This is a full and richly presented text that introduces Oriental medical concepts to readers unfamiliar with these ideas. The material presented is derived from modern Chinese practice of acupuncture and herbology, supported by clinical sketches and references to authoritative Chinese sources. By emphasizing the holistic aspects of Chinese medicine, this book has connected acupuncture and herbology to American and European social trends in favor of alternate forms of medical practice. By introducing the ideas of Chinese medicine with familiar terms, and in relation to Western traditions, it has opened the minds of a generation.

The discussion of organs and their related pathologies includes the hun, po, yi, shen, and zhi, their virtues and psychological propensities. There are over100 pages reviewing biomedical research into acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine. The author also discusses historical approaches towards intention and intuition in diagnosis and expands upon the patient-physician relationship in Chinese medicine.

The footnotes have been updated to include the latest information about East Asian medicine in academic disciplines as biomedicine, pharmacology, anthropology, history, sociology and sinology.