Herbal

Herbal medicine is a special and prominent form of traditional medicine, in which the traditional healer, in this case known as the herbalist, specializes in the use of herbs to treat various ailments. Their role is so remarkable since it arises from a thorough knowledge of the medicinal properties of indigenous plants and the pharmaceutical steps necessary in turning such plants into drugs such as the selection, compounding, dosage, efficacy, and toxicity. The use of herbal medicines appears to be universal in different cultures. However, the plants used for the same ailments and the modes of treatment may vary from place to place. The plants used for medicinal purposes are generally referred to as medicinal plants, i.e., any plant in which one or more of its organs/parts contain substances that can be used for therapeutic purposes, or in a more modern concept, the constituents can be used as precursors for the synthesis of drugs. For example, a number of plants have been used in traditional medicine for many years without scientific data to back up their efficacy. In this case, these plants, whole or parts, which have medicinal properties, are referred to as crude drugs of natural or biological origin.

They may further be classified as “organized drugs,” if such drugs are from plant parts with cellular structures such as leaf, bark, roots, etc., and “unorganized drugs,” if they are obtained from acellular portions of plants such as gums, balsams, gels, oils, and exudates. Compared with modern allopathic medicine, herbal medicine is freely available and can easily be accessed by all. As a result, there is limited consultation with traditional healers because there is a fairly good knowledge of common curative herbs especially in the rural areas except in the case of treatment of chronic diseases. Even where consultation is done, there is lack of coherence among traditional healers on the preparation procedures and correct dosage of herbal medicines. However, according to WHO, at least 80% of people in Africa still rely on medicinal plants for their health care. In Nigeria, and indeed the entire West Africa, herbal medicine has continued to gain momentum, some of the advantages being low cost, affordability, availability, acceptability, and apparently low toxicity.

Orthodox

Surgical

The act of performing surgery may be called a surgical procedure, operation, or simply "surgery". In this context, the verb "operate" means to perform surgery. The adjective surgical means pertaining to surgery; e.g. surgical instruments or surgical nurse.