Criticism of Modern Medicine: Has led to some improvements in the curricula of medical schools, which now teach students systematically on medical ethics, holistic approaches to medicine, the biopsychosocial model and similar concepts.
* The inability of Modern Medicine: To properly address some common complaints continues to prompt many people to seek support from alternative medicine. Although most alternative approaches lack scientific validation, some may be effective in individual cases. Some physicians combine alternative medicine with orthodox approaches. Medical errors and overmedication are also the focus of many complaints and negative coverage. Practitioners of human factors engineering believe that there is much that medicine may usefully gain by emulating concepts in aviation safety, where it was long ago realized that it is dangerous to place too much responsibility on one "superhuman" individual and expect him or her not to make errors. Reporting systems and checking mechanisms are becoming more common in identifying sources of error and improving practice.
See also: * Alternative medicine: * Big killers: * Bioethics: * Biomedical model: * Branches of medicine: * Diagnosis: * Health: * Health care: * Health profession: * Health care system: * Iatrogenesis: * Life extension: * List of diseases: * List of disorders: * List of medical abbreviations: * List of medical roots: * List of medical schools: * Important publications in medicine: * Medical anthropology: * Medical dictionary: * Medical education: * Medical equipment: * Medical ethics: * Medical literature: * Medicalization: * Naturopathic Medicine: * Pandemic: * Patient: * Pharmaceutical company: * Physician: * Rare diseases: * Surgery: * Traumatology: * Validation of foreign studies and degrees:
* Complementary and alternative healthcare and medical practices (CAM) are those healthcare and medical practices that are not currently an integral part of conventional medicine. The list of practices that are considered (CAM) changes continually as (CAM) practices and therapies that are proven safe and effective become accepted as "mainstream" healthcare practices. (CAM) practices may be grouped within five major domains:
1. Alternative Medical Systems:
2. Mind-Body Interventions:
3. Biological-Based Therapies:
4. Manipulative and Body-Based Methods:
5. Energy Therapies:
* (1) ALTERNATIVE MEDICAL & MEDICINE SYSTEMS: (CAM)
Alternative: Is an object or action which can be chosen. Alternative may refer to: A choice between two or more possibilities: substitute, offering something different from the established, conventional, traditional etc. Very available approach to healing that does not fall within the realm of (CM). An alternative school offering using a nontraditional curriculum. Alternative school, a school geared towards students whose needs cannot be met in a traditional school. Alternative Medicine, methods and practices used in place of, or in addition to, (CM). All approaches to health which are not conventional generally accepted by the medical establishment to health and disease. Alternative Therapies provide some services not available from (CM). Examples are patient empowerment and treatment methods that follow the biopsychosocial model of health. Many people utilize (MM) for diagnosis and basic information, while turning to alternatives for what they believe to be health enhancing measures.
* Includes practices that differ from Conventional Medicine (CM): Some Alternative Medicine practices are homeopathy, naturopathy, chiropractic, and herbal medicine. A typical definition is "every available approach to healing that does not fall within the realm of "Conventional Medicine". "Alternative Medicine" is often categorized together with Complementary Medicine using the umbrella term Complementary and Alternative Medicine or (CAM). Involves a complete system of theory and practice that have evolved independent of and often prior to the conventional biomedical approach. Many are traditional systems of medicine that are practiced by individual cultures throughout the world, including a number of venerable Asian approaches.
* Alternative Medicine practices: May be based on non-traditional belief systems or philosophies, and some may not follow the scientific method. Alternative Medicine any of various systems of healing or treating disease (as chiropractic, homeopathy, or faith healing) not included in the Traditional Medical curricula taught in the United States and Britain. They may incorporate spiritual, metaphysical, or religious underpinnings, untested practices, pre-modern medical traditions, or newly developed approaches to healing. If an initially untested alternative medical approach is subsequently shown to be safe and effective, it may then be adopted by conventional practitioners and no longer considered "Alternative".
* Alternative Therapies: Provide some services not available from (CM). Examples are patient empowerment and treatment methods that follow the biopsychosocial model of health.
* Advocates of Alternative Medicine: Hold that the various alternative treatment methods are effective in treating a wide range of major and minor medical conditions, and contend that recently published research (such as Michalsen, 2003, Gonsalkorale 2003, and Berga 2003 proves the effectiveness of specific alternative treatments. They assert that a PubMed search revealed over 370,000 research papers classified as alternative medicine published in Medline-recognized journals since 1966 in the National Library of Medicine database. See also Kleijnen 1991, and Linde 1997.
* Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM): Applies the scientific method to medical practice, and aims for the ideal that healthcare professionals should make "conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence" in their everyday practice. Prof. Edzard Ernst is a notable proponent of applying (EBM) to (CAM). Although advocates of alternative medicine acknowledge that the placebo effect may play a role in the benefits that some receive from alternative therapies, they point out that this does not diminish their validity. Researchers who judge treatments using the scientific method are concerned by this viewpoint, since it fails to address the possible inefficacy of alternative treatments.
* A number of Alternative Medicine advocates: Disagree with the restrictions of government agencies that approve medical treatments (such as the American Food and Drug Administration) and the agencies' adherence to experimental evaluation methods. They claim that this impedes those seeking to bring useful and effective treatments and approaches to the public, and protest that their contributions and discoveries are unfairly dismissed, overlooked or suppressed. Alternative medicine providers often argue that health fraud should be dealt with appropriately when it occurs.
* Jurisdiction differs concerning which branches of Alternative Medicine: Are legal, which are regulated, and which (if any) are provided by a government-controlled health service or reimbursed by a private health medical insurance company. (Specific legal obligations) of the General Comment on The right to the highest attainable standard of health of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (United Nations), it is stated that Obligations to respect (the right to health) include a State's obligation to refrain from prohibiting or impeding traditional preventive care, healing practices and medicines, from marketing unsafe drugs and from applying coercive medical treatments. A number of alternative medicine advocates disagree with the restrictions of government agencies that approve medical treatments (such as the American Food and Drug Administration) and the agencies' adherence to experimental evaluation methods. They claim that this impedes those seeking to bring useful and effective treatments and approaches to the public, and protest that their contributions and discoveries are unfairly dismissed, overlooked or suppressed. Alternative Medicine providers often argue that health fraud should be dealt with appropriately when it occurs.
* Many people utilize mainstream medicine for diagnosis and basic information: While turning to alternatives for what they believe to be health-enhancing measures. Studies indicate that alternative approaches are often used in conjunction with conventional medicine. Edzard Ernst wrote in the Medical Journal of Australia that "about half the general population in developed countries use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)." Survey results released in May 2004 by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the United States National Institutes of Health, found that in 2002 62.1% of adults in the country had used some form of (CAM) in the past 12 months, though this figure drops to 36.0% if prayer specifically for health reasons is excluded. 25% of people who use (CAM) do so because a medical professional suggested it. Another study suggests a similar figure of 40%. A British telephone survey by the BBC of 1209 adults in 1998 shows that around 20% of adults in Britain had used alternative medicine in the past 12 months.
* The use of Alternative Medicine in developed countries appears to be increasing: A 1998 study showed that the use of Alternative Medicine had risen from 33.8% in 1990 to 42.1% in 1997. In the United Kingdom, a 2000 report ordered by the House of Lords suggested that" limited data seem to support the idea that (CAM) use in the United Kingdom is high and is increasing." In many developing countries, allopathic medicine is available to few, due to lack of resources and poverty; therefore, traditional remedies may comprise the vast majority of medical treatment offered. Such traditional remedies often closely resemble alternative therapies.
* Allopathic Medicine: Is available to few, due to lack of resources and poverty; therefore, traditional remedies may comprise the vast majority of medical treatment offered. Such traditional remedies often closely resemble Alternative Therapies.
* Increasing numbers of Medical Colleges: Have started offering courses in Alternative Medicine. For example, in three separate research surveys that surveyed 729 schools in the United States (125 medical schools offering an MD degree, 25 medical schools offering a Doctor of Osteopathy degree, and 585 schools offering a nursing degree), 60% of the standard medical schools, 95% of osteopathic medical schools and 84.8% of the nursing schools teach some form of (CAM). The University of Arizona College of Medicine offers a program in Integrative Medicine under the leadership of Dr. Andrew Weil which trains physicians in various branches of alternative medicine which " neither rejects (CM), nor embraces alternative practices uncritically." Accredited Naturopathic colleges and universities are also increasing in number and popularity in the U.S.A. They offer the most complete medical training in Complementary Medicines that is available today. See Naturopathic Medicine.
* In Britain: No conventional medical schools offer courses that teach the clinical practice of Alternative Medicine. However, Alternative Medicine is taught in several unconventional schools as part of their curriculum. Teaching is based mostly on theory and understanding of alternative medicine, with emphasis on being able to communicate with Alternative Medicine Specialists. To obtain competence in practicing clinical alternative medicine, qualifications must be obtained from individual medical societies. The student must have graduated and be a qualified doctor. The British Medical Acupuncture Society, which offers Medical Acupuncture certificates to doctors, is one such example, as is the College of Naturopathic Medicine UK and Ireland.
