An Oriental (Kampo) medicine awareness survey was given to two student groups at Nara Medical University, for 3 years (2003-2005). One group consisted of 59 second-year students, 81 third-year students, and 77 fourth-year students, while the other group consisted of 72 third-year students, 51 fourth-year students, and 34 fifth-year students. Both student groups received Kampo lectures in 2004. Student's interest increased through 2003 to 2005 from 85.4%, to 82.5% and 94.6% respectively, as they gained a more positive image of Oriental medicine year by year. They also came to understand that Oriental medicine efficacy differs, from that of western medicine. On the other hand, those students showing little interest had less knowledge Kampo medicine philosophies. Female students held a higher positive image of Kampo medicine, than they had before the surveys. But the degree of disagreement between male and female students was not so largely altered, as all students advanced through medical school. Most believed that Oriental medicine will play a more important role in the future, and that Oriental (Kampo) medicine lectures are an important part of their medical education. Therefore, it is essential that medical students are given more exposure to Kampo medicine, through further meetings and lectures. In addition, Kampo medicine needs to be demonstrated, both clinically and in principle, as a complementary and alternative medical philosophy to those students and doctors who still maintain a negative image.
Medicine, Kampo ; Medicine ; Oriental Medicine ; Students, Medical ; Students

The theories of Shushu in the literature of Qin and Han periods are reorganized and expositions of foreigner scholars about ancient way of thought are consulted, and compared with the recordation about the ebb-flow of ying-qi and the length of meridians in ancient medical books to probe into the relationship between Shushu and these recordation. It is found that the ebb-flow of ying-qi and the length of meridians are completely conform with the principle of Shushu, i. e. the ebb-flow degrees of ying-qi and the length of meridians all are deduced from Shushu for building the close inseparable response relation between nature and humans. Because Shushu can not be verified, modern scientific methods are not suitable to the study on the ebb-flow of ying-qi.
Humans ; Mathematics ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Meridians ; Qi ; Yin-Yang

By tracing to the origin of Tibetan medicine, it is known that Tibetan medicine absorbs a variety of medical ideas such as traditional Chinese medicine, Vedic medicine, Persian medicine and Byzantine medicine, and forms a unique theoretical system. The meridian-acupoint system and the characteristics and application of external therapies such as bloodletting and moxibustion in Tibetan medicine are analyzed by elaborating the relevant aspects of acupuncture and moxibustion involved in treatment of diseases listed in Medical Canon in Four Sections. The paper emphasizes the introduction of ironing moxibustion and huo'er moxibustion of fire moxibustion and the application of separation-action decoction and ghee therapy in bloodletting, as well as alternative therapy. Besides, by taking the external treatment of cirrhotic ascites and head trauma as an example, the idea of acupuncture and moxibustion therapy in Tibetan medicine embodied in the Medical Canon in Four Sections is explained so as to benefit the development of acupuncture and moxibustion therapy in Tibetan medicine.
Moxibustion ; Medicine, Tibetan Traditional ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Bloodletting ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional

Bawei Chenxiang Powder is a traditional Tibetan folk medicine formula, consisting of resinous wood of Aquilaria sinensis, kernel of Myristica fragrans, fruit of Choerospondias axillaris, travertine, resin of Boswellia carterii or B. bhaw-dajiana, stem of Aucklandia lappa, fruit of Terminalia chebula(roasted), and flower of Gossampinus malabarica. It has the function of clearing heart heat, nourishing heart, tranquilizing mind, and inducing resuscitation, which has been used for the treatment of coronary heart disease and angina pectoris. Modern research shows that the medicine materials of this formula mainly contain terpenoids like sesquiterpenes and triterpenes and polyphenols like flavonoids, lignans, and tannins, displaying some pharmacological activities such as anti-myocardial ischemia, anti-cerebral ischemia, and spatial learning and memory promotion. This review summaries the traditional uses, chemical constituents, and pharmacological activities research progress, hopefully to provide a reference for clarification of its pharmacological active ingredients.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Flavonoids ; Medicine, Tibetan Traditional ; Terminalia ; Tibet

