Western medicine

American  

[wes-tern med-uh-sin] / ˈwɛs tərn ˈmɛd ə sɪn /

noun

1. the practice of medicine originating in the West and based on scientific principles.

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Example Sentences

After graduating, she began practicing conventional Western medicine at a clinic by day, and needling animals in their living rooms on evenings and weekends.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 17, 2026

The astounding discovery that could link Eastern and Western medicine.

From MarketWatch • May 12, 2026

Ancient Chinese medicine techniques have gone viral on TikTok, capturing the attention of Gen Z. “People are more willing to look outside the Western medicine model,” McDaniel explains.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026

Kurvilla, who studied at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and taught global health policy at Boston University, said that "40 percent or more of biomedical Western medicine, pharmaceuticals, derive from natural products".

From Barron's • Dec. 17, 2025

I come from a country where people are more likely to visit sangomas—shamans, traditional healers, pejoratively known as witch doctors—than they are to visit doctors of Western medicine.

From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah