(Department of pathology, College of Oriental Medicine, Kyungsan University)
Traditional oriental medicine and western medicine have not only their own views of disease but also their own practical approach to disease. So, We should not identify the thing which is expressed as ‘ai’(癌) in traditional oriental medicine with the thing which is expressed as ‘cancer’ in western medicine. In traditional oriental medicine, the name of malignant tumor is also designated by it's sign and symptom as same as different disease. So it is difficult to compare directly ‘ai’(癌) with cancer. However, when we analysed processes and characteristics of disease, we can find many instances which is related to the things which is called as cancer by western medicine. So at first, we analysed the meaning of word, ai(癌). Secondly, through the searching many instances which are mentioned above, we classified four groups and investigated these. Four group is following like, First, the cases that ai(癌) is used in. Second, the case that is recognized as mass. Third, the case that has different shape with ai. Fourth, the case that has similar sign and symptom with cancer.