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Frances Garrett (Published July 2003; Revised July 2007)

An Introduction to Tibetan Medical Practice

These pages will introduce viewers to aspects of Tibetan medicine as practiced and studied today in Lhasa, Tibet. Most of our videos were filmed at the Hospital of Tibetan Medicine (the Mentsikhang), in Lhasa. Some of the hospital's most distinguished doctors lectured for us on various topics and demonstrated techniques of diagnosis and therapeutics in Tibetan medical practice. We are grateful to them for their generous collaborative spirit.

The Mentsikhang has several branches in Lhasa: an in-patient hospital, on Nyangre Road (pictured at right), an out-patient hospital, near the Barkor neighborhood's Jokhang temple, and a factory where medicines are made. We have recorded videos at each of these locations, as well as at a few small neighborhood clinics around Lhasa. Most videos from the Lhasa out-patient Mentsikhang have been organized according to the physicians' area of medical specialty; thus, as noted below, three video sub-series focus on liver disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, and musculoskeletal disorders.

Anatomy & Physiology: an overview of the human body as it is presented Tibetan traditional medical texts.

Tibetan Nosology & Etiology : an overview of the Tibetan understanding of disease states, the causes of disease, and other related topics.

Tibetan Diagnosis: an overview of Tibetan diagnosis, including comments on urinalysis, pulse analysis, and other related topics.

Tibetan Therapeutics: an overview of Tibetan therapeutics, including diet, behavior, pharmacology, and other related topics.

Tibetan Pharmacy : an overview of the preparation of Tibetan medicinal compounds.

Video Series

This introductory lesson is based largely on the following video series from the THDL collections:

	Department of Liver Disorders, Lhasa Mentsikhang In the Liver Disorders video sub-series, two liver specialists discuss their work, and doctors examine patients being treated in the Department of Liver Disorders in the hospital.
	Department of Gastrointestinal Disorders, Lhasa Mentsikhang In the GI Disorders video sub-series, physicians discuss diagnosis and treatment options in the GI Department, new technologies for diagnosis are introduced, and physicians examine patients staying in the hospital.
	Department of Musculoskeletal Disorders, Lhasa Mentsikhang In the Musculoskeletal Disorders video sub-series, doctors examine patients staying in the hospital and discuss various therapeutic strategies.
	Expressing Pain This series of videos features expressions of various sorts of pain or discomfort.