Eighteen incompatible herbs and nineteen mutual antagonistic herbs are the main contents prohibited combination of Chinese medicine.From ancient times to the present days

they are recorded in many herbal medicine books.Whether eighteen incompatible herbs and nineteen herbs of mutual antagonism are incompatibile has become one of the hot spots of academic issues.According to statistics

there are 1 062 products of Chinese patent medicine in the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China (volume I

2010)

in which 5 products contain eighteen incompatible herbs and 6 products contain nineteen herbs of mutual antagonism.This paper analyses the formula of Chinese patent medicine containing eighteen incompatible herbs and nineteen herbs of mutual antagonism recorded in the 2010 Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China.Based on the prescriptions

the frequency

the prescription’s quantity of medicine

the forms

usages

and the modern clinical applications are reviewed.Then the author summarizes the characteristics of application in order to explore the essence of 18 incompatibilities and 19 mutual antagonisms.