allopathy

/ə'lɔpəθi/

Thân thiện

A doctor practices allopathy by prescribing medication to treat a patient's fever.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A system of medical treatment: "Allopathy" refers to the conventional or standard method of treating diseases. It uses remedies (like drugs or surgery) that produce effects in the body which are different from or opposite to the effects produced by the disease itself. This system forms the basis of modern Western medicine.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • Modern hospitals primarily practice allopathy.
  • The debate between allopathy and homeopathy continues in some medical circles.
  • He studied allopathy at the medical school.

Advanced Usage

• "Allopathic medicine": This is a common compound term used to describe the conventional system of medical practice, often contrasted with alternative or complementary medicine.
  • Allopathic medicine relies heavily on pharmaceutical interventions.

Variants and Related Words

• Allopathic (adj): Pertaining to allopathy.
  • She is an allopathic physician.
• Allopath (n): A practitioner of allopathy.
  • The allopath prescribed antibiotics for the infection.

Synonyms

• Conventional medicine
• Western medicine
• Mainstream medicine
• Biomedicine

Antonyms

• Homeopathy: A system of alternative medicine based on treating "like with like."
• Naturopathy: A system of alternative medicine that focuses on natural remedies.
• Alternative medicine

Notes on Meaning

• The term "allopathy" is often used in contrast to other medical systems, particularly homeopathy. It is important to note that within the field of conventional medicine, practitioners typically do not use the term "allopathy" to describe their own work; they use terms like "medicine" or "biomedicine." The term is more commonly used in discussions comparing different medical philosophies.

Học thuật

Noun

1. the usual method of treating disease with remedies that produce effects differing from those produced by the disease itself