This invaluable book is aimed at those who are concerned about Chinese medicine -- how it works, what its current state is and, most important, how to make full use of it. The audience therefore includes clinicians who want to serve their patients better and patients who are eager to supplement their own conventional treatment. The authors of the book belong to three different fields, viz. clinical and basic sciences, Chinese medicine and pharmacology. They provide information from their areas of expertise and concern, attempting to make it comprehensive for users. The approach is macroscopic and philosophical, readers convinced of the philosophy are to seek specific assistance.