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 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. General principles of Chinese pharmacology Herbs according to clinical groups: I Herbs that release the exterior: warming and cooling acrid herbs II Herbs that stop vomiting IIa Herbs that promote vomiting IIb Herbs that stop vomiting III Herbs that purge and drain IIIa Herbs that aggressively purge IIIb Laxative herbs that moisten IIIc Strong laxatives IV Herbs that Cool Heat IVa Herbs that drain fire and cool heat IVb Herbs that cool Liver heat IVc Herbs that cool blood IVd Herbs that clear heat and dry dampness IVe Herbs that cool and disinfect IVf Herbs that clear heat from deficiency V Aromatic herbs that Open the Orifices VI Aromatic Herbs that Transform Dampness VII Herbs that Drain and Transform Dampness VIII Herbs that Dispel Wind-Dampness IX Herbs that Warm the Interior and Expel Cold X Substances that Calm the Spirit Xa Substances that Anchor and Calm the Spirit Xb Substances that Nourish the Heart and Calm the Spirit Xc Substances that Extinguish Wind and Calm the Liver XI Herbs that Regulate the Qi XII Herbs tht Regulate the Blood XIIa Herbs that Invigorate the Blood XIIb Herbs that Stop Bleeding XIII Herbs that Transform Phlegm and Stop Coughing XIIIa Herbs that Transform Cold Phlegm XIIIb Herbs that Cool and Transform Hot Phlegm XIIIc Herbs that Stop Coughing XIV Herbs that Promote Digestion XV Tonifying herbs XVa Qi tonifying herbs XVb Tonifies yang XVc Herbs that Tonify the Blood XVd Herbs that Tonify the Yin XVI Herbs that Stabilize and Bind XVII Herbs that Expel Parasites XVIII Substances for External Use Treatment guidelines according to the main patterns of disharmony How to prepare herbs Appendix: Quality Proof of herbal drugs from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM-drugs) by H. Wagner/R. Bauer Indices: General index Latin herb names Pinyin herb names English herb names Other herb names Chinese herb names