TCM Dictionary - Search Explorer
The TCM Dictionary is massive, so the fastest way to find something is to search. As an example, try a search for 'liver qi'. The more obscure the TCM concept, the better. The dictionary combines terms, definitions, medications, and acupuncture prescriptions.
There are 126 terms starting with "A"
a-shi point
Synonyms: ouch point.
abating heat
Synonyms: Clearing heat
Clearing heat or reducing heat effusion (fever).
abdomen
Synonyms: Belly
The anterior aspect of the body from the ribs down to the genitals, considered yin in relationship to the back, which is yang. The abdomen is divided into the greater abdomen (the part above the umbilicus) and the smaller abdomen (the part below the umbilicus). A small part of the greater abdomen immediately below the breastbone is variously referred to as the region below the heart or the heart region. The central part of the upper abdomen is called the stomach duct. The lesser abdomen usually refers to the lateral areas of the lower abdomen, but is sometimes used to mean smaller abdomen. 1. Region below the heart 2. Stomach duct 1, 2, and 3. Greater abdomen 4. Smaller abdomen 5. Lesser abdomen 6. Rib-side 7. Vacuous li
abdominal distention
1. Enlargement of the abdomen (objective sign). 2. A subjective feeling of fullness.
abdominal fullness
A subjective feeling of fullness in the abdomen without pronounced visible or palpable expansion. Abdominal fullness may be observed in vacuity and repletion patterns. Continued fullness without relief, associated with hard stool or continued fullness relieved by passing of flatus, belching, or defecation indicates repletion. Periodically abating fullness that likes pressure, associated with sloppy stool or with fullness following defecation is a vacuity pattern. Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Coffer describes the former as "abdominal fullness with little or no relief," and the latter as "abdominal fullness recurring after periods of relief." Abdominal fullness commonly occurs in the cold-damp, spleen-stomach vacuity, damp-heat, food stagnation, and heat bind patterns.
abdominal pain
Pain in the stomach duct, in the umbilical region, in the smaller abdomen, or in the lesser abdomen. Abdominal pain is attributable to external contraction of one of the six excesses, dietary irregularities, affect damage, stagnation of qi dynamic, blood stasis obstructing the vessels, or worm accumulations, etc. In pattern identification, it is first of all important to identify cold, heat, vacuity, and repletion, qi stagnation, and blood stasis. Cold pain is pain that is exacerbated by exposure to cold and likes warmth, and is accompanied by physical cold and fear of cold, absence of thirst, white tongue fur, and a pulse that is either sunken and slow or sunken and tight. Heat pain is pain that is periodic and accompanied by thirst, dry tongue, reddish urine, constipation or diarrhea, a red tongue with yellow fur, and a rapid surging pulse. Vacuity pain is a continual pain that likes pressure. Repletion pain is pain accompanied by fullness and comes in violent attacks. Qi stagnation pain (often simply called qi pain) is also a pain that comes in bouts, and is characteristically of unfixed location. Blood stagnation pain (often simply called stasis pain) is a stabbing pain of fixed location. As to location, pain in the greater abdomen (upper abdomen) is a sign of spleen or stomach morbidity; pain in the umbilical region is attributable to large or small intestinal morbidity; pain in the center of the abdomen below the umbilicus itself is attributable to bladder or kidney diseases; pain on both sides of the abdomen below the umbilicus is usually related to the liver.
abdominal pain in pregnancy
Synonyms: uterine obstruction.
abdominal urgency and heaviness in the rectum
From The Classic of Difficult Issues. Urge to defecate with abdominal pain, pressure in the rectum, and difficult defecation. Abdominal urgency and heaviness in the rectum is mostly caused by damp-heat, and is one of the main signs of dysentery.
abduct
To carry away; specifically to carry stagnant food down the digestive tract.
abductive dispersion
abhorrence of cold
External shivering with internal heat vexation arising when a deep-lying internal heat evil blocks yang qi and prevents it from reaching the exterior. Abhorrence of cold occurs, for example, in deep-lying rheum, pestilential qi epidemic toxin hidden in the membrane source, thunder head wind, and gan of the lung.
abiding ailment
Any disease that persists over many months or years.
abiding food
From Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Coffer. Food and drink accumulating in the stomach and intestines. Abiding food arises when, in food damage, food accumulation remains untransformed for days. It is usually caused by voracious eating or spleen vacuity. It is characterized by abdominal pain and distention, belching of sour fetid qi, nausea, aversion to food, constipation or diarrhea, slimy tongue fur, and in some cases, aversion to cold, heat~effusion, and headache. Abiding food can cause phlegm, which in turn can engender heat. Such conditions are known by the compound term phlegm-food.
Medication: Treat by fortifying the spleen and stomach and by dispersing food and abducting stagnation. Use Harmony-Preserving Pill or Center-Ordering Decoction and variations. For lodged food in the upper stomach duct, characterized by oppression, glomus, and disten
Acupuncture: Base treatment mainly on CV and ST. Select CV-12 (Center Stomach Duct), CV-10 (Lower Stomach Duct), ST-25 (Celestial Pivot), CV-6 (Sea of Qi), and ST-36 (Leg Three Li) as the main points. For voracious eating, add Li Inner Court; and ST-37 (Upper Great Ho
abnormal passage to the pericardium
In warm diseases, the passage of evils directly to the pericardium without passing through construction. Abnormal passage to the pericardium occurs in febrile disease that is not a regular common cold or flu, e.g., in what Western medicine calls encephalitis~B. See heat entering the pericardium; pericardiac pattern.
abnormal qi
Synonyms: pestilential qi.
Any disease evil that is highly contagious. Elementary Questions states, "When pestilence comes on a large scale, the people tend to die suddenly." It was formerly believed that pestilential qi resulted from abnormal weather conditions such as prolonged drought or extreme heat.
absence of sweating
The absence of normal sweating. In externally contracted febrile (heat) disease, absence of sweating with aversion to cold is a sign of external wind-cold or cold-damp fettering the exterior, i.e., cold evil blocking the interstices of the flesh (sweat ducts and pores) and thereby preventing normal sweating. This is an exterior repletion pattern that can often be treated with Ephedra Decoction. Absence of sweating with heat~effusion is a sign of blood and fluid depletion or of cold in the exterior and heat in the interior. It stems from a lack of sweat rather than blockage in the sweating function and forms part of a vacuity pattern or a vacuity-repletion complex. See sweating.
absence of thirst
Absence of normal desire for fluids. Absence of thirst or intake of warm fluids in small amounts indicates a cold pattern. In cold patterns, normal sweating is reduced, and diminished fluid loss can be compensated with lesser amounts of fluid. Compare thirst.
abstraction
Inattention to present objects or surroundings, or low powers of mental concentration. It is a sign of heart disease.
accumulated cold stomach duct pain
Synonyms: internal damage stomach duct pain.
accumulated heat stomach duct pain
Synonyms: internal damage stomach duct pain.
accumulation
Gathering, amassment; specifically: (1) a type of abdominal lump (see concretions, conglomerations, accumulations, and gatherings); (2) accumulation of food in the digestive tract (see food accumulation).
aching bones
From The Magic Pivot. Aching pain in the bones. Aching bones are usually attributable to kidney vacuity and damage to essence, and are accompanied by limp weak lumbus and knees. Less commonly, this sign occurs in repletion patterns caused by wind-damp and turbid toxin may. Aching bones are observed in wilting, impediment. and in vacuity taxation. Compare bone pain.
aching lumbus
Continual dull pain and discomfort in the lumbus as distinct from lumbar pain, which generally denotes more acute pain. Aching lumbus is attributed either to a) kidney vacuity arising from insufficiency of kidney qi in advancing years or from damage to kidney qi by sexual intemperance, or b) taxation detriment, i.e., wear and tear from physical strain or poor posture. Kidney vacuity lumbar pain is a continual pain exacerbated by physical strain and relieved by rest. In severe cases, there is distinct pain and lack of strength associated with cold knees, and heel pain. In some cases, there may also be hair loss, loosening of the teeth, impotence, and seminal emission. The tongue is pale and the pulse is sunken and fine. When from vacuity detriment, the aching is located in a specific spot, is exacerbated by strain but not markedly relieved by rest, is worse on rising in the morning, and abates with light exercise. The two patterns are mutually conducive and hence not clearly distinguishable.
Medication: Kidney vacuity lumbar pain can be treated by warming, supplementing, and nourishing the kidney with formulas such as Young Maid Pill and Seven-Jewel Beard-Blackening Elixir. Vacuity taxation can be treated with the same formulas. Compare lumbar pain.
Acupuncture: Base treatment mainly on BL and GV. Main points: BL-23 (Kidney Transport) (moxa) and BL-40 (Bend Center). For kidney vacuity add KI-3 (Great Ravine), BL-52 (Will Chamber), and GV-4 (Life Gate) (moxa) needling with supplementation. For vacuity detriment, a
aching lumbus and limp knees
Synonyms: limp aching lumbus and knees.
aching lumbus and limp legs
Synonyms: limp aching lumbus and knees.
aching pain
Pain of continuous duration, felt in the sinews and bones. See pain
acid regurgitation
Synonyms: swallowing of upflowing acid.
acid upflow
The upflow of acid from the stomach into the mouth, that may be ejected or swallowed before it can be ejected. If it is expelled from the body, it is called acid vomiting; if it is swallowed, it is called swallowing of upflowing acid.
acid vomiting
The upflow of acid from the stomach into the mouth, that may be ejected or swallowed before it can be ejected. If it is expelled from the body, it is called acid vomiting; if it is swallowed, it is called swallowing of upflowing acid.
acne
Blackheads (comedones) or red papules ("pimples") on the face that can be squeezed to produce an oily, chalky substance, and that can develop into pustules. Acne is most common in young people. In severe cases, pimples may be large, red, and swollen, and coalesce and spread to the neck, shoulders, and back. Acne is attributed to brewing lung-stomach heat fuming the face, causing heat and stagnation of the blood. It is often found to be related to consumption of rich food.
Medication: Diffuse the lung and clear heat, taking Loquat Leaf Lung-Clearing Beverage orally and applying Reversal Powder mixed with cold water topically.
Acupuncture: Base treatment mainly on back transport points, ST, and LI. Select LI-20 (Welcome Fragrance), LI-4 (Union Valley), LI-11 (Pool at the Bend), BL-13 (Lung Transport), BL-20 (Spleen Transport), ST-44 (Inner Court), and ST-36 (Leg Three Li), and needle with d
acquired constitution
Synonyms: later heaven.
acrid
Synonyms: acridity
acrid opening and bitter discharging
Synonyms: opening with acridity and discharging with bitterness.
acrid opening and bitter downbearing
Synonyms: opening with acridity and downbearing with bitterness.
acridity
One of the five flavors. Acridity enters the lung; it can dissipate and move. See five flavors; five-flavor entries.
acridity enters the lung
Acrid medicinals act upon the lung. Examples of acrid medicinals that enter the lung are Platycodon (Platycodonis Radix), ephedra (Ephedrae Herba), borneol (Borneolum), silkworm (Bombyx Batryticatus), tribulus (Tribuli Fructus), dried ginger (Zingiberis Rhizoma Exsiccatum), tangerine peel (Citri Exocarpium), peucedanum (Peucedani Radix), radish seed (Raphani Semen), and gleditsia (Gleditsiae Fructus).
act(ion) according to person
To determine what is suitable for patients according to their constitution, sex, age, lifestyle, and history. For example, males and females have physiological differences that have to be considered when deciding treatment; children tend to have tender, weak bowels and viscera, whereas elderly people suffer from debilitation of qi and blood so that treatment must be adjusted according to age.
act(ion) according to place
To determine what is suitable for the patient in accordance with the geographic location. For example, in China, damp-heat patterns are common in the hot, rainy south, whereas dryness patterns are common in the dry north.
act(ion) according to time
To determine what is suitable for the patient in accordance with the time of the year. The seasons are associated with different types of weather that can all affect the human body. For example, in summer the weather is hot, the interstices loosen and open, so that when treating patients suffering from wind-cold, warm acrid medicinals should not be used to excess if copious sweating and damage to yang qi and the fluids is to be avoided. In the winter, the interstices respond to cold weather by tightening, so that in treating patients with wind-cold, warm acrid medicinals must be used in larger quantities to ensure enough sweating to resolve the evil.
action
The manner in which a medicinal acts on the body. For example, poria skin (Poriae Cortex) has the action of disinhibiting water and dispersing swelling, whereas red peony has the action of moving stasis, relieving pain, cooling the blood, and dispersing swelling. Traditionally, acupuncture points were selected according to their ability to eliminate or alleviate particular disease patterns, and since World War II have been ascribed actions in a manner similar to medicinals. Thus, HT-7 (Spirit Gate), traditionally said to treat heart vexation, mania and withdrawal, forgetfulness, heart palpitations and fearful throbbing, is now also said to quiet the heart and spirit, clear fire and cool construction, and clear heart heat.
acuanesthesia
A method of acupuncture in which needles are inserted at specific points and manipulation or electrical current is applied to enable surgical operations to be performed painlessly while the patient is conscious.
acumoxatherapy
Acupuncture, moxibustion, and other related techniques such as magnetic acupuncture.
acupressure
A method of treatment involving the application of finger pressure at acupuncture points.
acupuncture
The practice of puncturing the body with metal needles (steel, gold, or silver) at specific points in order to regulate construction, defense, qi, and the blood.
acupuncture point
A place on the surface of the body where qi and blood of the channels and network vessels gather or pass. Through the channels and network vessels, points are connected to other parts of the body and notably the bowels and viscera, whose state of health they can reflect. Various stimuli such as needling, moxibustion, massage, acupressure, and electroacupuncture can be applied at points to regulate internal functions. A distinction is made between channel point, nonchannel point, and ouch point. See also point combination and point selection for use of points.
acute fright wind
Febrile disease in infants and children characterized by clenched jaw and by convulsions of the limbs. The appearance of clenched jaw and convulsions in high fever with vexation and agitation, red face and limbs, and hasty breathing due to phlegm congestion marks the development of an acute fright wind pattern. Clenched jaw is the first fright wind sign to appear. This is often followed by convulsions of the limbs, and in more severe cases by rigidity of the neck or arched-back rigidity (opisthotonos) with clouded spirit. Spasm may come in intermittent bouts. Fright wind is a manifestation of extreme heat engendering wind, occurring when intense internal heat is depressed and blocked by externally contracted wind (see block pattern) and exacerbated by congealing phlegm and stagnant qi.