Phyllanthi Fructus, a unique Chinese and Tibetan medicinal plant with both edible and medical values, has high potential of cultivation and development. The resources of Phyllanthi Fructus in China are rich, mainly distributed in Yunnan, Sichuan, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, etc. Phyllanthi Fructus is widely used in the clinical practice of Chinese medicine and plays an important role in Tibetan medicine, Uyghur medicine, Yi medicine, and Mongolian medicine. Phyllanthi Fructus mainly contains phenolic acids,tannins, terpenes, sterols, fatty acids, flavonoids, amino acids and other compounds. Modern pharmacological studies show that Phyllanthi Fructus has antioxidant, anticancer, blood lipid-lowering, liver protective, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and immune regulatory activities. In this paper, the research status of Phyllanthi Fructus was reviewed from the aspects of herbal textual research,chemical composition, and pharmacological action. The quality markers(Q-markers) of Phyllanthi Fructus were predicted and analyzed from the aspects of biogenic pathway, specificity and measurability of chemical components, efficacy, properties, new clinical uses, drug-food homology, and transformation of polyphenols. The results will provide a scientific basis for the quality control, quality evaluation, and standard formulation of Phyllanthi Fructus.
China ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Fruit ; Medicine, Tibetan Traditional ; Quality Control

Baimai is a complex of structure and function with the characteristics of wide distribution, complex structure, and multi-dimensional functions. Baimai, consisting of the channels in brain, the internal hidden channels connecting the viscera, and the external channels linking the limbs, governs the sensory, motor, and information transmission functions of human. According to Tibetan medicine, Baimai functions via "Long"(Qi) which moves in Baimai. "Long" is rough, light, cold, tiny, hard, and dynamic. The dysfunction of Baimai is manifested as numbness, swelling and pain, stiffness, atrophy, contracture, disability, hyperactivity, etc. The clinical manifestations of Baimai disease are facial paralysis, limb numbness, hemiplegia, contracture and rigidity, pain, opistho-tonos, paralysis, unconsciousness, head tremor, aphasia and tongue stiffness, and other abnormalities in facial consciousness, limb movement, and tactile sensation. Baimai Ointment for external use is used for the treatment of Baimai disease. It is mainly composed of medicinals which are spicy and bitter, warm, soft, mild, heavy, moist, and stable, and thus it is effective for the rough, light, cold, tiny, hard, and dynamic "Long" of Baimai disease. In clinical practice, it is mainly used for musculoskeletal diseases, such as osteoarthritis, scapulohumeral periarthritis, cervical spondylosis, low back pain, myofascitis, and tenosynovitis, nervous system diseases, such as paralysis and shoulder-hand syndrome, and limb stiffness caused by stroke, spastic cerebral palsy, trigeminal neuralgia, and facial neuritis, and limb motor and sensory dysfunction caused by trauma. According to the main symptoms of Baimai disease such as stiffness, rigidity, contraction, numbness, sensory disturbance and pain, clinicians should apply the Baimai Ointment via the inunction treatment of Tibetan medicine and in combination with Huo'ermai therapy and physiotherapy.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Edema ; Humans ; Medicine, Tibetan Traditional ; Pain

The systematic collation and mining of ethnic medicine literature is the key to the screening and textual research of classic prescriptions. This study focused on the textual research of such key issues as the source of prescriptions, the translation of minority languages into Chinese characters and their corresponding medical terms, the original plants of drugs, and the standard dosage. It is believed that the methods and experience of textual research of classic prescriptions in traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) can be utilized by the ethnic medicine. At the same time, the prominent problems unique to ethnic medicine cannot be neglected.(1)Attention should be paid to extraterritorial traditional medical literature in the textual research of the source of prescriptions. For instance, Indian medical literature is the source of many classic prescriptions in Tibetan medicine, Ibn Sina's Canon of Medicine the source of those in Uygur and Hui medicine, and ancient Indian Buddhist classics the source of those in Dai medicine.(2)The translation and comparison of medical terms in different language systems requires the cooperation of linguists, historians, and medical experts, the combination of historical research, historical linguistics and clinical research methods, and the use of cross-language comparison. In recent years, the related research achievements like multiple translated and annotated versions of classical literature in ethnic medicine and their respective terminology standards have been constantly emerging.(3)In textual research of the original plants of drugs, the following two points deserve attention: one is that the same drug is used in different ethnic medical systems, but there are differences in the understanding of drug properties and active parts; the other is that the original plants of the same drug vary in different ethnic medical systems.(4)The derivation of some classic prescriptions in ethnic medicine from foreign classics results in the difference among measurement systems. In addition, the detailed dosage fails to be covered in some ethnic literature, so the dosage standard should be determined depending on clinical practice and expert consensus.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Medicine, Tibetan Traditional ; Prescriptions ; Publications

