Anthroposophic medicine

Anthroposophic medicine (or anthroposophical medicine) is a form of alternative medicine based on pseudoscientific and occult notions.^[1] Devised in the 1920s by Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925) in conjunction with Ita Wegman (1876–1943), anthroposophical medicine draws on Steiner's spiritual philosophy, which he called anthroposophy. Practitioners employ a variety of treatment techniques based upon anthroposophic precepts, including massage, exercise, counselling, and administration of substances.^[2]

Many drug preparations used in anthroposophic medicine are ultra-diluted, similar to those used in homeopathy. Homeopathic remedies are not medically effective and are generally considered harmless, except when used as a substitute for a scientifically proven and effective prevention and cure.^[3] In certain European countries, people with cancer are sometimes prescribed remedies made from specially harvested mistletoe, although no evidence of clinical benefit exists.^[4]^[5] Some anthroposophic doctors oppose childhood vaccination, and this has led to preventable outbreaks of disease.^[6]

Anthroposophic medicine departs from fundamental biological, physical and chemical principles in several respects. For example, Steiner said that the heart is not a pump, but that the blood in a sense pumps itself.^[7]^[8] Anthroposophic medicine also proposes that patients' past lives may influence their illness and that the course of an illness is subject to karmic destiny.^[9]^[10] Professor of complementary medicine Edzard Ernst and other physicians and scientists including Simon Singh and David Gorski have characterized anthroposophic medicine as pseudoscientific quackery,^[11]^[12] with no basis in reason or logic.^[13]^[14]^[15]

^ Cite error: The named reference teils was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference ernstmist was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference krit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference ACS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference coch-2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference measles was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ The Dynamic Heart and Circulation, ed. Craig Holdrege, AWSNA, 2002, p.145
^ Cite error: The named reference Marinelli was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference qw was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference deadly was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference seop was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference thes-aberdeen was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference mckie was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Gorski, David (14 March 2011). "A University of Michigan Medical School alumnus confronts anthroposophic medicine at his alma mater". Science-Based Medicine. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
^ Singh, Simon; Ernst, Edzard (2008). Trick Or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-06661-6.^{[page needed]}

[teils-1] Cite error: The named reference teils was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[ernstmist-2] Cite error: The named reference ernstmist was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[krit-3] Cite error: The named reference krit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[ACS-4] Cite error: The named reference ACS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[coch-2010-5] Cite error: The named reference coch-2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[measles-6] Cite error: The named reference measles was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[7] The Dynamic Heart and Circulation, ed. Craig Holdrege, AWSNA, 2002, p.145

[Marinelli-8] Cite error: The named reference Marinelli was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[qw-9] Cite error: The named reference qw was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[deadly-10] Cite error: The named reference deadly was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[seop-11] Cite error: The named reference seop was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[thes-aberdeen-12] Cite error: The named reference thes-aberdeen was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[mckie-13] Cite error: The named reference mckie was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Gorski-14] Gorski, David (14 March 2011). "A University of Michigan Medical School alumnus confronts anthroposophic medicine at his alma mater". Science-Based Medicine. Retrieved 29 November 2018.

[SinghBook-15] Singh, Simon; Ernst, Edzard (2008). Trick Or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-06661-6.^{[page needed]}

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]