Medication: Acupuncture or acupressure is the best emergency treatment. Subsequent treatment involves settling the liver and extinguishing wind, clearing the heart and flushing phlegm, using Fright-Disinhibiting Pill, Green-Blue--Draining Pill, or Dragon-Embracing Pi
Acupuncture: For emergency treatment, do not stretch contracted limbs; apply finger pressure at GV-26 (Human Center) at the philtrum and LI-4 (Union Valley) or at Hall of Impression and KI-1 (Gushing Spring). If needles are available, base emergency treatment on GV an
acute jaundice
From The Origin and Indicators of Disease. Jaundice mostly caused by damp-heat toxin evil scorching construction-blood and characterized by sudden yellowing together with fullness in the heart region and panting that threaten the patient's life. The body swiftly turns to the color of tangerines, and, in severe cases, there is clouded spirit and delirious raving, high fever, vexation and thirst, fullness in the chest and abdominal distention, blood ejection and spontaneous external bleeding, bloody stool, and ascites. The pulse is stringlike, slippery, and rapid. The tongue is red or crimson with a dry yellow fur.
Medication: Clear heat and resolve toxin; cool the blood and open the orifices. Use Coptis Toxin-Resolving Decoction or Spirit-Like Rhinoceros Horn Elixir.
acute throat wind
A form of throat wind that develops swiftly, soon making the throat swollen and blocked. It occurs in patients given to excessive consumption of fat meat, fine grain, and strong flavors (i.e., rich food), and liquor and fried foods, or who have brewing lung-stomach heat. Acute throat wind arises when contraction of wind-heat stirs fire and engenders phlegm, the combined evil toxin becoming congested in the throat. At onset, the throat quickly becomes swollen, inhibiting normal swallowing. Subsequently, the whole throat becomes scorching red, hot swollen, and congested with phlegm-drool. There is a constricted sensation, phlegm rale, hasty labored breathing, and hoarse voice. Blockage of the throat hampers the swallowing of liquids, and, in severe cases, can lead to death by asphyxiation.
Medication: Disperse swelling and resolve toxin; clear heat and disinhibit the throat. Use Scourge-Clearing Toxin-Vanquishing Beverage. If there is heart vexation and clouded spirit, open the orifices and sweep phlegm with Peaceful Palace Bovine Bezoar Pill. When pus
add at end
Add a medicinal toward the end of the process of decocting the other medicinals in the formula. Some exterior-resolving medicinals such as mint (Menthae Herba), agastache/patchouli (Agastaches seu Pogostemi Herba), and eupatorium (Eupatorii Herba) loose their qi and flavor when boiled for a long time (i.e., they loose their volatile oils). They are therefore added after the other medicinals have boiled for 15 minutes for the final 5--10 minutes. Uncaria (Uncariae Ramulus cum Unco) is added just a few seconds before the end. Rhubarb (Rhei Rhizoma) may be first soaked in a small amount of water and likewise added a few seconds before the decoction process is complete.
advanced menstruation
The arrival of the menstrual period eight days or more before the normal time (i.e., within 20 days of the onset of the previous period in women who normally have a standard 28-day cycle). See blood heat advanced menstruation; liver depression advanced menstruation; qi vacuity advanced menstruation.
affect
1. Any natural movement of the heart, such as joy, anger, or grief. For example, The Book of Rites states, "What are the human affects? They are the seven things---joy, anger, grief, fear, love, loathing, and desire---of which a person is capable without learning." 2. The seven specific emotional and mental activities joy, anger, anxiety, thought, sorrow, fear, and fright, which in excess can cause disease. See internal damage by the seven affects. 3. Five of seven bear the same name as the five minds.
affect damage
Synonyms: internal damage by the seven affects.
affect-mind binding depression
Depression of general mental or emotional activity that results from a dominant mental or emotional activity or response and that causes depression of the activity of qi in the body, ultimately affecting normal functioning of the bowels and viscera and causing disease. In Chinese medicine, mental and emotional activity is viewed in terms of the five minds (joy, anger, anxiety, thought, sorrow, fear) or seven affects (joy, anger, thought, sorrow, fear, fright, anxiety), which, when prolonged or excessive, have a narrowing, dampening, stultifying effect on mental life that can depress normal physiological function. For example, anger, which is frequently associated with frustration, can cause binding depression of liver qi, manifesting as chest and rib-side pain, goiter, gastrointestinal problems, or menstrual irregularities. Excessive thought (cogitation, preoccupation) can damage the spleen and cause digestive tract problems. Affective binding depression often leads to development of fire; see five minds forming fire.
affect-mind internal damage
Synonyms: internal damage by the seven affects.
affects causing binding depression
Synonyms: affect-mind binding depression.
afflux pouch
An accumulation of fluid; a sign of phlegm lodged in the chest and rib-side.
afterbirth
The matter discharged from the uterus after childbirth, corresponding in Western medicine to the placenta and fetal membranes discharged with it.
