Fundamentals of Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Amajor textbook that lays the foundations for a broad understanding of complementary and alternative medicine. Written for all students and practitioners working in medicine, health, and science, it: bridges the gap with conventional medicine, discussing a variety of relevant cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts in which to view complementary and alternative medicine; describes the development of, and key ideas and approaches within, individual complementary systems and therapies; gives a clear assessment and review of the status of scientific research results where these exist; covers integrated and traditional systems found in the West, China, India, Latin America, and worldwide, and details their scopes, history, contemporary settings, and applications.

Fundamentals of Complementary and Alternative Medicine will :

- enable medical students to understand approaches to medicine not based wholy on traditional Western methods;
- give medical professionals a solid base from which to choose further reading, study, or assessment of treatment options open to their patients;
- provide nursing and allied health practitioners with additional perspectives on alternative therapy treatments.

At a time when clear and relevant information about complementary and alternative medicine is being sought eagerly, this is the text to guide readers through an increasingly complex field.