[Treatment methods: traditional and alternative]

When choosing a mode of treatment the clinician should consider the basis upon which effectiveness may be expected: (1) unproven clinical experience, (2) rationale based etiology/pathogenesis, or (3) controlled therapeutic experiments. Many therapies are still based on unproven clinical experience, which may be fallacious because of: (1) insufficient insight into the natural course of the condition, (2) statistical variation, (3) placebo effects and (4) the prejudice or bias of the clinician. Against this background the so-called alternative modes of treatment are discussed with special attention to acupuncture and homeopathy. The literature supports the conclusion that from a scientific point of view there is no place for these modes of treatment in (veterinary) medicine. Suggested explanations for the growth of alternative modes of treatment include the changing relation between veterinarians and patients/clients, the shortcomings and limitations of veterinary medicine, and increased interest in what is happening outside the regular culture pattern. Finally, it is proposed that what sets the art of (veterinary) medicine above ordinary (veterinary) medicine is that which can be achieved by good intellectual and emotional contacts between the veterinarian and the patient/client rather than by false therapies.