afterpains
Synonyms: postpartum abdominal pain.
agent
Synonyms: medicinal.
aggregation
An accumulation or amassment, as intestinal aggregation and strings and aggregations.
agitated vexation
A feeling of unease or disquietude accompanied by a cold body and unconscious movement of the limbs, physical fatigue and lassitude of spirit, dry mouth with intake of fluid, and a weak fine pulse; a vacuity cold sign of vacuous yang causing a disturbance. See vexation and agitation.
agitation
A subjective feeling of vexation outwardly expressed by pronounced abnormal movement. See vexation and agitation.
alarm point
Any of a group of points on the abdomen or chest, each of which is the collecting point of the qi of a bowel or viscus in whose vicinity it lies. The alarm points are listed below. Disease in a given bowel or viscus may be reflected in tenderness, lumps, gatherings, depressions, or other aberrant signs at its alarm point, and can be treated by applying a stimulus at the point. In clinical practice, the alarm points of each bowels is commonly used in the treatment of that bowel, e.g., CV-3 (Central Pole), the alarm point of the bladder, is almost always used in the treatment of urinary diseases; ST-25 (Celestial Pivot), the alarm point of the large intestine, is frequently used to treat constipation. The alarm points of the viscera are infrequently employed, the back transport points being the preferred points for treatment of diseases of the viscera. The alarm points are often used in combination with the back transport points. See back transport point.
allaying thirst
Synonyms: Eliminating thirst. See thirst.
alternating fever and chills
Synonyms: alternating heat~effusion and aversion to cold.
alternating heat~effusion and aversion to cold
Heat~effusion without aversion to cold and aversion to cold without heat~effusion occurring in regular or irregular alternating succession, associated with lesser yang midstage patterns, malaria, or damp-heat obstructing the triple burner.
ambilateral headache
amenorrhea
Synonyms: menstrual block
anal desertion
anal fistula
Synonyms: fistula.
Long pipe-like ulcerations from the perimeter or surrounding area of the anus. They may develop from hemorrhoids, welling- and flat-abscesses of the anus, or splitting of the anus. Fistulas discharge pus-like fluid, are sore and itchy, and heal with difficulty. Distinction is made between vacuity and repletion patterns. Hardness and swelling of the local area, discharge of thick pus, and strong body constitute repletion; softness and depression in the area of the opening, discharge of thin pus, and weakness and emaciation constitute vacuity.
Medication: Medication: Fistulas are treated by threaded ligation and other surgical methods, combined with oral medication. For repletion, clear heat and disinhibit dampness. Use variations of Mysterious Two Pill, or Fish Poison Yam Dampness-Percolating Decoction. F
anal welling-abscess
Synonyms: visceral toxin.
A welling-abscess on the inside or outside of the anus; attributable to damp-heat pouring downward.
Medication: Medication: Repletion patterns are treated by clearing heat, resolving toxin, and disinhibiting dampness; vacuity patterns are treated by enriching yin and eliminating dampness combined with clearing vacuity heat. See external welling-abscess.
ancestral qi
Synonyms: gathering qi .
The qi that converges or concentrates in the "sea of qi," which is the chest, pervades the respiratory tract and controls breathing, and penetrates the heart and vessels. Ancestral qi drives the heart and regulates the pulses; its health is reflected in the strength of breathing and in the voice.
ancestral sinew
The gathering point of the three yin and three yang channel sinews at the pubic region.
ancestral vessels
andriatric diseases
Synonyms: men's diseases.
anger
One of the five minds, associated with the liver; also one of the seven affects.
anger causes qi to rise
Liver qi thrives by orderly reaching and is averse to repression. Excessive emotional stimulus can cause excessive upbearing and effusion of liver qi, causing distention and fullness in the rib-side, headache and dizziness, and red sore swollen eyes. Since the liver stores the blood, liver qi ascending counterflow can carry the blood with it, giving rise to clouding reversal or retching of blood.
anger damages the liver
Continual anger causes liver qi to rise, carrying blood with it, causing red facial complexion, qi ascent, headache, and dizziness, and in severe cases, blood ejection or clouding reversal.
anguish
From On Cold Damage. A feeling of heat and clamoring stomach. Because it is located in the pit of the stomach, it is also called anguish in the heart. It arises when, after exterior patterns have been treated by an inappropriate form of sweating or have been wrongly treated by draining precipitation, the external evil enters the interior and lodges in the chest and diaphragm, thus harassing the stomach. In modern clinical practice, it is seen in febrile disease or in acute gastroenteritis.
animal odor
The odor of or similar to that of sheep and foxes.
animal soul
Synonyms: corporeal soul.
ankle-boring phlegm
Flowing phlegm of the ankle
anterior yin
Synonyms: lower yin.
The exterior genitals (male or female).
anus
Synonyms: posterior yin; lower extreme; corporeal soul gate.
