* by drugs: pharmacotherapy, chemotherapy (also, medical therapy often means specifically pharmacotherapy)
* by medical devices: implantation
** cardiac resynchronization therapy
* by specific molecules: molecular therapy (although most drugs are specific molecules, molecular medicine refers in particular to medicine relying on molecular biology)
** by specific biomolecular targets: targeted therapy
*** molecular chaperone therapy
** by chelation: chelation therapy
* by specific chemical elements:
** by metals:
*** by heavy metals:
**** by gold: chrysotherapy (aurotherapy)
**** by platinum-containing drugs: platin therapy
*** by biometals
**** by lithium: lithium therapy
**** by potassium: potassium supplementation
**** by magnesium: magnesium supplementation
**** by chromium: chromium supplementation; phonemic neurological hypochromium therapy
**** by copper: copper supplementation
** by nonmetals:
*** by diatomic oxygen: oxygen therapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (hyperbaric medicine)
**** transdermal continuous oxygen therapy
*** by triatomic oxygen (ozone): ozone therapy
*** by fluoride: fluoride therapy
*** by other gases: medical gas therapy
* by water:
** hydrotherapy
** aquatic therapy
** rehydration therapy
*** oral rehydration therapy
** water cure (therapy)
* by biological materials (biogenic substances, biomolecules, biotic materials, natural products), including their synthetic equivalents: biotherapy
** by whole organisms
*** by viruses: virotherapy
*** by bacteriophages: phage therapy
*** by animal interaction: see animal interaction section
** by constituents or products of organisms
*** by plant parts or extracts (but many drugs are derived from plants, even when the term phytotherapy is not used)
**** scientific type: phytotherapy
**** traditional (prescientific) type: herbalism
*** by animal parts: quackery involving shark fins, tiger parts, and so on, often driving threat or endangerment of species
*** by genes: gene therapy
**** gene therapy for epilepsy
**** gene therapy for osteoarthritis
**** gene therapy for color blindness
**** gene therapy of the human retina
**** gene therapy in Parkinson's disease
*** by epigenetics: epigenetic therapy
*** by proteins: protein therapy (but many drugs are proteins despite not being called protein therapy)
*** by enzymes: enzyme replacement therapy
*** by hormones: hormone therapy
**** hormonal therapy (oncology)
**** hormone replacement therapy
***** estrogen replacement therapy
***** androgen replacement therapy
***** hormone replacement therapy (menopause)
***** transgender hormone therapy
****** feminizing hormone therapy
****** masculinizing hormone therapy
**** antihormone therapy
***** androgen deprivation therapy
*** by whole cells: cell therapy (cytotherapy)
**** by stem cells: stem cell therapy
**** by immune cells: see immune system products below
*** by immune system products: immunotherapy, host modulatory therapy
**** by immune cells:
***** T-cell vaccination
***** cell transfer therapy
***** autologous immune enhancement therapy
***** TK cell therapy
**** by humoral immune factors: antibody therapy
***** by whole serum: serotherapy, including antiserum therapy
***** by immunoglobulins: immunoglobulin therapy
****** by monoclonal antibodies: monoclonal antibody therapy
** by urine: urine therapy (some scientific forms; many prescientific or pseudoscientific forms)
** by food and dietary choices:
*** medical nutrition therapy
*** grape therapy (quackery)
* by salts (but many drugs are the salts of organic acids, even when drug therapy is not called by names reflecting that)
** by salts in the air
*** by natural dry salt air: "taking the cure" in desert locales (especially common in prescientific medicine; for example, one 19th-century way to treat tuberculosis)
*** by artificial dry salt air:
**** low-humidity forms of speleotherapy
**** negative air ionization therapy
*** by moist salt air:
**** by natural moist salt air: seaside cure (especially common in prescientific medicine)
**** by artificial moist salt air: water vapor forms of speleotherapy
** by salts in the water
*** by mineral water: spa cure ("taking the waters") (especially common in prescientific medicine)
*** by seawater: seaside cure (especially common in prescientific medicine)
* by aroma: aromatherapy
* by other materials with mechanism of action unknown
** by occlusion with duct tape: duct tape occlusion therapy