Obstetrics
and Gynaecology in Chinese Medicine is a complete and detailed
textbook of this speciality in Chinese medicine with the diagnosis
and treatment with acupuncture and Chinese herbs. The author
bases his exposition on modern and ancient Chinese books,
always integrated with his long clinical experience. Many
new approaches are discussed throughout the book, for example
the simultaneous deficiency of both Kidney-Yin and Kidney-Yang
in women, the peculiar aetiological factors applying to women,
and the effect of sexual activity in gynaecological complaints.
The book deals with the diagnosis and treatment of 64 women's
disorders including menstrual irregularities, diseases during
pregnancy and after childbirth.
The Contents include:
History of gynaecology in Chinese medicine
Women's physiology
Women's pathology
Aetiology
Diagnosis
Principles and Methods of Treatment
Extraordinary Vessels Treatment
Early Periods
Late Periods
Irregular Periods
Heavy Periods
Scanty Periods
Long Periods
Painful Periods
Bleeding between Periods
No Periods
Flooding and Trickling
Pre-menstrual Syndrome
Pre-menstrual Breast Distension
Morning Sickness
Abdominal Pain during Pregnancy
Threatened Miscarriage
Foetus not Growing
Oedema in Pregnancy
Anxiety in pregnancy
Dizziness in Pregnancy
Convulsions in Pregnancy
Feeling of Suffocation in pregnancy
Aphonia in pregnancy
Cough in pregnancy
Painful-Urination Syndrome in pregnancy
Retention of Urine in pregnancy
Constipation during Pregnancy
Habitual Miscarriage
Acupuncture and Herbal Treatment in Midwifery
Post-natal Depression
Abdominal Pain after Childbirth
Persistent Lochial Discharge and Retention of Lochia
Constipation and Haemorrhoids after Childbirth
Fever after Childbirth
Joint Pain after childbirth
Breast Milk not Flowing (including Acute Mastitis)
Vaginal Itching (Trichomonas and Candida
infections, Genital Eczema)
Prolapse of the Uterus
Vulval Sores
Special features of the book include:
The book deals with both herbs and acupuncture with and extensive section on the extraordinary vessels.
It deals with the physiology and aetiology of women's problems in depth and several ideas are original and divergent from traditional views. Examples: 1) The discussion of not enough sex as a cause of disease in women; 2) the role of the Heart in women's physiology and pathology of menstrual problems; 3) the importance of a simultaneous deficiency of Kidney-Yin and Kidney-Yang in women.
Many case histories.
The discussion on aetiology is linked with many practical advices for women (things to do or to avoid).
A view of pregnancy that is different than the traditional one (according to which pregnancy always depletes the Blood and the Kidneys).
The chapter on post-natal depression is derived entirely from old texts as this condition does not appear in modern gynaecology books.
Each chapter has a clear and concise section on the Western view or differentiation of a particular condition. For example, this section would list the Western diseases that might correspond to "Painful Periods", each with their symptoms and signs.
This volume is simultaneously an encounter with the classics of Chinese medicine, this morning's patient and the insights of a seasoned practitioner. It is a wonderful example of balancing old and new in order to fulfill the mandate of "accurate" transmission. "Obstetrics and Gynecology in Chinese Medicine"'s contemporary clinical insights are deep while its reference to classical sources are precise and relevant. Classical citations are balanced with contemporary case histories to provoke understanding and clinical guidance while eschewing mere pedantry. Giovanni Maciocia is wonderful in exhuming details of the archaic knowledge that has been neglected in Asia itself. This is apparent throughout the text and two important examples are his discussions of the extraordinary vessels and of post-natal melancholy.
-From the foreword by Dr. Ted Kaptchuk
Published by Churchill Livingstone
First edition 1997. IBSN 0443 05458 4. 986 pages
Obstetrics
and Gynaecology in Chinese Medicine is a complete and detailed
textbook of this speciality in Chinese medicine with the diagnosis
and treatment with acupuncture and Chinese herbs. The author
bases his exposition on modern and ancient Chinese books,
always integrated with his long clinical experience. Many
new approaches are discussed throughout the book, for example
the simultaneous deficiency of both Kidney-Yin and Kidney-Yang
in women, the peculiar aetiological factors applying to women,
and the effect of sexual activity in gynaecological complaints.
The book deals with the diagnosis and treatment of 64 women's
disorders including menstrual irregularities, diseases during
pregnancy and after childbirth.
