E-Book Overview
Every day, newspapers and television news programs present stories on the latest controversies over healthcare and medical advances, but they do not have the space to provide detailed background on the issues. Websites and weblogs provide information from activists and partisans intent on presenting their side of a story. But where can students - or even ordinary citizens - go to obtain unbiased, detailed background on the medical issues affecting their daily lives? This volume in the Health and Medical Issues Today series provides readers and researchers with a balanced, in-depth introduction to the medical, scientific, legal, and cultural issues surrounding alternative medicine and its importance in today's world of healthcare.Alternative Medicine is organized to provide students and researchers with easy access to the information they need:Section 1 provides overview chapters on the background information needed to intelligently understand the issues and controversies surrounding complementary and alternative therapies, such as the theories that serve as the foundation for alternative treatments.Section 2 offers concise examinations of the contemporary issues and debates that provoke the most heated disagreements and misunderstandings, such as the debates over the efficacy of alternative treatments and whether the government should regulate herbal treatments.Section 3 includes reference material on alternative medicine, including primary source documents from important clinicians and researchers in the debate over alternative treatments, a timeline of important events, and an annotated bibliography of useful print and electronic resources.This volume in the Health and Medical Issues Today series provides everything a student requires to understand the issues involved in alternative medicine and serves as a springboard for further research into the issue.
E-Book Content
A LT E R NAT I V E MEDICINE
Recent Titles in Health and Medical Issues Today Obesity Evelyn B. Kelly Organ Transplantation David Petechuk Stem Cells Evelyn B. Kelly
ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
Christine A. Larson
Health and Medical Issues Today
GREENWOOD PRESS Westport, Connecticut ● London
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Larson, Christine A., 1953– Alternative medicine / Christine A. Larson. p. cm.—(Health and medical issues today, ISSN 1558–7592) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–313–33718–7 (alk. paper) 1. Alternative medicine. I. Title. II. Series. [DNLM: 1. Complementary Therapies. WB 890 L334a 2006] R733.L37 2007 610—dc22 2006029482 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright © 2007 by Christine A. Larson All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2006029482 ISBN: 0–313–33718–7 ISSN: 1558–7592 First published in 2007 Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www.greenwood.com Printed in the United States of America
The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984). 10
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Science is a search for the truth. The effort to understand the world involves the rejection of bias, dogma, of revelation but not the rejection of morality. One way in which scientists work is by observing the world, making note of phenomena and analyzing them. Linus Pauling, Ph.D. This book is dedicated to Dr. Linus Pauling, the only recipient of two unshared Nobel Prizes for his work. Dr. Pauling received his bachelor’s degree from Oregon Agricultural College, now Oregon