East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet?

Western medicine and Chinese medicine developed within the context of different cultures and perspectives of the natural world. The more reductionistic approach of Western biomedical sciences has generated tremendous knowledge of anatomy, physiology, histology, genetics, and biochemistry,  while the phenomenological approach of Chinese medicine has produced a more holistic understanding of biology. The two concepts are complementary, and combining them to optimally balance detail and context could generate a highly rewarding step forward for medicine.