MEDICAL PRACTICE STYLE GLOSSARY

 Allopathic medicine, also known as Western medicine, is an approach that seeks to cure by producing a condition in the body different than, or opposite to, the condition that exists within the diseased state. It relies heavily on the use of pharmaceuticals. 

Alternative medicine is healing practices--such as herbalism, chiropractic medicine and acupuncture--that are not part of allopathic medicine. Complementary medicine is the use of alternative medicine together with allopathic medicine. 

Eastern medicine is a broad term for Oriental, Indian, Tibetan, Japanese and Chinese medicine, which share the philosophy of an energy system in the human body and the necessity of balance and harmony. 

Functional medicine focuses on prevention and understanding a person's core clinical imbalances that underlie various disease conditions.

Homeopathy, developed by a German doctor at the end of the 18th century, seeks to stimulate the body's ability to heal itself by giving very small doses of highly diluted substances. 

Holistic medicine looks at the patient as a whole person, including analysis of physical, nutritional, environmental, emotional, social, spiritual and lifestyle values. It focuses on education and responsibility for personal efforts to achieve balance and well being. 

Integrative medicine combines conventional, complementary and alternative treatments for which there is evidence of safety and effectiveness. 

Mind-body medicine uses a variety of techniques, including meditation, to enhance the mind's capacity to affect bodily function and symptoms. 

Naturopathic medicine emphasizes diet, exercise, lifestyle changes and natural therapies to enhance the body's ability to ward off and combat disease. 

Osteopathic medicine is based on a philosophy that the body should be treated as a unit, that it can heal itself, and that the body's structure and function work together. 

Western medicine is the art and science of healing, typically practiced in North America and Western Europe by medical doctors (MDs) and doctors of osteopathy (DOs) and allied health professionals including physical therapists, psychologists and registered nurses. It's also called allopathic or conventional medicine. 

Sources: The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine; The Institute for Functional Medicine; About.com and WebMD.