* Contemporary use of Alternative Medicine: Many people utilize mainstream medicine for diagnosis and basic information, while turning to alternatives for what they believe to be health-enhancing measures. Studies indicate that alternative approaches are often used in conjunction with (CM).
* Edzard Ernst wrote in the Medical Journal of Australia: That "about half the general population in developed countries use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)." Survey results released in May 2004 by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the United States National Institutes of Health, found that in 2002 62.1% of adults in the country had used some form of (CAM) in the past 12 months, though this figure drops to 36.0% if prayer specifically for health reasons is excluded. 25% of people who use (CAM) do so because a medical professional suggested it. Another study suggests a similar figure of 40%. A British telephone survey by the BBC of 1209 adults in 1998 shows that around 20% of adults in Britain had used Alternative Medicine in the past 12 months. The use of Alternative Medicine in developed countries appears to be increasing. A 1998 study showed that the use of alternative medicine had risen from 33.8% in 1990 to 42.1% in 1997. In the United Kingdom, a 2000 report ordered by the House of Lords suggested that " limited data seem to support the idea that (CAM) use in the United Kingdom is high and is increasing."
* A 2002 survey of US adults 18 years and older conducted by the (CDC) the (NCCAM) indicated: * 74.6% had used some form of complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). * 62.1% had done so within the preceding twelve months. * When prayer specifically for health reasons is excluded, these figures fall to 49.8% and 36.0%, respectively. * 45.2% had in the last twelve months used prayer for health reasons, either through praying for their own health or through others praying for them. * 54.9% used (CAM) in conjunction with (CM). * 14.8% "sought care from a licensed or certified" practitioner, suggesting that "most individuals who use (CAM) prefer to treat themselves." * Most people used (CAM) to treat and/or prevent musculoskeletal conditions or other conditions associated with chronic or recurring pain. * "Women were more likely than men to use (CAM). The largest sex differential is seen in the use of mind-body therapies including prayer specifically for health reasons". * "Except for the groups of therapies that included prayer specifically for health reasons, use of (CAM) increased as education levels increased". * The most common (CAM) therapies used in the USA in 2002 were Prayer (45.2%), Herbalism (18.9%), Breathing Meditation (11.6%), Meditation (7.6%), Chiropractic Medicine (7.5%), yoga (5.1%), Body Work (5.0%), Diet-Based Therapy (3.5%), Progressive Relaxation (3.0%), Mega-Vitamin Therapy (2.8%) and Visualization (2.1%)
* (2) MIND-BODY INTERVENTIONS:
* Alternative therapies that cover a variety of techniques designed to enhance the mind's capacity to affect bodily function and symptoms. Only a subset of mind-body interventions are considered CAM. Many that have a well-documented theoretical basis, for example, patient education and cognitive-behavioral approaches are now considered "mainstream." On the other hand, meditation, certain uses of hypnosis, dance, music, and art therapy, and prayer and mental healing are categorized as complementary and alternative. Alternative therapies that cover a variety of techniques designed to enhance the mind's capacity to affect bodily function and symptoms.
* (3) BIOLOGICAL-BASED THERAPIES:
This category of CAM includes natural and biologically-based practices, interventions, and products, many of which overlap with conventional medicine's use of dietary supplements. Included are herbal, special dietary, orthomolecular, and individual biological therapies. Herbal therapies employ individual or mixtures of herbs for therapeutic value. An herb is a plant or plant part that produces and contains chemical substances that act upon the body. Special diet therapies, such as those proposed by Drs. Atkins, Ornish, Pritikin, and Weil, are believed to prevent and or control illness as well as promote health. Orthomolecular therapies aim to treat disease with varying concentrations of chemicals, such as, magnesium, melatonin, and mega-doses of vitamins. Biological therapies include, for example, the use of laetrile and shark cartilage to treat cancer and bee pollen to treat autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Biologically based therapies, is the precise name of a NCCAM classification, for alternative treatments that use substances found in nature, such as: * botanicals * animal-derived extracts * vitamins * minerals * fatty acids * amino acids * proteins * prebiotics and probiotics * whole diets * functional foods.
* (4) MANIPULATIVE AND BODY-BASED METHODS:
This category includes methods that are based on manipulation and or movement of the body. For example, chiropractors focus on the relationship between structure (primarily the spine) and function, and how that relationship affects the preservation and restoration of health, using manipulative therapy as an integral treatment tool. Some osteopaths, who place particular emphasis on the musculoskelatal system, believing that all of the body's systems work together and that disturbances in one system may have an impact upon function elsewhere in the body, practice osteopathic manipulation. Massage therapists manipulate the soft tissues of the body to normalize those tissues.
