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| Understanding Acupuncture |
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by Stephen Birch and Robert Felt |
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This is the first textbook of acupuncture to concentrate on
the historical, intellectual, and scientific roots of acupuncture.
The authors have organized information provided by the research
and personal cooperation of scholars, scientists, and clinicians,
to produce a survey text which is exclusively drawn from peer-reviewed
literature and extensively referenced.
The first two chapters describe acupuncture's ancient and modern
history, and emphasize its continual adaptation to the needs of
East Asian populations and the refinement of Asian methods of
problem-solving. The third chapter discusses the basic theories
of traditional medicine, not as clinical instructions, but as
expressions of Asia's refinement of naked-sense observation and
the relationships of systematic correspondence. Chapters Four
and Five consider the basic science and clinical efficacy of acupuncture.
These chapters contain the first conveniently-accessible analyses
of scientific work on acupuncture and openly discuss the biases
that have affected scientific judgements. Chapter Six describes
patient assessment, again, not as the clinical protocols of a
particular school of practice but as a set of broadly shared intellectual
and observational skills. This is also true of the following chapter
where the authors present the central therapies of acupuncture
in a framework embracing the tremendous variety of the field.
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The authors conclude with a challenging assessment of the current
economic status of acupuncture's pioneer institutions relative
to the field's need to sustain its integrity in massive Western
medical markets and delivery and education systems. The back matter
contains information for patients and referring physicians, including
a list of non-commerical resources, a list of seminal historic
texts in Asian languages, and an extensive bibliography.
Publication Date: 1999
335 pages; 7.5 x 9.5; $42.00
Appendices; Index; Bibliography
ISBN 0-443-06179-3
Order from our distributor
Redwing Book Company
44 Linden St. Brookline MA 02445
Toll Free: 800 873 3946
Canada: 888 873 3947
Other: 617 738 1235
Fax: 738-4620
P.O. Box 1037
202 Bendix Drive
Taos, New Mexico 87571
505 758 7758
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