a clinical materia medica: 120 herbs in … review kk2.pdfa clinical materia medica is a true...

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ACLINICALMATERIAMEDICA:120HERBSINWESTERNUSEByJeremyRoss

ThelatestbookfromJeremyRossAClinicalMateriaMedic:120herbsinWesternUsehasnowbeenpublishedbytheVerlagfürGanzheitlicheMedizinDr.ErichWührGmbH,BadKötzting.ItisthesecondinhisplannedseriesofbooksonCombiningWesternherbswithChineseMedicine.Truetohisconcept,JeremyRossdiscussesandunitestraditionalsourcesofWesternherbalism,modernphytopharmacologicalresearchandtraditionalChineseMedicine.Regardingthesethreevastsubjectsthereisanextensivewealthofdiverseandcomplexinformationtobefound.Usinghisownmodelsofcombinationandintegration,JeremyRosssucceedsinreducingthisoverwhelmingmassofinformationintopracticalbitesizes.Theintroductionstartsbygivinganeatoverviewofthestructureofthebook,togetherwiththeprinciplesandpracticeofcombiningherbs,dosageanddispensing.Thecoreofthismaterialmedicaismadeupof120herbs,aestheticallyandsuccinctlypresentedontwotothreepagesperherb.Eachchapterhasaclearstructure,startingwithbotanicaldetailsandoneofInkenTöpffer’sfineillustrations.Followingthis,inwell‐arrangedfashion,areimportantdetailsontheherbaccordingtotheprinciplesofTCM:temperature,taste,organrelationship,functionsandactions.Thesearethensummarizedintotabularformat,includingWesternuses.AtaglanceonecannotonlyaccessthetraditionalChineseactionandWesternindicationsofonegivenherb,butalsotherespectiveherbpairs,whicharethebasicbuildingblocksforapotentialprescription.

Followingthat,therelationshiptousesinWesternandChineseherbalpracticeismentioned;bothtraditionalandmodernapplicationsarethoroughlycited.Inspecialsections,someherbsarecomparedaccordingtotheirsimilaritiesanddifferences,withJeremyRossdifferentiatingbetweenherbswithsimilaractionsofthesamecategory.Thisoverviewismostusefulforeverydayprescribing,asitgreatlyfacilitatesselectingoneherbfromacategoryofherbswithsimilartraits.Astothephyto‐pharmacologicalsections,theyarekeptclearandbasic.Sectionson“DosageandDispensing”aswellas“Safety”areclearlylaidoutandcomprehensive,andtheircontentisreliable,wellresearchedandveryapplicable.Inthisfashion,JeremyRossmeetstheneedsofmanyfellowcolleaguesworkingwithherbs,enablingthemtobasetheirherbalprescriptionsuponsolidtherapeuticgrounds.TheappendixHerbsforTCMsyndromesfeatures125syndromecombinationswithdetailsonsymptoms,pulseandtonguediagnosisandalistofmatchingherbs.Certainly,suchalisthardlyreplacesstudyingWesternandChinesemedicine

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foundationsondiagnosticsandmateriamedica,butservesverywellforquickreferencingduringaconsultation.Attheendofthebookthereareevenmoretablesandglossariesincludingabundantinformation,forexample:onetablecomprisesall120herbsaccordingtoTCMclassification;oneglossaryincludesWesternindicationswithmatchingherbpairs;yetanotherglossarylistsallherbpairsmentionedwithWesternindicationsforoneherb.Therearealsoglossariesonbotanical,German,English,Chineseandpharmacologicalterminology.Aidedbythebook’sveryappealingdesign,theauthorhasachievedahighlysuccessfulportrayalofthismultifacetedtopic;thereismuchtobeseenatasingleglanceandfurtherinformationisrapidlyaccessible.NolessimpressiveareJeremy’sthoroughcitationsandnumerouscross‐references(about1200),inwhichhebringstobear

hisexpertiseasawell‐groundedteacherandestablishedauthoroftextbooks.AClinicalMateriaMedicaisatrueachievement;setatahighstandard,itisclearlyconceivedforpractice.Ihavemycopyindailyuse,andIcontinuetofindvaluableideasformakingupsafeandeffectiveprescriptions.Insummary,thisisareferencebookforWesternandTCMpractitionersaswellasafountofinspirationforphytopharmacologistsworkinginscience.Dr.KatharinaKrassnigViennaSchoolforChineseMedicineEmail:k.west@wstcm.atDrKatharinaKrassnigworksasaGPwithspecialinterestinhomeopathy,psychotherapyandWesternherbalismaccordingtoTCMdiagnosticsandbodyworks.