Designed to make the practice of loose herbs easily accesible to practitioners and students of Chinese medicine, this is a tool for prescribing and modifying loose herbal formulae. Over 500 formulae are organized for easy clinical reference after diagnosis has been made; over 400 individual herbs from traditional categories are organized into clinically relevant subcategories; and over 400 herbs are listed in chart form, enabling the practitioner to easily see important preparation considerations, including cooking needs, cautions about combinations, internal versus external use, special forms of herbs available, toxicity, contraindications and unusual requirements.