The Practice of Chinese Medicine: The Treatment of Diseases with Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs (Hardcover)

by Giovanni Maciocia CAc(Nanjing) (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This well laid-out book with excellent texts is easy to use, and suitable for Chinese medicine students and practitioners. To quote from another new book edited by Hugh MacPherson, Acupuncture Research, 'One of the key characteristics of a profession is the ownership of a unique body of knowledge that informs professional practice and is constantly reviewed, renewed and augmented by the profession itself.' This beautifully presented text by Maciocia has clearly achieved this outcome."
Australian Journal of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine

"This book is one of the most authentic and comprehensive in print and will prove to be an invaluable resource for practitioners of Chinese medicine."
Embody Magazine, summer 2009

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Book Description
Put world-renowned TCM experience and knowledge to work in your practice --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 924 pages
• Publisher: Churchill Livingstone; 1 edition (January 31, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0443043051
• ISBN-13: 978-0443043055
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.6 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #270,858 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Mixed Bag, January 24, 2003

By	Brian B. Carter (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is huge, even though it's only about 34 diseases. It's filled with case studies that easily transform into CA state board test questions.

My study partner went through and pulled every one of these case studies out to memorize them. I found myself doing the same, since I disagreed with Giovanni's diagnosis about 25% of the time... I had to memorize his diagnosis anyway. In one case, he got no result, and consulted with a Chinese doctor, who diagnosed the patient the way I had when I firsted saw the signs and symptoms!

What's really infuriating is when he uses a rationale to diagnose something one way in one place, but then doesn't consistently apply that in other cases.

So, we are required to know Giovanni's opinions and diagnosis style even if they may be wrong. It would have been nice to see - in a reference book - a separation between mistaken treatments and ideal/accurate treatments.

Also, there are short sections on western diagnosis in some diseases... but be careful, because biomedicine frequently revises its understandings. This is NOT your source for clinical biomedical info. It may be easy to understand, but may not be up to date or accurate.

There is an interesting section on distal points and their target areas.

As with Giovanni's book, the Foundations of Chinese Medicine, it's not always clear if his ideas come from classical CM or from his own mind. I'd caution the reader to balance their understanding with the works of Wiseman, Deadman, and Sionneau.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of the CD Rom, June 21, 2006

By	Abovealldonoharm "naturalhealth" (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Practice of Chinese Medicine CD-ROM: The Treatment of Diseases with Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs (CD-ROM)

I bought the CD hoping I could have the information on several computers. I have had the book for 10 years.

You cannot use this CD on several computers. You have to download the software and use the CD to get information. I'm very disappointed about that. If I had know that, I would have just ordered a second copy of the book to keep at the office, instead of this CD.

This CD is not very functional. You can't just scroll down with your mouse, you have to click on the toolbar or hit the page down button.

Giovanni, of course, is the master. He is a wonderful author and is responsible for educating thousands of Western acupuncturists. I graduated 7 years ago and still use all his books.

In case you are wondering, he is also a very sweet and funny person. I went to his seminar and was very happy to find out that such a genius can be so humble and funny. He always admits he doesn't know everything and that is rare in authors of Chinese Medicine books. ;)

Buy the book, not the CD!

24 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great study and reference book., January 22, 1999

By	Flory ([e-mail]) (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews

This book blends, technically yet accesibly, Oriental and Western Medicine. Clear and to the point, it comprises abundant case studies to illustrate the diseases and treatments presented. It is a must for anyone incorporating Oriental Medicine/Western Medicine in their practice.