Clare Stephenson trained as a medical doctor studying at both Cambridge and Oxford Universities and worked for a number of years as a general family practitioners. She trained in acupuncture in order to use it in her general practice but later decided to specialise in acupuncture. She was asked to go back to the College where she trained in acupuncture to teach conventional medical sciences to TCM students. The work on which the book is based was commissioned by the school for use with their students and has been trialled with those students over a 12 month period.