[Theory and practice of alternative practice]

So-called alternative medical practices, now favored in Brazil, are discussed in terms of their methods and rationale. Cursory inquiries show that personal choices of diagnostic and therapeutic systems is made, usually, on the basis of family tradition, cultural inheritance, and fashion, and not upon a critical examination of the principles upon which the alternatives are based. In general, a syncretic approach combining conflicting elements from different systems is adopted. In contrast, the author shows that the actual differences between the systems lie in their foundations principles, not in their practices.