The following vocabulary is useful for understanding and discussing types of healthcare and treatment.

Types of healthcare

• Alternative healthcare – this is a term used by many western countries to describe more traditional types of healthcare that do not involve operations and pharmaceutical drugs. For example, acupuncture (see below).
• Western medicine  – the type of medical treatment that is the most popular in North America and many European countries, based on the use of drugs and surgery to treat signs of illness.

Types of treatment / therapy

• Acupuncture – needles are inserted into the body at certain pressure points
• Chemotherapy – fighting a disease using toxic chemical substances (commonly used against cancer)
• Naturopathy – using natural ingredients (flowers etc) to heal sickness.