Introduction

Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to
maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness. Medicine has been around since the
dawn of mankind in one form or another. People have always gotten sick or injured and there have always
been attempts to treat them. Before scientific medicine, people use traditional medicine to create remedies.

Traditional medicine

Traditional medicine (TM) refers to the knowledge, skills and practices based on the theories, beliefs and
experiences indigenous to different cultures, used in the maintenance of health and in the prevention,
diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness. Traditional medicine covers a wide
variety of therapies and practices which vary from country to country and region to region. In some
countries, it is referred to as "alternative" or "complementary" medicine (CAM).

Traditional medicine has been used for thousands of years with great contributions made by practitioners to
human health, particularly as primary health care providers at the community level. TM/CAM has
maintained its popularity worldwide. Since the 1990s its use has surged in many developed and developing
countries.

In some Asian and African countries, up to 80% of the population relies on traditional medicine for their
primary health care needs. When adopted outside of its traditional culture, traditional medicine is often
called complementary and alternative medicine. Herbal medicines can be very lucrative, generating billions
of dollars in sales, but adulteration or counterfeit herbs can also be a health hazard.[1]

The WHO also notes, though, that "inappropriate use of traditional medicines or practices can have negative
or dangerous effects" and that "further research is needed to ascertain the efficacy and safety" of several of
the practices and medicinal plants used by traditional medicine systems.[1] Core disciplines which study
traditional medicine include ethnomedicine, ethnobotany, and medical anthropology.
Modern medicine

Modern medicine is known as the science which relates to the prevention, cure, or alleviation of disease.
Any substance administered in the treatment of disease, a remedial agent, a medication, a medicament, a
remedy, physic.

Modern medicine has made incredible advances in the detection and treatment of many diseases,
particularly those caused by infectious agents such as viruses and bacteria. In our lifetime, we have
witnessed the worldwide elimination of smallpox, which killed millions of people. Other killer diseases,
such as diphtheria and whooping cough, are now rare in modern countries.
It is helpful to remember as we consider the wonders of modern medicine that it has been with us for less
than 100 years.

Medicine was revolutionised in the 19th century and beyond by advances in chemistry and laboratory
techniques and equipment. Contemporary medicine applies health science, biomedical research, and medical
technology to diagnose and treat injury and disease, typically through medication, surgery, or some other
form of therapy.

Modern medicine vs. Traditional medicine

Traditional medicine is the ancient and culture–bound medical practice which existed in human societies
before the application of modern science to health. The practice of traditional medicine varies widely, in keeping
with the societal and cultural heritage of different countries. Every human community responds to the challenge
of maintaining health and treating diseases by developing a medical system. Thus, traditional medicine has been
practiced to some degree in all cultures.
Traditional medicine is the sum total of knowledge, skills and practices based on the theories, beliefs and
experiences indigenous to different cultures that are used to maintain health, as well as to prevent, diagnose,
improve or treat physical and mental illnesses.

Traditional medicine that has been adopted by other populations (outside its indigenous culture) is often
termed alternative or complementary medicine.

Herbal medicines include herbs, herbal materials, herbal preparations, and finished herbal products that
contain parts of plants or other plant materials as active ingredients.

In some Asian and African countries, 80% of the population depends on traditional medicine for primary
health care.

In many developed countries, 70% to 80% of the population has used some form of alternative or
complementary medicine (e.g. acupuncture).

Herbal treatments are the most popular form of traditional medicine, and are highly lucrative in the
international marketplace. Annual revenues in Western Europe reached US$ 5 billion in 2003-2004. In
China sales of products totaled US$ 14 billion in 2005. Herbal medicine revenue in Brazil was US$ 160
million in 2007.