Scientific medicine, as a descriptive term, applies to "the form of medicine

Medicine

Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....

 derived from the Flexnerian reformation

Flexnerian medicine

Flexnerian medicine refers to an era of modern medical practice that crystallized with the publication of the Flexner Report in 1910. The Flexner Report criticized the loose standards of medical education that existed in the United States in the 19th century...

 of medical education and the germ theory

Germ theory of disease

The germ theory of disease, also called the pathogenic theory of medicine, is a theory that proposes that microorganisms are the cause of many diseases...

 in the early 1900s".

Romano discusses the rise of the importance of science in medicine in the late 19th century, observing that "the previous generation had also considered its own medicine scientific [...] In many ways the term scientific medicine was a successful attempt to garner allies; no one championed unscientific medicine. The meanings of scientific medicine changed over time [...] [I]t was in various disputes that the ambiguity and broadness of the term scientific medicine became most evident."

Some contemporary usage contrasts "scientific medicine" (in the sense of mainstream conventional medicine) with "alternative medicine

Alternative medicine

Alternative medicine is any healing practice, "that does not fall within the realm of conventional medicine." It is based on historical or cultural traditions, rather than on scientific evidence....

".