The lower opening of the large intestine through which stool is discharged.
anxiety
One of the five minds; associated with the lung; also one of the seven affects.
apical pulse
Synonyms: vacuous li.
appetite
The desire to eat. Appetite is considered principally to be a reflection of the state of the stomach and spleen. The Magic Pivot states, "The stomach is the sea of grain and water." The stomach governs intake and decomposition of grain and water (i.e., food); the spleen governs movement and transformation of grain and water and the distribution of their essence (i.e., nutrients). The stomach and spleen together form the "root of the later heaven," i.e., the basis of the acquired constitution. When the spleen and stomach are in harmony, the spleen provides adequate nutrients for the body and the stomach signals the need for food by the sensation of hunger. A good appetite is generally a sign of health, and lack of appetite is a sign of disease. "The presence of stomach qi means life; the absence of stomach qi is death." In disease, a good appetite is a sign of a mild condition, and its return is a sign of recovery. Sudden return of an appetite in critical illness is described as the " last radiance of the setting sun," and bodes death. See poor appetite.
apply mixed
To apply topically a powder blended with fluid.
arched rigidity of the neck
Synonyms: arched-back rigidity.
arched-back rigidity
Rigidity of the neck and back causing them to arch or bow backward. Arched-back rigidity occurs in child fright wind, lockjaw (tetanus), and other forms of tetany, which may be attributable to wind, cold, damp or fire stagnating in the channels, or to insufficiency of blood, fluid and qi, allowing vacuity wind to stir internally.
areola
The area around the nipple that is normally darker in color than the breast and lighter in color than the nipple.
Diagnosis: Darkening of the areolae is one indication of pregnancy.
armpit odor
aromatic
Strong smelling. Aromatic turbidity transforming medicinals include agastache/patchouli (Agastaches seu Pogostemi Herba), eupatorium (Eupatorii Herba), amomum (Amomi Semen seu Fructus), and magnolia bark (Magnoliae Cortex). Aromatic orifice-opening medicinal include acorus (Acori Rhizoma) and liquid storax (Styrax Liquidus).
arousing the spleen
A method of treatment that involves fortifying spleen qi using aromatic medicinals to that is applied when spleen is encumbered by dampness and unable to perform normal transformation, characterized by poor appetite, glomus and fullness after eating, dull abdominal pain, thin stool, pale tongue, and soggy weak pulse. Saussurea and Amomum Six Gentlemen Decoction is an example of a spleen-arousing formula.
ascendant hyperactivity of liver yang
Synonyms: ascendant liver yang; effulgent liver yang.
An imbalance of the liver's yin and yang aspects occurring when vacuity of liver-kidney yin lets liver yang get out of control and stir upward excessively. This pathomechanism may be exacerbated when depression, anger, and anxiety impair free coursing, since when free coursing is impaired, depressed qi transforms into fire, fire damages yin-blood, and yin has no power to restrain yang. Ascendant liver yang is identifiable by signs of upper body exuberance and by signs of yin-blood insufficiency from which this condition stems. The main signs are dizziness, tinnitus, pressure and pain in the head, and upbearing fire flush with baking heat in the face. Other signs include insomnia and profuse dreaming, heart vexation, agitation and irascibility, heavy head and light feet, limp aching lumbus and knees, dry throat and mouth. In some cases, there is sudden clouding collapse and unconsciousness. The pulse is stringlike and may also be fine. The tongue is red. Predominance of ascendant yang and yin vacuity signs varies from case to case. In some cases, both are equally pronounced.
Medication: hypertension.
Acupuncture: Acupuncture: Base treatment mainly on LR, GB, and KI. Needle with drainage at LR-3 (Supreme Surge), LR-2 (Moving Between), and GB-43 (Pinched Ravine); and with supplementation at BL-18 (Liver Transport), BL-23 (Kidney Transport), KI-3 (Great Ravine), and
ascendant liver yang
Synonyms: ascendant hyperactivity of liver yang.
ashen nail
Synonyms: goose-claw wind; oily ashen nail.
A disease of the fingers and toes that starts with itching around the nail and that deprives the nail of nourishment of the blood, causing it gradually to thicken, loose its luster, take on an ashen appearance, and eventually to crumble and become deformed. Ashen nail can be treated by soaking in Vinegar Soaking Formula or applying pig's bile or crushed fresh garden balsam flower (Impatientis Balsaminae Flos). Compare also goose-foot wind.
assail
Intrude, as of evils into the exterior of the body. See exuberance and debilitation.
assistant
assisting bone
The smaller of the two bones of the forearm and lower leg. These bones are so named because they provide support to the main bones (ulna and tibia).
assisting yang
Synonyms: supplementing yang.
