[Traditional medicine in the Central Plateau of Haiti. 1. Study of the traditional therapeutic system in a rural socio-cultural area]. / La médecine populaire dans le plateau central d'Haiti. 1. Etude du système therapeutique traditionnel dans un cadre socio-culturel rural.

An ethnomedical and ethnopharmacological research on the traditional use of plants to cure human diseases was carried out in the Thomonde area located in the Central Plateau of Haiti. The use of medicinal plants is widespread among the rural population and is often the first treatment utilized. An ethnomedical approach to the Haitian traditional therapeutic system and popular beliefs is made. The percentage home remedies used as first treatment against 38 diseases was determined by means of an investigation performed on a quantitative scale.