Unit 2 - Whole Medical Systems

Question 1

What involves complete systems of theory and practice that have evolved independently from or parallel to allopathic (conventional) medicine?

Answer 1

Whole medical systems.

Question 2

What does whole medical systems typically consist of?

Answer 2

Many are traditional systems of medicine that are practiced by individual cultures throughout the world like Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Ayurvedic medicine. Major western whole medical systems include homeopathy and naturopathy. Other systems have been developed elsewhere.

Question 3

What complete system of healing dates back to 200 B.C. in written form?

Answer 3

TCM. Korea, Japan, and Vietnam have all developed their own unique versions of traditional medicine based on practices originating in China.

Question 4

What whole medical system view the body as a delicate balance of two opposing and inseparable forces: yin and yang.

Answer 4

TCM. Yin represents the cold, slow, or passive principle, while yang represents the hot, excited, or active principle.

Question 5

For TCM, what is the basis of disease?

Answer 5

An internal imbalance of yin and yang.

Question 6

What does the imbalance in yin and yang lead to theoretically?

Answer 6

The blockage in the flow of qi (or vital energy) and of blood along the pathways known as meridians.

Question 7

What is typically used by TCM practioners to unblock qi and blood in patient?

Answer 7

The diagnostic tools are:
Acupuncture and moxibustion. (moxibustion is the application of heat from the burning of the herb moxa at the acupuncture point)
Chinese Materia Medica (catalogue of natural products used in TCM).
Massage and manipulation.

Question 8

T/F Acupuncture practiced by other practitioners such as physicians and dentists for relief of pain and various other health conditions

Answer 8

True

Question 9

What types of potential in clinical value does acupuncture have in treatment for?

Answer 9

Nausea/vomiting and dental pain… limited evidence suggest in treatment for other pain disorders, paralysis and numbness, movement disorders, depression, insomnia, breathlessness, and asthma.

Question 10

T/F Acupuncture’s effects have not been able to be fully explained and the workings are not fully understood to be apart of the framework in the Western system of medicine.

Answer 10

True.

Question 11

What is the proposed effects of acupuncture in an attempt to explain how it works?

Answer 11

Acupuncture produces its effects by the conduction of electromagnetic
signals at a greater-than-normal rate, thus aiding the activity of pain-killing biochemicals,
such as endorphins and immune system cells at specific sites in the body. In addition, studies
have shown that acupuncture may alter brain chemistry by changing the release of
neurotransmitters and neurohormones and affecting the parts of the central nervous system
related to sensation and involuntary body functions, such as immune reactions and processes
whereby a person’s blood pressure, blood flow, and body temperature are regulated.

Question 12

What is the standard reference book of information on medicinal substances that are used in Chinese herbal medicine? Herbs and botanicals usually contain dozens of bioactive compounds.

Answer 12

Chinese Materia Medica.

Question 13

What is a formula in respect to TCM?

Answer 13

Multiple herbs used in combination, which makes the standardization of herbal preparations very difficult. These formulas are normally individualized for each diagnosis.

Question 14

What natural healing system literally means “the science of life” and was developed in India?

Answer 14

Ayurvedic

Question 15

T/F Ayurvedic medicine is a comprehensive system of medicine that places equal emphasis on the body, mind, and spirit, and strives to restore innate harmony of the individual.

Answer 15

True.

Question 16

What are some primary treatments of Ayurvedic medicine?

Answer 16

Diet, exercise, meditation, herbs, massage, exposure to sunlight, and controlled breathing.

Question 17

T/F Ayurvedic treatments have been developed for various diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular conditions, and neurological disorders but Indian medical literature indicates that the quality of the published clinical trials generally falls short of contemporary methodological standards with regard to criteria for randomization, sample size, and adequate controls.

Answer 17

True.

Question 18

What is a system of healing, originating from Europe, that views disease as a manifestation of alterations in the processes by which the body heals itself?

Answer 18

Naturopathy. It literally translates as “nature disease”. It emphasizes health restoration as well as disease treatment.

Question 19

What are the six principles of Naturopathy?

Answer 19

The healing of nature.
Identification and treatment of the cause of disease.
The concept of "first do no harm".
The doctor as teacher.
Treatment of the whole person.
Prevention.

Question 20

What type of core modalities support these principles?

Answer 20

Diet modification, nutritional supplements, herbal medicine, acupuncture and Chinese medicine, hydrotherapy, massage and joint manipulation, and lifestyle counseling.

Question 21

T/F Virtually no research studies on naturopathy as a complete medical system of medicine have been published.

Answer 21

True.

Question 22

What complete system of medical theory and practice was founded by German physician Samuael Christian Hahnmann (1755-1843) and hypothesized that one can select therapies on the basis of how closely symptoms produced by a remedy match the symptoms of the patient’s disease which is called the “principle of similiars”?

Answer 22

Homeopathy or Homeopathic medicine.

Question 23

T/F Hanemann proceeded to give repeated doses of many common remedies to healthy volunteers and would carefully record the symptoms they produced.

Answer 23

True. This procedure was called proving, or in modern homeopathy, a “human pathogenic trial.”

Question 24

How is homeopathy administered?

Answer 24

In minute or potentially nonexistent material dosages, but there is skepticism.

Question 25

There are differences in philosophy for this whole medical systems, but what do they have in common?

Answer 25

These systems are based on
the belief that one’s body has the power to heal itself. Healing often involves marshalling
multiple techniques that involve the mind, body, and spirit. Treatment is often individualized
and dependent on the presenting symptoms.