assisting yang and resolving the exterior
To treat yang qi vacuity in external contractions with signs such as pronounced aversion to cold with mild heat~effusion, absence of sweating, lack of warmth in the extremities, desire to wrap up well to keep warm, fatigued essence-spirit, headache, somnolence, somber white facial complexion, faint low voice, white tongue fur, and a forceless sunken pulse. An example of a yang-assisting exterior-resolving formula is Renewal Powder, which contains astragalus (Astragali (seu Hedysari) Radix), codonopsis (Codonopsitis Radix), cinnamon twig (Cinnamomi Ramulus), licorice (Glycyrrhizae Radix), cooked aconite (Aconiti Tuber Laterale Conquitum), asarum (Asiasari Herba cum Radice), notopterygium (Notopterygii Rhizoma), ledebouriella (Ledebouriellae Radix), ligusticum (Ligustici Rhizoma), fresh ginger (Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens), peony (Paeoniae Radix), and jujube (Ziziphi Fructus).
associated point
Synonyms: back transport point.
astringent formula
One of the ten formula types. Astringent medicinals can eliminate desertion, i.e., they can treat efflux desertion and insecurity patterns. Formulas in which such medicinals predominate are called astringent formulas. For example, Oyster Shell Powder, which contains oyster shell (Ostreae Concha), ephedra root (Ephedrae Radix), and astragalus (Astragali (seu Hedysari) Radix), treats spontaneous sweating after disease due to insecurity of defense qi, whereas Golden Lock Essence-Securing Pill containing complanate astragalus seed (Astragali Complanati Semen), euryale (Euryales Semen), dragon bone (Mastodi Ossis Fossilia), and oyster shell (Ostreae Concha) treats kidney vacuity with seminal emission.
astringent medicinals can eliminate desertion
Astringent medicinals such as dragon bone (Mastodi Ossis Fossilia) and oyster shell (Ostreae Concha) can treat efflux desertion and insecurity patterns.
astringing essence
Synonyms: securing essence.
astringing essence and checking seminal emission and enuresis
A method of treatment addressing seminal emission or seminal efflux attributed to kidney vacuity with insecurity of the essence gate or enuresis or frequent urination due to kidney vacuity with bladder retention failure. For kidney vacuity seminal emission, kidney-supplementing essence-astringing medicinals such as complanate astragalus seed (Astragali Complanati Semen), dragon bone (Mastodi Ossis Fossilia), oyster shell (Ostreae Concha), lotus stamen (Nelumbinis Stamen), mantis egg-case (Mantidis O"otheca), euryale (Euryales Semen), cornus (Corni Fructus), and Cherokee rose fruit (Rosae Laevigatae Fructus) are used. For enuresis or frequent urination, a similar range of medicinals are used: mantis egg-case (Mantidis O"otheca), rubus (Rubi Fructus), and alpinia (Alpiniae Oxyphyllae Fructus). Representative formulas include Golden Lock Essence-Securing Pill, designed for seminal emission, but also used for enuresis, Mantis Egg-Case Powder originally designed for enuresis, but also used for seminal emission, and Stream-Reducing Pill, mainly used for enuresis, frequent urination, and child bedwetting.
astringing the intestines
Synonyms: astringing the intestines and stemming desertion.
astringing the intestines and checking diarrhea
Synonyms: astringing the intestines and stemming desertion.
astringing the intestines and stemming desertion
Synonyms: astringing the intestines and checking diarrhea.
The method of treating enduring diarrhea and fecal incontinence, or persistent pus and blood in the stool with dark red blood, conditions that culminate in efflux desertion and prolapse of the rectum, abdominal pain that likes warmth and pressure, and a weak slow pulse. Intestine-astringing medicinals include ones that are warm and supplement the spleen and kidney such as codonopsis (Codonopsitis Radix), ovate atractylodes (Atractylodis Ovatae Rhizoma), aconite (Aconiti Tuber Laterale), cinnamon twig (Cinnamomi Ramulus), and dried ginger (Zingiberis Rhizoma Exsiccatum). To these should be added securing astringent medicinals to astringe the bowels and stem desertion, such as psoralea (Psoraleae Semen), nutmeg (Myristicae Semen), schisandra (Schisandrae Fructus), poppy husk (Papaveris Pericarpium), halloysite (Halloysitum Rubrum), limonite (Limonitum), dioscorea (Dioscoreae Rhizoma), euryale (Euryales Semen), and lotus seed (Nelumbinis Semen). A representative formula is True Man Viscus-Nourishing Decoction.
atony
Synonyms: wilting.
attack
Synonyms: offensive treatment.
To treat repletion, especially with drastic draining precipitants.
