Acupuncture is widely practised in the 21st century in scientifically developed countries for a wide range of ailments ranging from chronic pain, giddiness and high blood pressure to gastrointestinal disorders and sexual dysfunction. Yet the reasons for its vaunted efficacy remain a matter of controversy. In traditional Chinese medical theory, the mechanism of action in acupuncture was understood in terms of the flow of qi and the balance of yin and yang through the body's meridians, a complex network painstaking charted but never found. Modern medical researchers have examined old and new...

This trail-blazing book strips Chinese medical theory of the mystique and metaphysical pretentions that too often plague the discipline. It reconstructs the theory as derived from and consistent with empirical observations and clinical findings, in a manner that strikes common ground with biomedical science. Concepts like qi and phlegm and vital organs of the body like the shen (kidney) are interpreted, not as physical entities with defined measurable properties, but as constructs to facilitate the application of models for diagnosis and therapy. Using the approach of the philosophy of...

This title strips Chinese medical theory of the mystique and metaphysical pretentions that too often plague the discipline. It reconstructs the theory as derived from and consistent with empirical observations and clinical findings, in a manner that strikes common ground with biomedical science.