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.
yal
The name of a dynastic period (approx. 21st cent. --16th cent. ). 0.4mm 1.1cm
yang
Abbreviation for the yang linking vessel.
yang bind
The bright, male, active principle that stands in complementary opposition to yin. See yin and yang.
The penis, as in terms such as ``yang wilt'' ( yang2 wei3) and ``yang matter failing to rise,'' ( yang2 shi4 bu4 ju3), which both denote impotence.
yang brightness
yang brightness blood amassment
The hand yang brightness large intestine and foot yang brightness stomach channels. The yang brightness is the last stage in the development of yang qi. It is the innermost of the three yang channels, hence it is said that ``yang brightness is the closedness.'' Yang brightness has copious qi and copious blood.
yang brightness bowel pattern
A disease pattern in which yang brightness evil heat binds with pre-existing static blood. Signs include forgetfulness and hard black stool that is easily passed. On Cold Damage states, ``In yang brightness patterns, when the patient has forgetfulness, there must be blood amassment, the reason for this being the presence of enduring static blood; hence there is forgetfulness and stool that, though hard, is nevertheless easily passed, and that must be black. This is treated with Dead-On Decoction.''
yang brightness channel
A disease pattern arising when in externally contracted febrile disease, evil enters the yang brightness channel, causing tidal heat~effusion, delirious speech, a hard, full, distended abdomen with pain that refuses pressure, constipation, burnt yellow or old yellow tongue fur, and a strong, sunken, replete pulse. This is often referred to as heat binding in the stomach and intestines or heat bind.
Medication: Treat by draining precipitation using cold bitter precipitants to flush the gastrointestinal heat accumulation. The principal formula is Major Qi-Coordinating Decoction.
yang brightness channel pattern
yang brightness disease
A disease arising when externally contracted evil enters the yang brightness channel, causing great heat~effusion, great sweating, pronounced agitation, and a large, surging pulse. The four signs are collectively known as the four greatnesses.
Medication: Clear heat and drain fire to safeguard liquid. Use White Tiger Decoction as the basic formula, adding ginseng (Ginseng Radix) to boost qi and engender liquid in cases of damage to both qi and yin.
yang brightness headache
A disease arising when externally contracted evil enters the yang brightness channel and exterior signs such as aversion to wind and cold give way to pronounced heat signs. Yang brightness disease is characterized by generalized heat~effusion, sweating and aversion to heat, agitation, and thirst, or, in more severe cases, abdominal fullness and pain, constipation, and, in severe cases, delirious mania. The tongue fur is usually dry and old yellow in color. The pulse is generally surging and large, slippery and rapid, or sunken, replete, and forceful. Yang brightness disease occurs in the exuberant heat~effusion stage of externally contracted heat (febrile) diseases, and manifests, in terms of the eight principles, as interior heat or interior repletion. Yang brightness disease is divided into channel and bowel patterns depending on the presence of constipation. In yang brightness channel patterns, the stomach liquid is damaged by exuberant heat, although there is no heat bind in the yang brightness bowels (the stomach and large intestine). Yang brightness bowel patterns are so named because they arise when an evil binds with food accumulation or dry waste in the stomach or intestines, causing repletion heat.
yang channel
Synonyms: yang vessel.
Headache occurring in yang brightness disease in cold damage, which is accompanied by generalized heat~effusion with aversion not to cold but to heat.
Headache on the pathway of the yang brightness channel, i.e., on the forehead and sometimes stretching into the eyeballs.
Medication: Use White Tiger Decoction plus angelica (Angelicae Dahuricae Radix), or formulas containing cimicifuga (Cimicifugae Rhizoma), pueraria (Puerariae Radix), gypsum (Gypsum), and angelica (Angelicae Dahuricae Radix).
Treat with formulas containing angelica (
Acupuncture: Select LI-4 (Union Valley) and ST-42 (Surging Yang); needle with drainage.
Select Hall of Impression, ST-8 (Head Corner), LI-4 (Union Valley), and ST-44 (Inner Court).
yang collapse
Synonyms: yang desertion.
Any yang channel or vessel including the three yang channels of the hands and feet, i.e., greater yang , lesser yang , yang brightness , and the governing vessel, yang linking , and yang springing vessels.
yang desertion
yang disease
yang collapse.
yang disease is treated through yin
triple-yang disease.
