Scientific medicine

The term traditional medicine is used colloquially and imprecise used to designate the medicine that is taught and developed at universities and medical schools according to ( natural) scientific principles. The term is used to dualistic delineation of medical or naturopathic teachings and practices that do not belong to the teaching repertoire of academic medicine ( alternative medicine ).

Originally, the term derives from the ancient name school for medical training centers.

History

The term traditional medicine is derived from the historical neutral term for medical schools (eg School of Salerno, lat Scola Salernitana ).

Already in the early 16th century, the term was also used with a negative connotation. So complained Paracelsus: "A great shame it's that high schools make such doctors who are there only bills after; give a guy the red coat, the red Barrett and the world a square fool who is only able to fill the cemeteries. "

1876 ​​coined the homeopathic physician Franz Fischer in Weingarten (Württemberg ) the term " traditional medicine " in a letter to the editor of the laity journal " Homeopathic Monatsblätter " deliberately pejorative. Fischer's statement is based probably on a message of Hahnemann, which he had published in 1832, which was directed against humoral therapeutic approaches. In it is of " medical school " is mentioned. However, the " conventional medical " treatment approaches currently Paracelsus and Hahnemann had nothing in common with today's medical schools. They referred to the so-called allopathic medicine, which was based until the 19th century on the basis of Galen 's theory of humors.

At the time of National Socialism, the term was used in Germany to defame the predominantly Jewish doctors and instead to promote the healthy " folk medicine " or a "New German Medicine " as a counterpart to " Jew-ridden conventional medicine ".

Critical evaluation of

The internist John Köbberling, a member of the Drug Commission of the German Medical Association, criticized the use of the term " traditional medicine " as a pejorative: Falsely might suggest " school " is a school of thought that had been arrested in fixed ways of thinking and unable to innovate. Also, the wording will be used to suggest merely reproducing not independently researched content ( teaching), and not to be considered conceptually university " teaching and research ". The term traditional medicine is thus negatively charged and ambiguous and could not do justice to the essence of modern medicine. Instead, should the value-free and precise terms " academic medicine ", " Evidence-based medicine" or " medical science " are used.