Insects have long been used in medicine, both traditional and modern, sometimes with little evidence of their effectiveness. For the purpose of the article, and in line with custom, medicinal uses of other arthropods such as spiders are included. Traditional and alternative uses The medicinal uses of insects and other arthropods worldwide have been reviewed by Meyer-Rochow, who provides examples of all major insect groups, spiders, worms and molluscs and discusses their potential as suppliers of bioactive components. Using insects (and spiders) to treat various maladies and injuries has a long tradition and, having stood the test of time, can be effective and provide results. However, sometimes folk-medicinal "logic" was based on the Doctrine of Signatures = "let likes be cured by likes"and had, if any at all, little more than a psychological effect. For example, to treat cases of constipation, dung beetles were prescribed; to slim down stick insects were thought to help; hairy tarantulas seemed the right treatment for hair loss and fat grubs resembling the swollen limb caused by the parasite Wuchereria bancrofti were expected to help the elephantiasis patient. An organism bearing parts that resemble human body parts, animals, or other objects, was thought to have useful relevance to those parts, animals or objects. So, for example, the femurs of grasshoppers, which were said to resemble the human liver, were used to treat liver ailments by the indigenous peoples of Mexico. This doctrine is common throughout traditional and alternative medicine, but is most prominent where medical traditions are broadly accepted, as in traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda, and less by community and family based medicine, as is more common in parts of Africa. Traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine includes the use of herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage, exercise, and dietary therapy. It is a typical component of modern medical care throughout East Asia and in some parts of Southeast Asia (such as Thailand). Insects are very commonly incorporated as part of the herbal medicine component of traditional Chinese medicine, and their medical properties and applications are broadly accepted and agreed upon. Some brief examples follow: The Chinese Black Mountain Ant, Polyrhachis vicina, is supposed to act as a cure all and is widely used, especially by the elderly. It is said to prolong life, to have anti-aging properties, to replenish Qi, and to increase virility and fertility. Recent interest in the ants' medicinal qualities has led