Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Review Article

Whole Medical Systems versus the System of Conventional Biomedicine: A Critical, Narrative Review of Similarities, Differences, and Factors That Promote the Integration Process

Table 1

Overview of six whole medical systems.


	Chinese	Ayurveda	Unani	Homeopathy	Naturopathy	Anthroposophic

Classical texts	221–207 BC	Variously dated c700–200 BC	Avicenna, 1025 AD	Hahnemann, 1796	Gleich, 1848	Steiner & Wegman, 1925
Use (main regions)	East Asia	South Asia	South Asia, Middle East	Europe, India	Europe, English-speaking countries	Europe, South America
Key concepts	2 forces (yin, yang), vital energy (qi), 5 elements, meridians	3 energies or doshas (pitta, vaka, kapha), 5 elements	7 naturals (elements, temperaments, humors, organs, forces, actions, spirit)	Like cures like, minimum dose, experiments in healthy persons	Healing power of nature, treat the cause of disease, do no harm, doctor as teacher, treat the whole person, prevention	4 levels of formative forces (physical, life, soul, spirit), 3-fold constitution (nerve-sense, rhythmic, motor-metabolic)
Medicinal products & substances	Herbs, minerals, zoological	Herbs, minerals, zoological	Herbs, oils, perfumes	Homeopathic	Herbs, homeopathic, Chinese, food supplements	Homeopathic, herbs, minerals, zoological, chemically defined
Massage	Tuina, shiatsu	Ayurveda massage	Tadlik massage		Swedish massage	Rhythmical massage
Physical therapy		Hydrotherapy	Hydrotherapy, thermotherapy		Hydrotherapy, thermotherapy, joint manipulation	Hydrotherapy, thermotherapy, external applications
Other nonmedication treatment	Acupuncture, moxibustion	Purgation, lifestyle counselling	Purgation, cupping, leeching	Case taking, lifestyle counselling	Acupuncture, lifestyle counselling	Artistic (music, speech, painting, drawing, clay), biography & lifestyle counselling
Physical exercises	Qigong, Tai-Chi	Breathing	Yes	Yes	Yes	Eurythmy movements
Other self-treatment		Heliotherapy, meditation	Reciting sacred text	Stress reduction	Heliotherapy, relaxation techniques	Meditation
Diet	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Homeopathic medicinal products can be of herbal, mineral, or zoological origin or chemically defined and are defined by specific homeopathic manufacturing procedures (see text).