'Olav Thulesius sets out to resurrect the sullied reputation of one of the most prolific writers of medical works during the Interregnum. - Thulesius has given us a welcome beginning of a study of a fascinating and neglected figure who made serious contributions to mid-seventeenth-century medicine while always living on the fringes of the established and licensed medical community.' - Martha Baldwin, Journal of the History or Medicine Was Nicholas Culpeper (1616-54) the father of English herbal medicine or a quacksalver and charlatan astrologer? This first modern biography shows a more complex picture. For example during the Civil War the Puritan Culpeper was wounded while fighting on the Parliamentarian side, as a physician of the poor, he had a burning desire to explain the secrets of medicine to ordinary people, He was not only the author of the famous herbal The English Physician but he also wrote the first book on midwifery and childcare and translated The London Pharmacopoeia.

Despite the global spread of Western medical practice, traditional doctors still thrive in the modern world. In Recipes for Immortality, Richard Weiss illuminates their continued success by examining the ways in which siddha medical practitioners in Tamil South India win the trust and patronage of patients. While biomedicine might alleviate a patient's physical distress, siddha doctors offer their clientele much more: affiliation to a timeless and pure community, the fantasy of a Tamil utopia, and even the prospect of immortality. They speak of a golden age of Tamil civilization and of traditional medicine, drawing on broader revivalist formulations of a pure and ancient Tamil community.
Weiss analyzes the success of siddha doctors, focusing on how they have successfully garnered authority and credibility. While shedding light on their lives, vocations, and aspirations, Weiss also documents the challenges that siddha doctors face in the modern world, both from a biomedical system that claims universal efficacy, and also from the rival traditional medicine, ayurveda, which is promoted as the national medicine of an autonomous Indian state. Drawing on ethnographic data; premodern Tamil texts on medicine, alchemy, and yoga; government archival resources; college textbooks; and popular literature on siddha medicine and on the siddhar yogis, he presents an in-depth study of this traditional system of knowledge, which serves the medical needs of millions of Indians.
Weiss concludes with a look at traditional medicine at large, and demonstrates that siddha doctors, despite resent trends toward globalization and biomedicine, reflect the wider political and religious dimensions of medical discourse in our modern world. Recipes for Immortality proves that medical authority is based not only on physical effectiveness, but also on imaginative processes that relate to personal and social identities, conceptions of history, secrecy, loss, and utopian promise.

Rather than physiological health only, complementary and alternative medicines aim at the production of wellbeing. This book explores how the increasing proliferation of holistic health methods are intimately connected with changing configurations of selfhood, gender and class.

Learning one's cherished dog has cancer is a common experience among dog owners today. Upon diagnosis, veterinarians may suggest surgery or chemotherapy. But, our dog's cancer was too widespread for surgery, and the harshness of chemotherapy seemed inappropriate for this gentle-natured golden. Instead, we chose to celebrate the life and spirit of our beloved pet each remaining day left with him. What happened next is an adventurous true story of love and courage. Last Summer with Oscar is a narrative case study about a 9-year old Golden Retriever's response to cancer. While my husband and I came to grips with his diagnosis, Oscar made an amazing discovery. Nestled among a patch of young trees were Slippery Elm seedlings, and eating them became his choice of treatment. Oscar's determination to live enabled him to return to this patch to eat the leaves, thereby regaining his strength for continued walks with his littermate, Winston. Oscar, the teacher, found new ways to communicate with me, his student. Together, we explored little-known remedies for cancer. The goodness of the journey elicited kindness and goodness from others. Last Summer with Oscar is filled with anecdotes that inspire love and a true belief in the potential of humanity.

This work examines the counseling approaches and techniques used by Yoruba traditional healers of Nigeria. It also describes the functions performed by Yoruba traditional healers when they work within the Yoruba cultural milieu. The information elicited from Yoruba traditional healers through videotape and interviews was analyzed by a Nigerian woman from the Yoruba ethnic group. The results of the volume support the premise that culture plays a significant role in the kind of healing methods and counseling techniques used by professionals and traditional healers, as well as in the type of professionals chosen by clients for consultation concerning their problems.

This concise reference book on Traditional Chinese Medicine provides a comprehensive introduction to the concept of TCM, its basic principles, therapy and medication. More than 5000 well structured entries are arranged in alphabetical order and cover a wide spectrum. From symptoms and diseases to acupuncture points, to herbal and other drugs used in chinese medicine the reader can get information on relevant issues. Also included are four-colour images of the most important herbs and medicinal plants that are mentioned in the reference book. This is an indispensible guide not only for medical practitioners interested in TCM but also for pharmacists and interested laypersons.

Integrative Rheumatology offers a new and much-needed perspective in disease and symptom management, blending conventional medicine with alternative approaches not typically included in a Western medical practice. While conventional treatments can provide considerable symptomatic relief and can even slow the progression of many rheumatologic conditions, integrative treatment incorporating lifestyle interventions, mind-body approaches, and practices such as acupuncture and meditation into conventional medical therapies can improve quality of life, reduce medication dosages, and are generally better tolerated. In this book, researchers and clinicians highlight specific gaps in conventional rheumatologic care and examine how alternative approaches may be ideally suited to address these missed opportunities. Here, the authors introduce topics not typically addressed in conventional rheumatology texts, including nutritional therapies, exercise, herbal medicine, mind/body approaches, Ayurveda, and energy medicine. The contributors, all of whom have a background in academic medicine, share the approaches that they have found most effective in their own practices, basing their work on the best scientific evidence available. Ultimately, an understanding of complementary and alternative approaches to healing can help clinicians care for their patients using the best proven therapies to modify disease progress and relieve pain and disability.