Through literature research and standard retrieval, Corydalis-derived medicinal materials, the origins, and related standards were summarized. Finally, 27 medicinal materials were screened out, involving 71 species(varieties). Among them, only 11 are recorded in Chinese Pharmacopoeia(2020), National Standard for Chinese Patent Drugs·Tibetan Medicine, Tibetan Medicine Standards, and other local standards, including Corydalis Bungeanae Herba and Corydalis Herba. The names and original plants of the medicinal materials are different in different standards, and the phenomena of "same medicinal material with different names" and "same name for different medicinal materials" are prominent. Most standards only include the traits, microscopic identification, and physico-chemical property identification, with unsound quality criteria. Thus, efforts should be made to strengthen the sorting of Corydalis medicinal plants, herbal textual research, and investigation of the resources and utilization. Moreover, via modern techniques, the chemical components and medicinal material basis of different original plants should be explored and sound quality standards should be established to improve the safety and quality of Corydalis-derived medicinal materials. Summarizing Corydalis medicinal plants, Corydalis-derived medicinal materials, and related standards, this study is expected to provide a reference for the standard formulation, quality evaluation, expansion of drug sources, and rational development and utilization of Corydalis resources.
Corydalis ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Medicine, Tibetan Traditional ; Plants, Medicinal/chemistry* ; Reference Standards

Although the management of benign pigmented skin tumors are mainly conducted by dermatologists, some Korean traditional doctors provide care. We aimed to evaluate the appropriateness of the medicinal knowledge of pigmented benign skin tumors that is recorded in the Korean traditional medicinal literature, in the context of modern medicine. We defined benign pigmented skin tumors as macules, papules, or nodules with homogeneous surfaces and coloration patterns, that are round or oval in shape, exhibit regular outlines, and have relatively sharp borders. We investigated textbooks and articles in the Korean traditional medicinal field to analyze descriptions of clinical classification, pathophysiology, histologic knowledge, and treatment method. We compared them with modern medicinal facts. In Korean traditional medicine, clinical classification of pigmented skin tumors is simple and did not include histologic natures. Unique theories, such as Yin-Yang and Qi, were applied to pathophysiologic understanding of these diseases. Interestingly, oral medications were used beside surgical methods. We could not find any comment about skin tumors with worrisome clinical features that warrant excision in Korean traditional medicinal literature. There is still a gap between traditional medicine and modern medicine regarding pigmented skin tumors. Traditional Korean medicinal knowledge about benign pigmented skin tumors seemed to be insufficient in the context of modern medicinal standards.
Classification ; Diagnosis ; History, Modern 1601- ; Medicine, Korean Traditional* ; Medicine, Traditional ; Melanoma ; Methods ; Nevus, Pigmented ; Qi ; Skin* ; Yin-Yang

In this paper, I tried to investigate the origin of Jingmai through examination of some important hypotheses brought up by modern scholars and introduce new hypothesis. Hypotheses about the origin of Jingmai that have been investigated in this paper are as follows. 1) Hypothesis by Joseph Needham and Kano Yoshimitsu that Jingmai is originated from hydraulic engineering or twelve rivers. 2) Hypothesis by some chinese scholars like Zhou yimou that Jingmai is originated from subjective experience of the Neishi daoist experience. 3) Hypothesis by Yamada Keiji that Jingmai is originated from moxibustion supported by shamanism. 4) Hypothesis by Li jianmin that Jingmai is originated from Daoyinshu one of the body-cultivation techniques. Hypothesis 1) has the problem of the fallacy of circular argument. I can drag the opposite resolution from the same basis used by Kano Yoshimitsu. There is the problem of misreading in the hypothesis 2). The words quoted by Zhou yimou are not related to the twelve Jingmai but Qijingbamai. Yamada Keiji and Li jianmin presuppose that at first Mai was just blood vessel. Then they follow each way as mentioned above. I agree their opinion that at the beginning Mai was just blood vessel. But I think that Mai was affected by the schema of shamanism. Mai as the vessel that not only blood but Qi go through is conceived by the schema of shamanism, I think.
*Meridians ; Qi ; Yin-Yang