[Traditional Chinese medicine: theoretical background and its use in China]

This paper aims to define the concept of traditional Chinese medicine. Chinese medicine has its own unique system of knowledge, which fundamentally defines all of its therapeutic procedures (acupuncture, manual therapy, and Chinese herbal medicine). The authors offer a detailed description of the theoretical basics of Chinese medicine: classification of the normal and pathological processes of the human body based on functional models and a high degree of therapeutic individualization. The authors describe the current practice of Chinese medicine based on the Chinese model, without which modern Chinese medicine cannot exist. This concept pervades the education, clinical practice and research of Chinese medicine. If we hope to adequately satisfy scientific inquiry about Chinese medicine, we must first define its theoretical background and get acquainted with its scope of usage in modern China. The clarification of these basic issues will be beneficial to scientific research and legislative procedures.