Traditional Medicine in Modern Society
Much has been written to explain the enduring presence of traditional medicine in societies exposed to modern medicine. One primary reason is that traditional medicine is part of the culture of some peoples, reflecting their vocabulary and philosophy, whereas modern medicine may exhibit no such qualities. Another reason is that although modern medicine has many obvious strengths, it also has equally obvious shortcomings in a number of chronic degenerative diseases; traditional medicine offers the possibility of another route to recovery. Finally, modern medicine has become increasingly subdivided into specialties and subspecialties. Whereas in the United States this has led to the development of a specialty called family practice, designed to restore a closer relationship between patient and physician, in other parts of the world the response has been the reawakening of traditional medicine.