* (5) ENERGY THERAPIES: [+] * Bioelectromagnetic-based therapies [+] * Biofield:
Energy Therapies focus either on energy fields originating within the body (biofields) or those from other sources (electromagnetic fields). Biofield therapies are intended to affect the energy fields, whose existence is not yet experimentally proven, that surround and penetrate the human body. Some forms of energy therapy manipulate biofields by applying pressure and or manipulating the body by placing the hands in, or through, these fields.
Resources: (MedTerms): - Medical Dictionary definitions of popular medical terms easily defined on MedTerms: (NCCAM) - The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. (Wikipedia): - Wikipedia: The free encyclopedia Main article: Complementary and Alternative Medicine; Energy Therapies: (NIH) - National Institutes of Health. (MWD) - Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (IPL) - Internet Public Library: Health & Medical Sciences: (Kofutu's CAM): - Glossary of Spiritual Terms: (Scared Texts) - The Internet Sacred Text Archive:
Acupuncture Atlanta-Metro Atlanta Acupuncture-Chinese Medicine - Acupuncture Atlanta are experienced, licensed acupuncturists practicing in Atlanta, Georgia. ... Online Health Resources. http://www.acuatlanta.net/
Acupuncture Resources - Minneapolis alternative medicine clinic offering acupuncture, Chinese herbs, Oriental massage, and nutritional counseling. Licensed acupuncturist Steven Sonmore treats back pain, sciatica, migraines, arthritis, allergies, weight loss, depression, and more. http://www.orientalmedcare.com/index.html/
AESOP Chronic Pain Management Program - AESOP is a Non-profit organization dedicated to helping patients who suffer from chronic non-cancer pain who have tried every means available both surgical and non-surgical and still do not enjoy their quality of life. http://www.aesop-cpmp.com/
AHEM : Alternative Health EMall - It's all happening @ Alternative Health EMall Our Purpose: To assists and motivate health-conscious men and women to take responsibility for their health. http://www.herbsplus.com/
ALTERNATIVE HEALING CHOICES - Author of the book, Healing Choices, offers information on holistic & natural medicine as well as modalities, finding practitioners, stress management, cancer resources, and more! The book is also offered in hard copy & e-book formats. http://www.healingchoicesonline.com/ 120307
Alternative Healing Therapy - New Life Centre is situated on mauritius beach which cares your health and wellness by fasting, spa treatments, yoga, alternative healing therapies and detox. http://www.newlife.mu/ 020808
Alternative Healthzine - Wanna be healthy? Boost your health - naturally. Free articles on our site & five FREE health reports when you subscribe to our ezine. http://www.alternative-healthzine.com/
Alternative Online Counseling - Your relationship with others is based on your relationship with yourself. Our services remove what holds you back in your personal and spiritual growth. Get the help you need, right here, right now. http://www.onlinecounseling.org/ 050608Ayurveda Massage Therapy - ParmaSpa offers professional skincare and massage therapy services. http://www.parmaspa.com/
Complementary Therapists Guide - The directory for complementary therapists and alternative medicine providers, information about holistic health and alternative medicine, free listings and link exchange. http://www.therapiesguide.co.uk/
Local Therapy Guide - Local Therapy Guide promotes Natural Therapist and Therapies Australia - Wide, services include a Natural Therapy Health Forum, Health Resource and Info Centre, Book of the Week, Newsletters and much more. "Free Listings Available" http://www.naturaltherapyguide.com.au/ 111207
Northeren Wisconsin Alternative Health Directory - Directory of business, healers, artists, farmers, community. http://sustainable.net/
Sound Energy Healing - Tibetan Bowl Sound Healing information, services, events, free newsletter, home study course, cd and products for well being. A powerful modality conducted by Certified Sound Healer, Diane Mandle. http://www.soundenergyhealing.com/
The Pathway To Spiritual Fulfillment: - Products and services to help find inner peace Friendly Dragons, Beautiful Fairies, Wind Chimes, Wind Spinners, Music, and More. http://www.thepathway.com/
Use Nature - Natural Health & Lifestyle Directory Body - Mind - Spirit >> Alternative Healing, find Practitioners, Clinics, Products, Colleges, Articles, Health News, Self Help Manuals, Peace Initiatives, Sustainable Living and more. http://www.usenature.com/