Traditional Chinese medicine

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM; simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: zhōng yī; literally "Chinese medicine) is a broad range of medicine practices sharing common concepts which have been developed in China and are based on a tradition of more than 2,000 years, including various forms of herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage (Tui na), exercise (qigong), and dietary therapy.

The doctrines of Chinese medicine are rooted in books such as the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon and the Treatise on Cold Damage, as well as in cosmological notions such as yin-yang and the five phases. Starting in the 1950s, these precepts were standardized in the People's Republic of China, including attempts to integrate them with modern notions of anatomy and pathology. Nonetheless, the bulk of these precepts, including the model of the body, or concept of disease, are not supported by science or evidence-based medicine. TCM is not based upon the current body of knowledge related to health care in accordance with the scientific community.

TCM's view of the body places little emphasis on anatomical structures, but is mainly concerned with the identification of functional entities (which regulate digestion, breathing, aging etc.). While health is perceived as harmonious interaction of these entities and the outside world, disease is interpreted as a disharmony in interaction. TCM diagnosis aims to trace symptoms to patterns of an underlying disharmony, by measuring the pulse, inspecting the tongue, skin, and eyes, and looking at the eating and sleeping habits of the person as well as many other things.

In traditional Chinese herbal medicine, plant elements are by far the most commonly, but not solely, used substances; animal, human, and mineral products are also utilized. The effectiveness of this medical system remains poorly documented. There are concerns over a number of potentially toxic Chinese medicinals that consist of plants, animal parts, and minerals. There is a lack of existing cost-effectiveness research for TCM.Soachers hunt restricted or endangered species animals to supply the black market with TCM products.Although advocates have argued that research had missed some key features of TCM, such as the subtle interrelationships between ingredients, it is largely irrational pseudoscience, with no valid mechanism of action for the majority of its treatments