Allopathy

From SkepticWiki

Jump to: navigation, search


Contents

[edit] Definition

Allopathy was a term coined by German physician Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843), the inventor of Homeopathy, to describe the belief that some physicians of his time ascribed to, such as balancing “humors” to cure their patients of their ailments. This belief like many other beliefs held by physicians of the time was rapidly shown to be false by scientific research and was abandoned by mainstream physicians.

[edit] Discussion

The terms allopathy and allopathic medicine are often used inaccurately by practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to describe

  • Any treatment other than the one being promoted
  • Mainstream medicine in general

This usage is not limited to homeopathy. For example, it is frequently used by osteopaths.

[edit] External Links

Wikipedia article on Samuel Hahnemann

[edit] Related Topics

Personal tools