Book Description

This book is written to provide information on various aspects of Yoruba, and, indeed, African traditional medicine. The writer's research on Yoruba traditional medicine provides the bulk of the materials in the book. The book consists of eleven chapters. Chapters 1 and 2 provide the background to the book. Chapters 3 to 10 encapsulate the different aspects of Yoruba traditional medicine such as classification of healers, methods of training of healers, methods of diagnosis and investigation of diseases, treatment of diseases, Yoruba pharmacopoeia, midwifery, bone-setting, and other forms of traditional surgery. Chapter 11 describes the meeting point of hospitals and healers; this meeting point, in the opinion of the author, should be how best to serve the interests of the patients. The best form of relationship that should exist between hospitals and healers is also discussed. The two systems of medicine exist side by side in Nigeria and most African countries yet remain functionally unrelated in any intentional sense. It is argued that no medical system is perfect and no single care system has all the answers to all human health and related problems. Each of the two systems has its strong and weak points. The often talked-about integration of the two systems has potential pitfalls and may be undesirable. The book concludes that the best form of relationship may well be one of genuine cooperation and mutual respect between the two systems since this will lead, in the ultimate, to advancement of medical knowledge and overall improvement of patient care. All levels of government in Nigeria have decisive roles to play in achieving this mutually beneficial cooperation of the two systems.