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To provide East Asian evidence to the relationship between the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and the use of biomedicine, this article examines the institutionalization of traditional East Asian medicine (EM) in China, Korea, and Japan and how it affects the relationship between EM use and biomedicine use. It uses the 2010 East Asian Social Survey. Logistic regressions specify the statistical association between EM use and biomedical physician visits. These models show that the high institutional acceptance of EM promotes the concurrent use of EM and biomedicine. In addition, since these countries feature different ways of institutionalizing EM (unification in China, equalization in Korea, and subjugation in Japan), the concurrent use is more obvious under the Chinese and the Korean system than the Japanese system. It concludes that the CAM use can be complementary to biomedicine, depending on how CAM and biomedicine are institutionalized in medical systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In the auricular maps introduced over the past 50 years by the French and Chinese schools, most organs and systems overlap consistently. One exception is the reproductive system, which shows a markedly different somatotopic representation--for example, for the uterus and the ovary. Objective: To identify the distribution of points with increased tenderness to pressure or with reduced electrical resistance, on the outer ear of a group of women undergoing hysteroscopy. Methods: For diagnostic purposes the auricles of 78 women were examined before and after hysteroscopy using a pain-pressure test and electrical skin resistance test. The points identified were transcribed onto a graphic system called Sectogram. Spatial cluster analysis was used to identify the statistically significant clusters of sectors with a higher concentration of points appearing after hysteroscopy. Results: The points identified after hysteroscopy tend to be concentrated in specific areas not previously recognised and which only partially overlap with the French and Chinese representation of the uterus. Conclusion: When auricular acupuncture is applied to reduce discomfort during hysteroscopy, particular attention must be paid when choosing the points/areas to be stimulated, which are not only those indicated in the Chinese or French maps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]