The term allopathic medicine is used by adherents of alternative medicine to refer to any form of mainstream medicine. This phrase is commonly used as a form of disparagement by critics of mainstream medicine. Alternative medicine broadly describes methods and practices used in place of, or in addition to, conventional medical treatments. ... See drugs, medication, and pharmacology for substances that treat patients. ...

The term was coined by Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy, to differentiate homeopathic practices from conventional medicine, based on the types of treatments used. The term "Allopath" comes from the Greek roots meaning "opposite" and "disease"-- the form "allopathy" being formed by false analogy with other French word pairs. Many critics of conventional medicine use this term in a deprecatory manner, and most conventional medical practitioners take issue with the term. However, many alternative treatments could be termed "allopathic" as well, eg. whether using a pharmaceutical drug or an herbal preparation as a laxative, both are treating by allopathic principles. Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann, M.D. (10th April 1755 - 2nd July 1843), born in Meissen, Saxony [now Germany]. He was better known as Samuel Hahnemann, a Saxon physician who, beginning with an article he published in a German medical journal in 1796, founded homoeopathic medicine. ... The neutrality and factual accuracy of this article are disputed. ...

As used by homeopaths, the term "allopath" has always referred to a principle of curing disease by administering substances that produce the opposite effect of the disease when given to a healthy human. This system of treatment being popularized through the writings of Galen, became the dominant philosophy of western medicine during the Middle Ages. Hahnemann used this term to distinguish between the use of medicines to suppress symptoms, from the use of medicine to assist the organism in its attempt to heal. These two opposing medical philosophies come from a difference in defining symptoms. An allopathic medical approach views symptoms as the illness, while the homeopathic medical approach defines symptoms as the innate capacity of an organism to heal itself (eg, a fever helps to eliminate the infectious organism from a patient). Claudius Galenus of Pergamum (131-201 AD), better known as Galen, was an ancient Greek physician. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ...

In the essay by William Jarvis cited below, he argues that "although many modern therapies can be construed to conform to an allopathic rationale (eg, using a laxative to relieve constipation), standard medicine has never paid allegiance to an allopathic principle" and that the label "allopath" was considered highly derisive by mainstream medicine. The Companion Encyclopedia of the History of Medicine states that "Hahnemann gave an all-embracing name to regular practice, calling it 'allopathy'. This term, however imprecise, was employed by his followers or other unorthodox movements to identify the prevailing methods as constituting nothing more than a competing 'school' of medicine, however dominant in terms of number of practitioner proponents and patients." In the nineteenth century, some pharmacies labelled their products with the terms allopathic or homeopathic.

Other terms that have been proposed to describe the conventional Western medical system of practice include: conventional medicine, Western medicine, evidence-based medicine, clinical medicine, scientific medicine, regular medicine, mainstream medicine, and authoritarian medicine. See drugs, medication, and pharmacology for substances that treat patients. ... Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is a medical movement based upon the application of the scientific method to medical practice, recognizing that many long-established medical traditions are not yet subjected to adequate scientific scrutiny. ...

History of Allopathy

Hahnemann used the term to refer to what he saw as a system of medicine that combats disease by using remedies that produce effects in a healthy subject that are different (hence Greek root allo- "different") from those of the disease to be treated. He claimed that his theory of homeopathy, which attempts to mimic the symptoms (hence homeo-, "the same"), was a more effective and humane alternative.

Practitioners of alternative medicine have used the term "allopathic medicine" to refer to the practice of conventional medicine in both Europe and the United States since the 19th century. In the U.S., this was also referred to as regular medicine-- that is, medicine that was practiced by the regulars. The practice of "conventional" medicine in both Europe and America during the 19th century is sometimes referred to as the age of 'heroic medicine' (because of the 'heroic' measures such as bleeding and purging). A satellite composite image of Europe // Etymology Picture of Europa, carried away by bull-shaped Zeus. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• Alternative medicine
• Naturopathic medicine
• Traditional medicine
• Osteopathic medicine

Alternative medicine broadly describes methods and practices used in place of, or in addition to, conventional medical treatments. ... The neutrality of this article is disputed. ... The term traditional medicine is used with two main meanings. ... Osteopathic medicine (known as osteopathy in the past) is a branch of medicine which views the human body holistically, and emphasizes the prevention and treatment of illness and injury through the use of manual and physical therapies, along with traditional medical practices such as drugs and surgery. ...

External links

• Annals of Internal Medicine
• On the misuse of the term allopathy
• The Princeton Review - Allopathic Medicine. The Princeton Review is a college admissions testing preparation company unaffiliated with Princeton University.
• A physician's editoral on the misuse of the term "allopath"