Differences between Western Medicine (WM) and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

 Differences between Western Medicine (WM) and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

----- In memory of Professor Deng Zhongjia

Qi Sheng

“The concept of a disease is the same in both Chinese and Western medicine, with its etiology, location, nature, and state of the disease, and each has its own characteristics. Because the etiology is complex and changeable, the pathogenesis system, syndrome differentiation system, and treatment system of TCM are multi-system and multi-mode.”

“For the etiology, TCM is mainly based on indirect comprehensive derivation, supplemented by direct observation and analysis. Western medicine is just the opposite. Direct observation analysis is the main method, and indirect comprehensive deduction is supplemented. In terms of disease location, traditional Chinese medicine focuses on functional positioning and supplements structural positioning; In modern medicine, functional orientation is complementary and structural orientation is dominant, if the cause of the disease cannot be found by modern medical investigation, it must be named as a disease. It can only be neurosis, some kind of syndrome, and this is also a functional orientation.”

“But nature of disease is a set of modern medicine contradiction runs through all disease process, such as lobar pneumonia, bacteria cause inflammation, inflammation throughout the course of the disease which divided into four phases, the four period around the evolution of the inflammation, which is only a set of contradictions. Traditional Chinese medicine is not, it looks at the disease from two angles, just like the movies is stereo, a point of intersection. The strength comparison of the struggle between anti-evil qi and evil qi, the estimation of the degree of imbalance between Yin and Yang from the human body, deficiency and excess, cold and heat, the combination and intersection of the two groups of contradiction, which determine the nature of a disease, which determine the nature of a disease are very important.”

Professor Deng Zhongjia is a famous doctor of TCM in China and also written and teaching a course of <TCM Prescriptions>.  He died in Feb. 26, 2022. This is one paragraph of Professor Deng Zhongjia's introduction to the general theory of <TCM Prescriptions>. This is online electronic teaching courseware, I have been studied several times until now, and every time there is a new harvest for me. This paragraph for the differences between Western medicine and Chinese medicine is quite touching for me because I used to be a Western doctor, now become a R. TCMP. I took these words out today as a memory for Mr. Deng. and I would like to express my gratitude to learning the <TCM Prescriptions> speeches by Mr. Deng.

Differences between TCM and WM	Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)	Western Medicine
	Due to the etiology is complex and changeable, for TCM, the pathogenesis system, syndrome differentiation system, and treatment system are multi-system and multi-mode.
etiology	mainly based on indirect comprehensive derivation, supplemented by direct observation and analysis	Western medicine is just the opposite. Direct observation analysis is the main method, and indirect comprehensive deduction is supplemented
In terms of disease location	TCM focuses on functional positioning and supplements structural positioning	In modern medicine, functional orientation is complementary and structural orientation is dominant, if the cause of the disease cannot be found by modern medical investigation, if it must be named as a disease. It can only be neurosis, some kind of syndrome, and this is also a functional orientation.
nature of disease	TCM looks at the disease from two angles, just like the movies is stereo, a point of intersection. The strength comparison of the struggle between anti-evil qi and evil qi, the estimation of the degree of imbalance between Yin and Yang from the human body, deficiency and excess, cold and heat, the combination and intersection of the two groups of contradiction, which determine the nature of a disease.	nature of disease is a set of modern medicine contradiction runs through all disease process, such as lobar pneumonia, bacteria cause inflammation, inflammation throughout the course of the disease which divided into four phases, the four period around the evolution of the inflammation, which is only a set of contradictions.

 

西医和中医的几点不同

-----缅怀邓中甲教授

盛琪

“对一个疾病的概念，中西医都一样的，都有病因、病位、病性、病势，各自有自己的特色就是了。病因是复杂多变的，中医的病机体系，辨证体系，治法体系是多体系，多模式。”

“对于病因，中医是间接综合推导为主，直接观察分析为辅。西医学恰恰倒过来。直接观察分析为主，间接综合推导为辅。病位的话，中医学是功能定位为主，结构定位为辅；现代医学是功能定位为辅，结构定位为主。如现代医学查来查去查不到的病因，一定要说个病名，只能是神经官能症，某某综合证，这也是功能定位。”

“但疾病的性质上，现代医学是以一组矛盾贯穿于全病的过程，如大叶性肺炎，细菌侵袭，引起炎症，炎症贯穿于始终。病程划分四个阶段，这四个期围绕着炎症的演变，只有一组矛盾。中医学不是，它是二元病性，从两个角度，就像看电影，立体的，一个交叉点。邪正斗争的力量对比，阴阳失调的程度估计，虚实、寒热两组病性，复合交叉，来描述一个疾病，病性。这两个是决定疾病性质，是非常重要的。”

邓中甲教授是当代著名中医临床家，并且编写和教授《方剂学》。他于2022年2月26日仙逝。这是邓中甲教授在讲解《方剂学》总论中的一段话，这份网络电子教学课件反复学习了几遍，每一次都有新的收获，这段讲解对于我这个西学中的，颇有感触，今天把这几话摘出，做为对先生的缅怀和纪念，对能听到先生讲解的《方剂学》，表示感谢！