Converging Paths of Ancient Ayurveda and Modern Medicine

Being both a Western physician and an Ayurvedic practitioner, Dr. Conte provides insights to both ancient Ayurveda and modern medicine by integrating these two fields of health practice. This is a matter of east meets west that congeals into one holistic medical science based upon the principles of Ayurveda and modern medicine. Dr. Conte fills in the gaps of Western medicine with the principles of this ancient but timeless Eastern health-care system. By utilizing western medical terminology, the wisdom of Ayurveda becomes vibrant and more comprehensible to western understanding. Furthermore, Ayurveda provides enlightenment relative to many of the Western medical practices. Thus, both modern Western medicine and timeless Ayurveda are quite complementary with overlapping basic tenets. Thus, they are not contradictory in theory nor should they be considered as totally separate medical practices. Dr. Conte guides the reader on a journey through the development of the individual's physical body and mental attributes utilizing the knowledge of Ayurveda in conjunction with the contemporary sciences of embryology, anatomy, physiology, and pathology. The integration of the doshas (biologic forces) with the embryologic development of the individual is clearly illustrated as well as the interrelationship of the three doshas and the three counterpart embryologic germ layers with their respective various tissue derivations (dhatus). Also, insights to both the physical and mental constitutions of the individual are presented utilizing explanatory semantics easily understood by Western physicians and other allied health-care workers. And conversely, Western medical terminology is clearly presented facilitating Ayurvedic practitioners to more easily confer with allopathic healers. The section devoted to modern drug therapy discusses various commonly prescribed drugs and how they are classified according to doshic principles of Ayurveda. Also, insights as to the causes of specific adverse drug reactions are provided based upon these Ayurvedic doctrines.