Traditional medicine exemplified by traditional Chinese medicine

Traditional (often synonymous with complementary) medicine can be defined as the knowledge, skill, and practices, based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, which are used in the maintenance of health and the prevention, diagnosis, improvement, or treatment of illness. These practices are found in almost every country, and demand for them is increasing. For individual patients, when of proven quality, safety, and efficacy, traditional medicine contributes to the goal of ensuring that all people have access to care that they feel they need. For medical science, investigators in traditional fields have discovered new medicines with which to combat important diseases, including the sympathomimetic ephedrine, the antimalarial artemisinin, and arsenic trioxide used in the treatment of promyelocytic leukaemia.