Any disease manifesting in a repletion pattern or heat pattern.
yang epilepsy
The principle of treating damage to yin by exuberant yang heat. ``When yang prevails, yin ails,'' and so that exuberant yang heat causes damage to yin fluids. Such patterns are treated by engendering liquid with cold sweet agents.
Treating disease patterns associated with a yang channel by needling points on a yin channel. For example, foot yang brightness yang2 ming2 channel vomiting and retching can be treated by needing PC-6 (Inner Pass) and LR-3 (Supreme Surge).
yang evil
Epilepsy forming a yang pattern; usually attributed to phlegm heat settling in the heart and stomach, and characterized by convulsions, shrieking, generalized heat~effusion, floating pulse, upward staring eyes, worrying tongue, and shaking head.
Medication: It is treated mainly with cold medicinals.
Acupuncture: Use the general points given for fits under epilepsy, and further needle GV-14 (Great Hammer), ST-44 (Inner Court), and ST-45 (Severe Mouth). Prick Twelve Well Points to bleed.
yang heat
Any evil that is yang in nature, e.g., wind, summerheat, dryness, and fire. These evils have yang qualities like mobility (wind), heat (summerheat and fire), and absence of fluid (dryness).
An evil invading any yang channel.
yang is engendered by yin
Heat seen as a yang phenomenon.
yang jaundice
Yin is a prerequisite for the existence of yang, according to the principle of interdependence of yin and yang. In the human body, the production of yang qi, for example, is dependent on yin essence, blood, and fluids.
yang linking vessel
Jaundice attributable to contraction of external evils, damp-heat invading the liver and gallbladder, and resultant gallbladder heat causing bile to percolate through to the skin. Yang jaundice is a vivid yellow described as being like the color of tangerines; it is accompanied by heat~effusion, thirst, urine the color of strong tea, constipation, abdominal distention, rib-side pain, slimy yellow tongue fur, and a rapid stringlike pulse.
Medication: Clear and disinhibit liver-gallbladder damp-heat with formulas such as Capillaris Decoction, Gardenia and Phellodendron Decoction, Ephedra, Forsythia, and Rice Bean Decoction, and Major Bupleurum Decoction, and with specific medicinals such as moneywort
Acupuncture: Base treatment mainly on GB and SP. Select BL-19 (Gallbladder Transport), GB-34 (Yang Mound Spring), LR-3 (Supreme Surge), SP-9 (Yin Mound Spring), ST-44 (Inner Court), and GV-9 (Extremity of Yang); needle with drainage. Selection of points according to s
yang macules
Synonyms: yang-pattern macules.
One of the eight extraordinary vessels.
yang network vessel
Macules occurring in repletion heat patterns due to externally contracted heat (febrile) disease.
yang pattern
Network vessels in the surface of the body or ascending toward the upper body.
Network vessels branching from the three yang channels of the hand and foot. The network vessels of the foot yang brightness stomach channel.
yang pattern resembling yin
yang qi
Febrile disease developing to the extreme can manifest in false signs. When the root of a disease manifests as a yang pattern, the appearance of reversal cold in the limbs and sunken hidden pulse make it a yang pattern resembling yin. This is the same as true heat and false cold.
yang reversal
Anything yang in nature, as complimentarily opposed to yin qi.
The active or functional aspect of the body as complimentarily opposed to yin-blood or yin humor.
yang rigidity
Synonyms: yin rigidity; yin protrusion; rigid center; rigidity of the penis; persistent erection.
From Elementary Questions. A disease characterized by bursts of manic anger due to sudden stimulus.
Pivot states, ``The gallbladder foot lesser yang vessel, when stirred becomes affected by disease characterized by bitter taste in the mouth, frequent sighing, heart and rib-side pain causing inability to turn over, and, in severe cases, a faint dusty complexion, general lack of sheen, and heat abnormally felt on the outside of the feet (under normal conditions, the sole is hotter than the dorsum of the foot). This is yang reversal.''
Heat reversal due extreme yang.
