This document compares traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine views health and disease based on the balance of yin and yang and the flow of qi through meridians. It uses herbs and focuses on preventative care. Western medicine has evolved from ancient Greek and religious influences to focus on anatomy, physiology and using treatments like surgery and drugs. While Western medicine can effectively treat emergencies, traditional Chinese medicine takes a longer term approach. Both have strengths and there is potential for greater integration between the two approaches in the future.

1. POLS 3620
Comparison of Traditional
Chinese Medicine and Western
Medicine
09051694 LI Youzhi, Yugi
09017143 Tsang Wing Cheong, Randy

2. How do they perceive Traditional
Chiense Medicine
2 yugi

3. How do they perceive Traditional
Chinese Medicine
Keyword
 Superstitious
 Not scientific
 Religious
 Old ingredient, use herbs
 Different diagnose system (eg. look at the color of
tongue)
 Taker longer time for the effect to take place
 Preventative medicine
3 yugi

4. Rundown
Different
perspectives Traditional
Western
Chinese
Medicine
Medicine
Ancient
philosophy
Philosophy YinYang
Five Phases
religious (WuXing)
Modern
Western
Medicine
Qi
Integration
4 yugi

5. What is Western Medicine ?
Ancient Western Medicine
 Western medicine: a combination understanding
of different doctrines during ancient time
 Ancient Greek (started from 3000BC)
 Similar to Chinese Medicine in understanding the nature of
human
 There is a mixture of philosophy, religions and medicine
 Empeddocles: four natural elements
 earth土, air氣, water水 and fire火
 four characteristic:
 dry乾, cold冷, hot熱, humid濕
 Hippocrates, Galen
 Humoral theory
 Blood, mucus, black bile, yellow bile
5 Randy

6. What is Western Medicine ?
Religious background
 Asckeplius (God of Heal)
6 Randy

7. Religious
 Christian view
 Emphasize on the power of faith to cure
disease
 Shrines of saints and martyrs were clinics
 Priest as a doctor
 Religions didn’t deny the use of medicine
 Building hospitals
 In medieval time, churches
could provide medicine
7 Randy

8.  After the development of natural
science, there is a spilt of medicine and
religions
 It became a study in university studying
8 Randy

9. Modern Western Medicine
 Divided into different categories
 Physical and mental
 Development of studies and treatment
 Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology, Pharmacology, etc.
 Physiotherapy, Cardiology,
 From pray to pill and surgery
 Relationship of Medicine and Society
 Western Medicine: theory could teach us what can be
done to solve the problem; there is one way go and one
way out
9 Randy

10. Traditional Chinese Medicne
Philosophy: Yin-yang (陰陽)
 Taoism asserts that everything is defined in
the unity of opposites, namely Yin and Yang.
 Yang conducts change and Yin brings it up.
 Therefore everything is interconnected and
unbreakable.
10 Yugi

11. Yin-yang (陰陽)
Yin (陰) Yang (陽)
•Yin consists blood and all •Yang is the body’s
other fluids in the body. transformative capacity,
especially its ability to
•Yin is moistening, cooling generate and maintain
and nurturing. warmth.
•It provides warmth, activity,
libido, appetite, digestion
and assimilation.
Yin is the material basis for the transforming power of Yang.
Yugi 11

12. Five Phases
wu xing (五行)
 The human body, like
matter in general, is made
up of five elements.
 The Five elements
represent the tangible
activities of Yin and Yang
as manifested in the
cyclic changes of nature
which regulate life on
earth.
Yugi 12

13. Qi (氣)
 “Animating life-force
energy”
 Qi flows through the body
along channels called
meridians(經絡).
 In the TCM model of
health and disease, when
Qi flow is blocked or
stagnated, it caused illness.
Yugi 13

14. Myocardial Infarction [MI]
(Heart Attack)
TCM Western Medicine
Causes Obstruction of vein and weak Obstruction of the blood
in Qi (氣) supply to the heart muscle
Treatment NO SOLUTION for the Surgery attempts to as
acute(急性) attack possible and to prevent further
complications as soon as
possible.
Notes Preventable but not curable
•Doing surgeries could be the most effective
way to save the emergency patient.
14 Randy

15. Cancer
TCM Western Medicine
Causes No this disease titled “cancer” Carcinogens (致癌物) including
therefore the causes are chemicals and radiation
uncertain
Treatment Recuperate patient’s whole Aiming at killing tumor cells or
body system to let himself fight stopping tumor growth:
the tumor Physical removal + radiotherapy
Side-effect Very long-term treatment Normal cells are killed at the
procedure same time
Notes “Live with tumor” Ease the tumor cell as much as
possible
15 Yugi

16. CONCLUSION
AND FUTURE INTEGRATION
16

17. Integration of Traditional and
Western Medicine
 Traditional Chinese Medicine Patent
Prescription (中成藥)
 Internationalization of Traditional Chinese
Medicine
 Affirmation of the Chinese medicine in supportive care
 Use of Acupuncture in Germany: 77%
 Legislation of Traditional Chinese Medicine in
Australia
 FDA has sought for advice about the making of
herbal medicine
17 Randy

18.  SARS
18 Yugi

19. ~THANK YOU~
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