(Of evils) to affect forcefully, e.g., fire toxin attacking the inner body.
attack followed by supplementation
The principle of destroying evil (attack) before any vacuity is supplemented. The principle of attack followed by supplementation is applied when an extremely strong evil urgently needs to be dispelled, and right qi, though markedly weakened, can still withstand attack, especially where the weakness of right qi is attributable to the evil. This principle may apply in the treatment of gastrointestinal heat bind, and other externally contracted heat (febrile) diseases characterized by constipation and painful fullness in the abdomen. Such conditions may be treated with Major Qi-Coordinating Decoction even though yin may have been damaged; indeed, failure to precipitate the heat bind would cause further damage to yin.
attacking phlegm
A method of treatment used to address stagnant, binding phlegm such as occurs in epilepsy, mania, and withdrawal, or in child fright wind characterized by gurgling phlegm congesting the throat, and convulsions of the limbs. The main medicinals used are chlorite/mica (Chloriti seu Micae Lapis) and tingli (Descurainiae seu Lepidii Semen) A commonly used formula is Chlorite/Mica Phlegm-Rolling Pill.
audio-olfactory examination
Synonyms: listening and smelling.
auricle
The trumpet-shaped flap of the ear used to catch sounds.
autumn dryness
A disease attributable to contraction of dryness qi in autumn, and usually manifesting as mild conditions that undergo relatively few shifts. Distinction is made between cool dryness and warm dryness. Cool dryness is characterized by heat~effusion, headache, aversion to cold, absence of sweating, dry lips and throat, ungratifying coughing of phlegm, and dry thin white tongue fur. Warm dryness is marked by heat~effusion, mild aversion to cold, headache, dry skin, cough with sticky phlegm, dry nose and throat, thirst, and yellow urine. Wu Gen-Chu states, "In the depth of autumn when cold weather begins and the west wind kills and depurates, wind-dryness is what is mostly contracted; this is cool dryness... . If there are long spells of clear, rainless weather and exposure to the autumn sun, warm dryness is mostly what is contracted; this is dryness-heat." This suggests that the distinction is made on the basis of weather conditions. The warm disease school places greater emphasis on warm dryness.
Medication: Cool dryness is treated by acrid opening and warm moistening, and by coursing the evil and diffusing the lung. Apricot Kernel and Perilla Powder or Scallion and Fermented Soybean Decoction may be used. Warm dryness is treated by acrid cooling and sweet mo
Acupuncture: For cool dryness, base treatment mainly on LU, LI, KI, and BL. Select BL-13 (Lung Transport), BL-12 (Wind Gate), LU-5 (Cubit Marsh), LU-7 (Broken Sequence), LI-4 (Union Valley), and KI-6 (Shining Sea); needle with drainage. For pronounced external cold,
aversion
aversion to cold
Synonyms: fear of cold.
A pronounced sensation of cold. With heat~effusion, it is a sign of wind-cold; without heat~effusion, it is associated with cold arising from within due to yang qi vacuity. External cold striking the bowels and viscera directly can also manifest in aversion to cold without heat~effusion, in which case it is accompanied by cold signs in the affected area such as cold stomach duct pain and clear-food diarrhea. Compare abhorrence of cold; shivering.
aversion to cold in the back
Synonyms: cold back.
aversion to food
Absence of appetite and sickness at the thought or sight of food. Aversion to food is most commonly observed when voracious eating and drinking impairs decomposition, causing food to stagnate in the stomach. Hence, it is said,"Food damage is invariably characterized by aversion to food." If aversion to food occurs with vomiting, absence of menstruation, and a rapid slippery pulse in sexually active women, it is a sign of pregnancy vomiting which arises when an upsurge of thoroughfare vessel qi causes disharmony of stomach qi. Aversion to food differs from poor appetite, which is a reduced feeling of hunger. See poor appetite.
malign obstruction.
aversion to heat
Abnormal intolerance of heat. Aversion to heat is observed in externally contracted heat (febrile) disease and in internal damage. (1) In externally contracted heat (febrile) disease, aversion to heat is associated with yang brightness disease. (2) In internal damage disease, aversion to heat is associated with yin vacuity and with repletion fire in the stomach.
aversion to light
Synonyms: photophobia; aversion to lights and fire.
Abnormal insensitivity to or intolerance of light---and sometimes also of warmth (aversion to lights and fire)---causing a desire to close the eyes. Aversion to light, in addition to being experienced after prolonged deprivation of light and during resuscitation after drowning, is observed in some eye diseases. In wind-cold fettering the exterior, aversion is associated with red sore eyes, copious thick discharge, distention in the brow, and nasal congestion and runny nose. In qi vacuity with wind-heat, it is associated with soreness of the eyes, and tension in the canthi, tearing on exposure to wind, and flowery vision. In dual vacuity of qi and yin, it is associated with flowery vision, tendency to close the eyes, slight redness of the whites of the eyes, dizziness and tinnitus, dry throat, sloppy stool, and fear of cold in the lower limbs. In this context, it is specifically observed, for example, in gan of the liver.
aversion to lights and fire
Synonyms: aversion to light.
aversion to wind
Synonyms: fear of wind.
Sensation of cold on exposure to a wind or draft; mild aversion to cold. Aversion to wind is usually a sign of external evils assailing the fleshy exterior. Compare aversion to cold.
aversions of the five viscera
Synonyms: five aversions.
The notion contained in Elementary Questions that the five viscera are each averse to a particular evil. See heart is averse to heat; lung is averse to cold; liver is averse to wind; spleen is averse to dampness; kidney is averse to dryness. See these individual entries.