About the Author .............................................. vii
Foreword ....................................................... ix
Preface ........................................................ xi
Acknowledgments ................................................ xv
Chapter 1 The Origins and Nature of Chinese Medicine ........... 1
Chapter 2 Chinese and Western Medicine: Never the Twain Shall
Meet? .......................................................... 15
2.1 The Nature of Health and Illness .......................... 16
2.2 Reconstructing Chinese Medical Theory ..................... 19
Chapter 3 The Causes of Disease ............................... 25
3.1 Diseases in TCM ........................................... 27
3.2 Diseases in Western Medical Thought ....................... 29
3.3 Causation in Western Medicine ............................. 33
3.4 Reconciling TCM and Biomedicine in Disease Causation ...... 38
Chapter 4 The Fundamental Ingredients of Life ................. 45
4.1 Qi, Blood and Body Fluids ................................. 46
4.2 Pathogenic Substances ..................................... 47
4.3 The Meaning and Nature of Qi .............................. 50
4.4 Interpreting Qi ........................................... 53
4.5 Phlegm (tan): The Ubiquitous Pathogen ..................... 56
4.6 Wind (feng): An Ill that Blows No Good .................... 61
4.7 Interpretation of TCM Entities ............................ 64
Chapter 5 Organ and Meridian Systems .......................... 69
5.1 TCM Organs and Their Interpretation ....................... 71
5.2 Meridians and Collaterals ................................. 84
5.3 An Interpretation of Meridians ............................ 86
Chapter 6 Methods of Diagnosis and Therapy .................... 91
6.1 Yin-Yang: The Principle of Balance as the Basis for
Health .................................................... 91
6.2 The Nature of Models ...................................... 98
6.3 The Five Elements: The Model of Physiological
Interaction .............................................. 101
6.4 Climate and Emotions: The Model for Illness Causation .... 104
6.5 Syndromes: The Model for Diagnosis and Therapy ........... 107
6.6 Epistemological Issues in TCM Models ..................... 118
6.7 Heuristic Models ......................................... 121
6.8 Reductionism, Holism and Systems Biology ................. 123
Chapter 7 Treating Illness: Herbs and Other Therapies ........ 127
7.1 Chinese Materia Medica (Herbs) ........................... 128
7.2 Medical Prescriptions .................................... 132
Chapter 8 Scientific Evidence for TCM ........................ 139
8.1 Facing the Challenge ..................................... 139
8.2 Evidence for TCM Therapies ............................... 143
8.3 Biomarkers ............................................... 152
8.4 Over-emphasis on RCTs for TCM ............................ 153
8.5 Observational and Case Studies Also Count ................ 158
Chapter 9 Cultural Factors in Placebo Effects ................ 165
9.1 Placebo Effects as Real Therapy .......................... 165
9.2 Placebo Effect in TCM .................................... 169
Chapter 10 Treatment of Chronic Illnesses ..................... 175
10.1 Coronary Heart Disease .................................. 176
10.2 Hypertension and Stroke ................................. 179
10.3 Digestive Disorders and the Irritable Bowel Syndrome .... 183
10.4 Depression .............................................. 186
10.5 Cancer .................................................. 189
10.6 Conclusion .............................................. 192
Chapter 11 Chinese Medicine: Reinterpretation and Future
Direction ..................................................... 195
11.1 TCM Theory Reinterpreted ................................. 196
11.2 Challenges Facing Modern Biomedicine ..................... 198
11.3 Convergence .............................................. 203
Annex 1: Common Chinese Herbs ................................. 205
Annex 2: Common Chinese Prescriptions ......................... 227
Annex 3: Translating Chinese Medical Terms .................... 233
Bibliography .................................................. 245
Index ......................................................... 257
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