Allopathic
The term allopathic, an adjective, is used in medicine to distinguish one from medical practice, medical tradition, or medical profession from another.
Allopathic medicine: The system of medical practice which treats disease by the use of remedies which produce effects different from those produced by the disease under treatment. MDs practice allopathic medicine. Also called conventional medicine.
The term "allopathy" was coined in 1842 by C.F.S. Hahnemann to designate the usual practice of medicine (allopathy) as opposed to homeopathy, the system of therapy that he founded based on the concept that disease can be treated with drugs (in minute doses) thought capable of producing the same symptoms in healthy people as the disease itself.
Variants
An allopathic physician is one who holds a certain medical degree: the Doctor of Medicine (MD) in the United States, or the Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS, MBChB, MBBChir) in the UK, Australia, India and many other countries. Allopathic medicine or allopathy, a term for scientific, research-based orthodox medicine.Allopath or allopathist, one who practices allopathy.
Usage of "Allopathic"
United States
In the United States, the term is used frequently in discussions of either the osteopathic medical profession or alternative medicine. Some authors have raised concerns that it is misused, or question if it even has a meaning.Norman Gevitz, a medical historian, explains the term as follows.
India
In India, the term allopathic is frequently used to distinguish modern, Western, research based medicine from the many traditional forms of medicine practiced on the Indian subcontinent, especially ayurvedic medicine.