alternative medicine
- healthcare and treatment practices, including traditional Chinese medicine, chiropractic, folk medicine, and naturopathy, that minimize or eschew the use of surgery and drugs.
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Origin of alternative medicine
1980–85
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
alternative medicine
- another name for complementary medicine See also holism (def. 2)
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
alternative medicine
[ôl-tûr′nə-tĭv]
- A variety of therapeutic or preventive health-care practices that are not typically taught or practiced in traditional medical communities and offer treatments that differ from standard medical practice. Homeopathy, herbal medicine, and acupuncture are types of alternative medicine.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
alternative medicine
Medical practice or therapy that uses methods that have not been associated with the traditional, standard care most generally taught and executed by AMA-certified medical schools.
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Note
Alternative medicine includes practices such as acupuncture, naturopathy, and chiropractic, as well as such therapies as chelation therapy, homeopathic remedies, and biofeedback. There has been an explosion of interest in alternative medicine in recent years.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.