Medication: Medication: Use Iron Flakes Beverage.
yang rising failure
Abnormal persistent erection accompanied by tenderness of the penis and in some cases persistent discharge of semen. Yang rigidity is called rigid center especially when there is discharge of semen.
yang springing vessel
impotence.
yang summerheat
A vessel that runs from the heel up the outside of the leg and and trunk up to the eye, and that is responsible for the opening and closing of the eyes and for muscular movement in general. The yang springing vessel starts below the lateral malleolus at BL-62 (Extending Vessel) and runs up the lateral aspect of the trunk, gradually curving around posteriorly to the lateral aspect of the shoulder. It crosses over the shoulder to the front of the body, then runs up the neck, over the jaw, past the corners of the mouth to the inner canthus of the eye. From here it joins with the yin springing vessel and the foot greater yang bladder channel to run up the forehead and over the lateral aspect of the head to GB-20 (Wind Pool) posterior to the mastoid process, before entering the brain at GV-16 (Wind Mansion). The main physiological functions of both the yang springing vessels (as the yin springing vessels) are to control the opening and closing of the eyes, control the ascent of fluids and the descent of qi, and to regulate muscular activity in general. Disease signs associated with the yang springing vessel include eye diseases, dry and itching eyes, insomnia, lack of agility, lumbar pain, spasm along the lateral aspect of the lower extremity, with corresponding flaccidity along its medial aspect. Compare yin springing vessel.One of the eight extraordinary vessels.
yang sweating
Synonyms: heat sweating.
Summerheat damage from contraction of summerheat-heat through strenuous activity in the sun. Yang summerheat is characterized by headache, vexation and agitation, great heat~effusion, great thirst, great sweating, a floating pulse, and panting or shortness of breath.
summerheat stroke.
Medication: Clear summerheat using formulas such as White Tiger Decoction or White Tiger Decoction Plus Ginseng.
Acupuncture: Base treatment mainly on LI, BL, CV, and GV. Main points: PC-6 (Inner Pass), LI-4 (Union Valley), and ST-36 (Leg Three Li); needle with drainage. Selection of points according to signs: For headache, add GV-20 (Hundred Convergences) and GB-20 (Wind Pool)
yang tetany
Jing-Yue's Complete Compendium states, ``Yang sweating is heat sweating... In yang-pattern spontaneous sweating or night sweating, if mere examination of the pulse and patterns reveals fire, or night heat~effusion with vexation and thirst, or hot stool and liking for cold things, this is yang exuberance with yin vacuity. Tangkuei Six Yellows Decoction is the first choice of treatment; Yin-Safeguarding Brew is also wondrously effectively. If there is mild fire in the yin aspect, use formulas like All Yin Brew or All Yin Variant Brew. If there is disquieted heart fire, with vexation, agitation, and sweating, use formulas like Cinnabar Spirit-Quieting Pill, Celestial Emperor Heart-Supplementing Elixir, or Pulse-Engendering Powder. There is also a condition that is not yin vacuity, that arises simply because of sweltering internal heat that causes blood heat and profuse sweating. This is treated with Qi-Righting Decoction, Coptis and Peony Decoction, or Clearing Transforming Beverage.''
yang vacuity
hard tetany. Tetany without reversal cold of the limbs; usually caused by exuberant wind-heat.
Medication: Clear heat, cool the blood, and dispel wind using formulas such as Antelope Horn Powder.
Acupuncture: Base treatment mainly on GV, LR, CV, and SP. Select GV-20 (Hundred Convergences), GB-20 (Wind Pool), GV-16 (Wind Mansion), GV-14 (Great Hammer), LI-11 (Pool at the Bend), LR-3 (Supreme Surge), SP-10 (Sea of Blood), SP-6 (Three Yin Intersection), and KI-2
yang vacuity dizziness
The manifestation of insufficiency of yang qi; reduction in the warming and activating power of the body. Signs include fatigue and lack of strength, shortage of qi and laziness to speak, fear of cold, and cold limbs, spontaneous sweating, pale white complexion, long voidings of clear urine, sloppy stool, pale tender-soft tongue, and a large vacuous or faint fine pulse. Yang vacuity is treated by warming yang and boosting qi.
yang vacuity headache
Dizziness attributable to insufficiency of yang qi preventing clear yang from reaching the head. Vacuity dizziness may be accompanied by headache, aversion to cold, tinnitus, and deafness. In some cases, dizziness threatens loss of balance and is accompanied by shortness of breath, spontaneous sweating, cold extremities, and a fine sunken pulse. In some cases, there is dizziness on arising in the morning that quickly abates.
Medication: Warm and supplement yang qi with Ginseng and Aconite Decoction.
