COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does complementary medicine mean? 

• COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE (noun)
  The noun COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE has 1 sense:

1. the practice of medicine that combines traditional medicine with alternative medicine

  Familiarity information: COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The practice of medicine that combines traditional medicine with alternative medicine

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("complementary medicine" is a kind of...):

medicine; practice of medicine (the learned profession that is mastered by graduate training in a medical school and that is devoted to preventing or alleviating or curing diseases and injuries)

 Context examples 

Complementary medicine includes acupuncture, dietary supplements, massage therapy, hypnosis, and meditation.

(Complementary medicine, NCI Dictionary)

Complementary medicine as being used together with conventional medicine, whereas alternative medicine is used in place of conventional medicine.

(Complementary and Alternative Medicine, NCI Thesaurus)

Complementary medicine is used together with standard medical care.

(Complementary and Alternative Medicine, NIH: National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine)

Used as an immunostimulant in complementary medicine, NBG binds specifically to receptors found on the surface of specialized macrophages, granulocytes and natural killer cells and may stimulate these cells to become more active in engulfing and digesting foreign antigens; NBG also induces the production of cytokines that further augment the host immune response to foreign antigens.

(Immutol, NCI Thesaurus)

Less research has been done for most types of complementary medicine.

(Complementary medicine, NCI Dictionary)