Essentially different from Western medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is an independent and unique system to diagnose and cure illness with a history of three thousand years. With the viewpoint of holistic medicine, TCM emphasizes on balance, harmony, and interaction. TCM treats the human body as a network. The organs of heart, lung, liver, kidney, spleen, gall bladder, stomach, intestine, urinary bladder, etc. are the cores of this network, which are connected by meridians. The vital energy, Qi, circulates through the body along meridians. Blood, essence (Jing), and mind (Shen) nourish and protect organs in the network. Every diagnosis is a "Pattern of disharmony" that affects one or more organs in the network, and every treatment is concentrated on correcting such disharmony.

The foundation principles of TCM are functions. Indeed, the concept of organs in TCM is defined by its functions. Each organ has unique and distinct functions; each organ also has a unique way of dysfunctioning. These functions are usually functions throughout the body, not just the biomedically recognised function of the organ itself. Thus, these organs are not exactly the same as the one in the western anatomical model. For example, functions of lung are defined to descend and disperse Qi throughout the body and connect externally with skin and hair. Dysfunction of lung will result in poor skin conditions such as eczema, thin or brittle hair, and a propensity to catching colds and flu. The organ of San Jiao (three areas of the body cavity) in TCM has no anatomical correspondent at all, and is said to be a completely functional entity for maceration and aqueduct. A thorough understanding of each organs signs of function and dysfunction will give insight into the process of disease and illness according to TCM.

TCM views diseases as imbalance and disharmony of the human body. The diagnoses are based on the observation of overall human symptoms rather than laboratory tests for a certain body part. For example, western interpretation deems cold is caused by viruses and may treat patients with antibiotics or vaccines. TCM deems cold is caused by external forces like wind and cold or heat. When these external forces enter the body, they disturb the delicate balance of human body. TCM practitioner will then identify whether the cold is wind cold or wind heat, and treat patients with different herbal formulae to restore the body balance. There is a popular saying in China as follows: Chinese medicine treats humans while western medicine treats diseases.

The basic diagnostic techniques of TCM include observing, asking, hearing and smelling, and touching. TCM physicians will ask the patient about his background and problems; observe the patients face, tongue, and ear; hear the soundness of the patients voice, read the palpation of the patients radial artery pulse; and so on. Based on long-years practical experience and understanding with TCM, physicians will then identify the imbalance in patient and the reason for it. Current TCM physicians in China may also use Western methods combined with traditional skills to reach a more precise diagnosis. Treatments targeting the certain illness will be given to the patient. Traditional TCM treatments include TuiNa massage, acupuncture, herbal treatment, and Qigong and Chinese martial art. Modern TCM treatments consist of herbal medicine or acupuncture as the primary method, with other methods such as massage, qi gong, or food therapy playing a secondary role. Illness in TCM is seen as a lack of harmony, and the goal of all traditional treatments is to assist the body to regain balance and achieve homeostasis.