The Complementary Therapist's Guide to Conventional Medicine

Offering a systematic comparative approach to Western and Eastern medicine, this unique textbook enables students and practitioners of complementary medicine to develop a core understanding of conventional medical language and treatments. Practitioners of complementary medicine increasingly find themselves working alongside conventionally trained doctors and nurses. This book is a guide to conventional medical diagnoses, symptoms and treatments, and, using examples drawn from the author's experience and knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medicine, it encourages reflection on how these diagnoses may be interpreted from a more holistic medical perspective. It includes introductory sections on physiology, pathology and pharmacology, chapters devoted to the physiological systems of the body and the conventional approach to the treatment of diseases that can affect them, and information on dealing with patients in practice. Accompanying online material, including self-testing questions and answers and checklists for revision, is available for those wishing to use the text for systematic study.