Why has the history of Western herbal medicine received such little research coverage in any systematic and authoritative way, even though it has figured large in both lay and learned healthcare of the past? What methods and sources are most appropriate for the study of medicinal herbs and herbal practices of the past? This collection provides historians with a coherent guide to a variety of sources in relation to medicinal plants that they have thus far lacked."Critical Approaches to the History of Western Herbal Medicine" encourages a serious re-assessment of research in the history of herbal medicine and provides examples of appropriate methodologies and critical examinations of relevant sources. In this innovative collection, historians and researchers from a range of disciplines come together to share material on the identification and use of medicinal plants, the activities of people involved with herbal medicine and the investigation of past herbal therapeutic beliefs and practice. Classical and medieval scholars, social and literary historians, archaeologists and ethnobotanists all contribute to this exploration of the history of Western herbal medicine.

Jurgen Schulte and Christian Endler met in 1990 at an international conference on the Structure of Water held in the Lecture Halls of the University of Graz (Austria). Disappointed by the lack of a systematic strategy of research into the physics of homoeopathy Jurgen Schulte started to work on the establishment of scientifically acceptable research standards in physics of homoeopathy and encouraged academic researchers to establish a coordinated and focused research strategy. In 1994, with the help of major representatives of the international research community, they edited one of the fIrst academic interdisciplinary books on Ultra High Dilution and homoeopathy that underwent a rigorous scientific international referee process before publishing. Due to the dedicated help of the prominent referees (BD Josephson, Nobel Laureate, Cavendish Lab. , Cambridge; M Bastide, Fac de Pharmacy, University Montpellier; RG Jahn, Aerospace Science, Princeton University), the book 1994 was quickly considered a mile stone and turning point for the scientific approach of research into Ultra High Dilution and homoeopathy. Since then the academic research community has grown considerably and many international conferences have been held. Today, research into homoeopathy is to be accepted by the European Union as part of the academic sciences, worthy to be funded at European Union level; an effort that took many years of research coordination and research strategy development. Excerpts of the Research Strategy of the European Committee for Homoeopathy (ECH) have been included in this book.

In an easy to use dictionary style of A-Z presentation, this volume lists the taxonomy and medicinal usage of Indian plants. Also given are both traditional Indian and international synonyms along with details of the habitats of the plants. This book, illustrated by over 200 full-color figures, is aimed at bringing out an updated Acute Study Dictionary of plant sources of Indian medicine. The text is based on authentic treatises which are the outcome of scientific screening and critical evaluation by eminent scholars. The Dictionary is presented in a user-friendly format, as a compact, handy, easy to use and one-volume reference work.

This book is written for researchers, undergraduate students and postgraduate students, physicians and traditional medicine practitioners who develop research in the field of neurosciences, phytochemistry and ethnopharmacology or can be useful for their practice. Topics discussed include the description of depression, its biochemical causes, the targets of antidepressant drugs, animal and cell models commonly used in the research of this pathology, medicinal plants and bioactive compounds with antidepressant activity used in traditional medicine, advances in nanotechnology for drug delivery to the brain and finally the future challenges for researchers studying this pathology.

Written by teachers for teachers, "Sand to Sky" provides practical and experiential insights to challenge tradition and to focus on creative and diverse approaches to education. For anyone interested in Complementary Medicine, these texts offer a lively question-and-answer format to highlight the personalities and methodologies of international teachers of Acupuncture, Asian Bodywork Therapy, Chinese Herbs, Biomedicine, therapist/patient interaction skills, and the psychosocial aspects of clinical training.

Journey with teachers who use theatrical methods such as blue wigs, music, rhymes, dance steps, and tongue dyes to bring abstract Chinese Medical theory to life, or who take students into the Alaskan wilderness for a crash course in the Five Elements. Listen to a range of creative voices, from those who documented the medical discoveries of early Chinese physicians to those who pioneered emergency treatments for rescue workers in New York City post-9/11.

Their stories form a colorfully inventive mosaic spanning the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada, China, and Japan. "Sand to Sky" offers a prompt for future discussions to train the next generation of practitioners and teachers.

Fabric of the Soul, 8 Extraordinary Vessels guides and motivates a rich understanding of the relationships between mind and soul to physical ailments. This is the heart of extraordinary vessel theory - a tradition in Chinese medicine that yields knowledge about modern syndromes and illness affecting multiple body systems. Practitioners of both eastern and western traditions will benefit from this user - friendly resource guide. This is a resource book to enrich the study and practice of Chinese and Western medicine, Jin Shin Do, Shiatsu, Tai chi and Qigong. Fabric of the Soul is clearly written and illustrated with illuminating case studies that provide easy access to a complex theory. The author has over 25 years experience in the field and brings her broad experience to unravel the mystery of the extraordinary vessels. Fabric of the Soul also gives a clear presentation of a simple and powerful qigong practice. Cultivating a deep understanding of and insight into the extraordinary vessels provides a daily personal practice that empowers anyone to achieve optimum health of body mind, and spirit. This book is a valuable tool for practitioners, students and anyone interested in qi; life force energy.

This book presents a series of perspectives on the therapeutic potential of the ritual and clinical use of the Amazonian hallucinogenic brew ayahuasca in the treatment and management of various diseases and ailments, especially its role in psychological well-being and substance dependence. Biomedical and anthropological data on the use of ayahuasca for treating depression, PTSD, and substance dependence in different settings, such as indigenous contexts, neo-shamanic rituals, contemporary therapeutic circles, and in ayahuasca religions, in both South and North America, are presented and critiqued. Though multiple anecdotal reports on the therapeutic use of ayahuasca exist, there has been no systematic and dense reflection on the topic thus far. The book brings the therapeutic use of ayahuasca to a new level of public examination and academic debate. The texts in this volume stimulate discussion on methodological, ethical, and political aspects of research and will enhance the development of this emergent field of studies.