Manual of Chinese Herbal Medicine

Book excerpt: This manual of diagnosis and therapy is brilliantly organized for study and reference. It might even be called the "Merck Manual" of Chinese herbal medicine, for it makes the principles and practices of this traditional healing art highly accessible with its concise and lucid compendia. The book covers: • Important basic concepts of traditional Chinese medicine, such as yin and yang, the five elements, qi, jing, and shen • Causes of disease • Classification of symptoms • Methods of diagnosis • Approaches to treatment with herbal medicine • Preventive measures • Symptoms of common illnesses • Therapeutic classifications of many common herbs and prescriptions • 342 formulas for common compound drugs • Case studies from the Chinese medical literature illustrating the application of the principles discussed in the book