Traditional Chinese Medicine refers to the earliest recorded medicine practiced in China, an ancient healthcare system that has prevailed and developed for thousands years. It is a culmination of modalities that developed over many regions and thousands of years in ancient China and includes acupuncture, Chinese herbalogy, Tui Na or Chinese massage, exercises such as Qi Gong and Tai Qi, and food and diet therapy. Many branches and versions of Chinese medicine have develop in the last thousand years, spreading to many Asian countries, including Japan, Thailand, Korea and Vietnam, becoming known generally as Oriental Medicine. In the last century, Oriental Medicine has been enthusiastically embraced in countries such as France, and has evolved there to include new systems of treatment such as Auricular Acupuncture and Scalp Acupuncture. More recently a treatment was developed in Europe and is offered at the Arkansas Acupuncture Center for the treatment of degenerative eye disorders and circulation problems.  

Although Traditional Chinese Medicine is considered the original medicine of China, in modern times the term Traditional Chinese Medicine denotes a specific way to diagnosis and treat disease, different in style from other forms of Oriental Medicine such as Five Element Acupuncture, and the styles that developed in Japan and Korea. However, there are underlying characteristics common to all forms of Oriental Medicine such as the acupuncture channels and acupuncture points, the use of herbs in prescription form, physical exercise, and the underlying philosophy.