Salem Health: Complementary & Alternative Medicine

"This four-volume encyclopedia, edited by Moglia with contributions from scholars and practitioners, provides a comprehensive overview of ancient and emerging complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) systems, philosophies, and practices. Traditional systems, including allopathy, homeopathy, and osteopathy, are covered in addition to ancient traditions, such as traditional Chinese medicine (separate entries for "Chinese herbal medicine" and "Chinese medicine") and Ayurveda. One entry is devoted to "Alternative versus traditional medicine." Entries for specific disorders include relevant CAM interventions ("proposed natural treatments"). Pioneers and innovators who have raised awareness of CAM as an important tool in the treatment arsenal are highlighted, including some controversial figures (e.g., Deepak Chopra and Nobel laureate Niels Ryberg Finsen). Entries are consistently structured, including category/overview, history (as appropriate), mechanisms of action (as applicable), uses and applications, dosage, scientific evidence, safety issues, and relevant practitioner qualifications. Furthering the extensive coverage and understanding of CAM the text provides, volume 4 incorporates a detailed glossary of terms, an expansive bibliography, a list of relevant professional organizations, a time line of major developments, and brief biographies of proponents and critics. This resource is important for anyone seeking information on CAM health care systems and interventions, including their history, scientific evidence, and relevant regulatory and licensing policies. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers."
- CHOICE


"This is the second edition of a four-volume, A-Z encyclopedia of medical disorders, practices, theories, and research evidence that gives readers access to organized information that would otherwise require a great deal of time and effort to attain. What works for this book is the accessibility of the information and the scope of each topic. Each topic includes categories, definitions, methods of action, treatments, drug interactions, therapeutic usage or mechanism of action, and a thorough review of scientific evidence. The popular previous edition was published in 2012 and this one has been updated with expanded topics and updated research.

The purpose is to thoroughly examine healthcare topics that lay both in traditional medicine and alternative and integrative medical systems. The authors recognize the growing body of evidence and use of CAM practices. The authors also recognize the intersection of traditional and complementary medical practices. There are few other resources that are as expansive as these volumes. As such, this book occupies a space with very few competing resources. It is ambitious in its scope and is a valuable resource in both the academic environment and clinical practice.

It is designed with students and laypersons in mind. The language is accessible and does not require a medical degree. Most importantly, this book is for the curious. Curious students, practitioners, and laypersons will find the information to be both of value and accessible. The book is written by professors and professional medical writers for nonspecialist readers.

This book does a wonderful job conveying the breadth and scope of integrative and CAM approaches to medicine. It does a thorough job of explaining each topic and leaves readers with helpful additional resources at the end of each section. These expansive volumes leave little information out of the integrative and CAM paradigm. Updated research on certain topics, including chiropractic medicine, may help readers learn the most up-to-date practices of those disciplines. There are a few topics that use older scientific research as a basis of their conclusions that may require revisions in subsequent editions.

There are few other resources that cover the multitude of medical topics viewed through the lens of integrative and CAM practices. One such book, Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide, 2nd edition, Anderson et al. (Future Medicine, 2002), was last updated in 2002 and does not have the scope this one has. This edition includes new topics relevant to changes in perceptions, laws, and availability of medical interventions like THC and CBD."
- Doody Enterprises, Inc.


“Presented in four volumes, 782 essays, alphabetically arranged, address various aspects of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), for a general readership and for health care practitioners seeking basic information. Coverage includes conditions, drug interactions, functional foods, herbs and supplements, homeopathy, issues and overviews, organizations and legislation, biographies, and therapies and techniques. The entries on therapies and techniques are uniformly structured to include related terms, a definition, principle uses and other proposed uses, an overview, mechanism of action, uses and applications, scientific evidence, guidance for selecting a practitioner, and safety issues. All entries are referenced and cross referenced. Some are signed while others are simply attributed to the EBSCO CAM Review Board. The fourth volume contains indexing by category, personage, and subject as well as a set of appendixes consisting of a glossary, listing of homeopathic remedies, bibliography, resources and websites, timeline of major developments relevant to CAM, and biographical dictionary of CAM practitioners and critics. Editor Richard P. Capriccioso is an MD affiliated with the University of Phoenix; editor Paul Moglia is a Ph.D. affiliated with South Nassau Communities Hospital. Online access to the contents is included with purchase of the print edition.”
-Book News