David S. Riley’s interest in the history, methodology and results of homeopathic drug provings began with his exposure to homeopathy in 1988 and his later study at the Hahnemann College of Homeopathy in Albany, California. The homeopathic drug provings published here are the result of his investigation of the research methods associated with homeopathic drug provings and contemporary research methodology. Dr. Riley has developed explicit and transparent research tools for (1) symptom selection criteria, (2) electronic data collection, and (3) blinding to reduce bias. These homeopathic drugs provings follow good clinical practice research guidelines (GCP) and incorporate the guidelines suggested by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann more than 200 years ago
Phytotherapy or herbal medicine is the most important therapy within Chinese medicine and is being used increasingly in the West. A Materia Medica for Chinese Medicine: plants, minerals and animal products describes 400 of the most important plants, minerals and animal substances used as treatments by Chinese medical practitioners. The items included have been selected according to their degree of clinical relevance. Each remedy is clearly described and illustrated on two facing pages, making this an easily accessible reference for both students and practitioners of Chinese herbal medicine. The clearly laid out text presents the following details for each herb or substance included: - a detailed description of the characteristic features - indictions for safe use - medicinal and toxic effects - possible combinations with other substances - full-colour illustrations, generally two for each substance, showing the detailed characterisitcs of the item described A Materia Medica for Chinese Medicine has been written by two medically trained doctors who have worked as TCM therapists specializing in the use of Chinese herbs for more than 30 years. Based on their many years of teaching and practice, the book has been carefully compiled and designed to provide a concise and accurate practice-based reference for both students and practitioners.
The authors provide a new insight to the practice of medical care in the medieval world. They examine the medicinal prescriptions and references to materia medica of the Cairo Genizah by combining the approaches of ethnobotany and history of medicine.
One of the cornerstones of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), herbal medicine has evolved over centuries of clinical practice and empirical results into a vast body of knowledge encompassing more than 6,000 substances, most of whose effects and uses have been documented and researched. The literature on Chinese medicinal herbs is unparalleled and unsurpassed in the world's medical knowledge; the earliest known pharmacological work was composed before the end of the third century B.C. The first classical Chinese materia medica appeared during the late Han dynasty (25-22- A.D.) and included 365 entries of botanical, zoological, and mineral substances, listing their properties and effects. Subsequent materia medica were assembled during virtually every dynasty from the Liang (456-536 A.D.) to the Qing (1645-1911). Among the major treatments published during these centuries was the 30-volume Materia Medica Arranged According to Pattern, which had 1558 entries, more than 3,000 formulae, and became the official pharmacopoeia of herbal medicine in China for 500 years. n Illustrated Chinese Materia Medica brings to the English language a lavishly illustrated atlas of the 320 herbs used most frequently in traditional Chinese medical practice. Each substance is profiled authoritatively in monographs that provide pharmaceutical, botanical and English names; flavor properties and channel tropisms; functions; clinical uses and major combinations; dosage and administration; and precautions. Intended for medicinal and pharmaceutical chemists as well as practitioners of homeopathic and alternative medicines, this materia medica offers a unique blend of authenticity that is derived from knowledge of classical Chinese literature with a clearly practical objective of persenting valuable information in a straightforward, easily comprehensible style.
