M. COCUDE
 

Three main aspects of Chinese medicine have been chosen. They will bc presented and examined individually for their possible contribution to the treatment of pneurnoconiotics.

Traditional Chinese medicine comprises a comportent well known in the West, acupuncture, which started to gain ground in the medical sector in France in the first half of the XXth century with Soulié de Morant.

Today acupuncture is a recognised discipline. It is taught at various universities and approved schools and the treatment given by acupuncturist physicians is reimbursed by the social security.

Other components of Chinese medicine are making a discreet appearance. The pharmacopoeia has for a long time attracted the interest of certain health professionals, particularly pharmacies. The public is becoming increasingly interested also.

Traditional Chinese medicine also comprises qi gong, similar to psychosomatic medicine and including techniques which, in our context, are close to the techniques of physical and mental well-being and to personal development techniques like sophrology. Incidentally, the western inventors of sophrology often forge, or hide, its oriental origin.

These are therefore the main topics chosen but it should not bc forgotten that dietetics also plays an important role, in health as in ill-health (in the East and the West alike), as well as massages and the buming of moxas at acupoints-a kind of compromise between acupuncture and the traditional French technique of cupping and possibly scarifying.