Principles of Chinese Medical Andrology

Book excerpt: This book is an advanced textbook and clinical manual devoted to the treatment of andrological diseases with Chinese medicine, written for English-speaking students and practitioners of Chinese medicine. Book 1 introduces the foundations of Chinese andrology, beginning with a short history of andrology in Chinese medicine and progressing to discussions of anatomy of the male genitourinary system; the channels and network vessels; the viscera and bowels; disease causes and pathomechanisms; Chinese andrological diseases and general treatment principles. Book 2 covers specific andrological diseases including their definition; Western medical perspective; causes and pathomechanisms; disease and pattern discrimination; treatment principles; treatment with Chinese medicinals and acumoxa therapy; representative Chinese research abstracts, and case studies. The major evidence-based complementary Western herbs and supplements for each condition are also included, as Western patients are often already taking them by the time they seek the help of a physician of Chinese medicine or they are interested in taking them. Further, because the reader of this book is most likely to be a Western English-speaking person, the material is organized by Western medical disease categories, and each Western medical disease is reframed into its constituent Chinese disease categories. Without question, this book offers a major contribution towards a greater understanding of men's health and illness for those in the West to study or practice Chinese medicine.