Acupuncture: Base treatment mainly on GV and CV. Select GV-20 (Hundred Convergences), GV-24 (Spirit Court), CV-6 (Sea of Qi), CV-4 (Pass Head), and GV-4 (Life Gate); needle with supplementation and large amounts of moxa. Selection of points according to signs: For sho
yang vacuity heat~effusion
Headache attributable to insufficiency of yang qi that fails to bear upward to the head. Yang vacuity headache is a dull headache accompanied aversion to light, fear of cold and cold limbs, fatigue and lack of strength, poor appetite, pale tongue, and a pulse that is faint or fine or sunken and slow or large, vacuous, and forceless.
Medication: Supplement qi and support yang using Aconite Center-Rectifying Decoction, Ligusticum (Cnidium Root) and Atractylodes Decoction, or Center-Supplementing Qi-Boosting Decoction.
Acupuncture: Base treatment mainly on CV, GV, and ST. Select GV-20 (Hundred Convergences), CV-6 (Sea of Qi), CV-4 (Pass Head), GV-4 (Life Gate), ST-36 (Leg Three Li), and BL-20 (Spleen Transport); needle with supplementation and add moxa. For selection of points accor
yang vacuity spontaneous sweating
Vacuity heat due to debilitation of yang qi (debilitation of kidney yang or spleen-stomach qi vacuity).
yang vacuity water flood
Spontaneous sweating that arises in yang vacuity when the exterior becomes loose and the interstices become unsound, allowing sweat to be easily discharged. Accompanying signs include fear of cold, sweating associated with sensation of cold, fatigue, and a fine pulse.
Medication: Warm yang and secure the exterior. Use Jade Wind-Barrier Powder or Astragalus and Aconite Decoction.
Acupuncture: Base treatment mainly on LU, CV, ST, LI, HT, and SI. Select LI-4 (Union Valley), HT-6 (Yin Cleft), SI-3 (Back Ravine), GV-20 (Hundred Convergences), LU-9 (Great Abyss), LI-4 (Union Valley), CV-6 (Sea of Qi), and ST-36 (Leg Three Li); needle with supplemen
yang vacuity with yin exuberance
Water swelling or phlegm-rheum arising when spleen-kidney yang vacuity, especially kidney yang (life gate fire) vacuity fails in its warming and moving function and causes water to accumulate. Indispensable Medical Reading states, ``Although water is controlled by the spleen, in actual fact it is ruled by the kidney, which is the water viscus and the seat of original yang, the life gate. When the life gate fire is debilitated, it fails to restrain yin and to warm and nourish spleen-earth; yin is not subservient to yang, so that essence transforms into water. Hence most water swelling patterns can be ascribed to debilitation of fire.''
Medication: For kidney yang vacuity, use Golden Coffer Kidney Qi Pill. For spleen-kidney yang vacuity, combine the same formula with Spleen-Firming Beverage.
Acupuncture: Base treatment mainly on CV, back transport points, SP, and ST. Select CV-9 (Water Divide), CV-6 (Sea of Qi), ST-36 (Leg Three Li), SP-6 (Three Yin Intersection), SP-9 (Yin Mound Spring), and BL-39 (Bend Yang); needle with supplementation and add moxa. Fo
yang vessel
The yang aspect of a yin phenomenon. According to the principle that yin and yang are divisible but inseparable, all yang phenomena can be divided into yin and yang components, as can all yin phenomena. For instance, chest and abdomen are yin as opposed to the back, which is yang. However, the chest (upper part) is yang, whereas the abdomen (lower part) is yin. The chest is therefore the yang within yin. Compare yin and yang are divisible but inseparable.
yang water
Yang vacuity depriving the bowels and viscera of warmth and causing exuberant yin cold signs such as physical cold, cold limbs, phlegm-rheum, water swelling, and diarrhea.
yang wilt
From Dan Xi's Experiential Methods. Water swelling arising when water-damp and externally-contracted wind-cold cause nondiffusion of lung qi and triple burner congestion that prevents the free flow of water down to the bladder. Yang water is a repletion pattern characterized by swelling of the face first, and is attended by aversion to cold, heat~effusion, cough, sore throat, rough voidings of red urine, constipation, abdominal fullness, and a slimy tongue fur, and rapid pulse.
