ABSTRACT

The chief medical directors and a number of chiefs of service were originally western-style trained, and after a number of years of clinical experience then took two or three-year courses in Traditional medicine. Many settings, both rural and urban, mentioned the extensive use of herbal preparation to treat appendicitis. It was unusual to be able to visit a distant rural area in the People's Republic of China at least for visitors at the end of the 1970s and early 1980s. The hospital courtyard was prominently occupied by a three-mos herbal garden that contained 217 different medicinal plants. All the medical staff took turns tending the garden which was under the direction of an older Traditional doctor. The hospital had extensive facilities for drying and storing the herbs, and medicine-producing equipment as well. The majority of doctors in each hospital are traditionally trained.