Medication: Course wind, diffuse the lung, clear heat, and disinhibit water. Spleen-Effusing Decoction. Add to this formula perilla seed (Perillae Fructus) and ledebouriella (Ledebouriellae Radix) to course wind; duckweed (Lemnae Herba) and apricot kernel (Armeniaca
Acupuncture: Base treatment mainly on CV, back transport points, ST and LI. Select CV-9 (Water Divide), CV-6 (Sea of Qi), BL-22 (Triple Burner Transport), ST-36 (Leg Three Li), BL-11 (Great Shuttle), BL-13 (Lung Transport), LI-4 (Union Valley), GV-26 (Water Trough), a
yang within yang
impotence.
yang within yin
The yang part of a yang phenomenon (i.e., an aspect of a yang phenomenon that is more yang than another aspect of the same phenomenon). For example, Elementary Questions states, ``Calm dawn to midday is in the yang part of the day, and is the yang within yang.'' The morning falls in the daytime (yang) part of the day as opposed to nighttime (yin), and since during this period the sun grows stronger and higher, this is the yang part of the daytime, as opposed to the afternoon, which is the yin part of the daytime; hence the morning is an example of yang within yang. Compare yin and yang are divisible but inseparable.
yang-collapse vacuity desertion
A disease pattern of critical debilitation of yang qi marked by sweating and cold skin and reversal cold of the limbs. The patient is apathetic or (rarely) agitated, and, in severe cases, his spirit is clouded. Either there is no thirst or there is a desire for warm fluids. The pulse is either hidden, sunken, fine and faint, or agitated and racing. The tongue is pale.
Medication: Use large doses of Ginseng and Aconite Decoction.
Acupuncture: Base treatment mainly on CV and GV. Select GV-26 (Water Trough), GV-25 (White Bone-Hole), PC-6 (Inner Pass), GV-20 (Hundred Convergences), CV-4 (Pass Head), ST-36 (Leg Three Li) and KI-1 (Gushing Spring); needle with supplementation or direct moxa. Apply
yang-pattern macules
Any exterior pattern, heat pattern, or repletion pattern, especially repletion heat characterized by signs such as heat~effusion with aversion to cold, red facial complexion, headache, generalized heat~effusion with a liking for coolness, manic agitation, dry cracked lips, vexation and thirst with taking of fluids, rough strident voice, rough breathing, constipation or foul smelling stool, abdominal pain that refuses pressure, short voidings of reddish urine, red tongue with dry yellow fur, and a forceful floating, surging, rapid pulse.
Of sores, the presentation of signs such as redness, swelling, hardness, and pain. Compare yin pattern.
yawning
Abbreviation for the yang springing vessel.
yellow
Noisy expulsion of breath after a short sharp inhalation associated with stretching; a sign of fatigue. Frequent yawning can be a sign of qi vacuity and yang debility, and in particular depletion of kidney qi.
yellow face
The color associated with earth in the five phases. The Chinese huang2 includes shades is broader in meaning than the English `yellow', including brown.
yellow facial complexion
Synonyms: yellow face.
yellow facial complexion.
yellow fat obstruction
A sign of dampness or vacuity. Yellowing of the sclerae and generalized yellowing of the skin indicate jaundice. Jaundice characterized by a vivid yellow (often described as the color of tangerines) indicates damp-heat and is called ``yang yellow.'' Jaundice characterized by a dark yellow coloration is caused by cold-damp and is called ``yin yellow.'' Yang yellow is seen mostly in cases described in Western medicine as acute icteric infectious hepatitis, acute cholecystitis, cholelithiasis, and toxic hepatitis; yin yellow occurs in cirrhosis of the liver and cancer of the head of the pancreas. A pale yellow skin that is dry and puffy, accompanied by pale lips but no yellowing of the sclerae, is referred to as withered-yellow, which is a vacuity yellow. The condition characterized by this complexion is sometimes called yellow swelling, and is normally caused by excessive loss of blood or depletion of blood and qi after major illnesses or by spleen-stomach damage resulting from intestinal parasites. It may thus be seen in diseases known in Western medicine as ankylostomiasis (hookworm infestation), anemia, and malnutrition due to poor assimilation.
yellow fat pattern
Synonyms: yellow eye obstruction.
yellow fat pattern.
yellow obesity
Yellowing of the white of the eye (sclera), indicating jaundice.
yellow of the eye
yellow swelling.
yellow sweat
The iris. So called because Chinese people's eyes are brown (see yellow). Also called wind wheel.
yellow swelling
Synonyms: yellow obesity; strength desertion yellowing; food taxation gan yellowing.
From Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Coffer. A disease usually arising when immersion in water while sweating causes obstruction of construction and defense, or when depressed latent spleen-stomach damp-heat swelters the skin. It is characterized by yellow-colored watery sweat that stains clothing the color of the juice from boiled phellodendron (Phellodendri Cortex), limpness of the lumbus and hip, heavy body, inhibited urination, and slow sunken pulse. Yellow sweat is attributed to the interaction of wind, water, dampness, and heat. When due to damp-heat damaging the blood aspect, there may also be sores.
Medication: Harmonize construction and defense with formulas such as Cinnamon Twig Decoction Plus Astragalus, or Astragalus, Peony, Cinnamon Twig, and Liquor Decoction from Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Coffer, which contains astragalus (Astragali (seu Hedysa
yellow tongue fur
Swelling of the face and ankles with a withered-yellow facial complexion, together with fatigued spirit and lack of strength. In some cases, it is associated with nausea and vomiting of yellow water, and a desire to eat uncooked rice, tea leaves, and coal.
yellow urine
A yellow fur usually signifies heat. Because heat patterns vary in severity and may involve different evils, different forms of yellow fur are distinguished. A thin dry yellow fur indicates damage to liquid by the heat evil, posing the need to safeguard liquid. A slimy yellow fur usually indicates damp-heat. An old yellow fur (dark yellow) and burnt yellow fur (blackish yellow) indicate binding of repletion heat. A mixed white and yellow fur indicates the initial stages of the transformation of cold into heat that occurs when evil passes into the interior.
yellow vaginal discharge
Urine a darker yellow than normal.
yellow wind
A sore exuding yellow fluid. Yellow-water sores start with a red macule within which a millet-shaped vesicle develops that is painful and itchy. When the vesicle ruptures because of scratching, a yellow watery discharge escapes, after which the sore forms a scab and heals. It most commonly affects infants and children and occurs on the head, ears, and neck, easily spreading to other parts of the body.
Medication: Dispel wind and overcome dampness; clear heat and cool the blood. Appropriate formulas include Cimicifuga Toxin-Dispersing Beverage, and Scutellaria and Coptis Stomach-Clearing Decoction. Indigo Powder can be applied topically.
yellow wind internal obstruction
high-altitude wind sparrow-vision internal obstruction.
yellow wind internal obstruction.
yellow-water sore
yellowing
An eye disease that is attributed to damp-heat and in which the qi wheel appears to be filled with soft pale yellow fat. There is no pain, swelling, or blurring of vision; hence patients often do not seek treatment. It only occurs in old age.
yellowing of the eyes
Yellowing of the skin and sometimes the white of the eye
yil
A disease of the eye in which the pupil becomes enlarged and cloudy-turbid yellow. Yellow wind internal obstruction is a degeneration of green wind internal obstruction that usually leads to blindness if treatment is unsuccessful.
yin
Abbreviation for the yin linking vessel.
yin and yang
Synonyms: yin-yang.
The dark, female, receptive principle that stands in complementary opposition to yang.
Specifically the genitals or anus (the private, concealed parts of the body). For example, ( er4 yin1), ``two yin,'' is a collective name for the genitals and anus, ( yin1 tou2), and ``yin head,'' denotes the glans penis.
yin and yang are divisible but inseparable
Two mutually complementary and opposing principles in Chinese thought; one dark, female, receptive (yin), and the other bright, male, active (yang). The two principles categorize phenomena of like quality and relationship. The Chinese characters denoting yin and yang denote the dark side and light side of a mountain respectively, i.e., light and darkness. Many other phenomena are closely related to light and dark. For example, light is associated with heat, and darkness is associated with cold. Daytime is the warm, bright part of the day; nighttime is the cold, dark part of the day. Summer is the season of greatest light and heat; winter is the season of greatest darkness and cold. South is the position of greatest light and heat; north is the position of greatest darkness and cold. Daytime and summer are the times of activity; nighttime and winter are times of rest and quiescence. The upper and outer aspect of an object tends to receive sunlight; the inner and lower aspects of objects tend to be dark. Light (yang) is to darkness (yin) as heat is to cold, as day is to night, as summer is to winter, as north is to south, and as activity is to rest. Hence heat, daytime, summer, south, and activity are yang, while cold, night, winter, north, quiescence are yin. Yin and yang are rooted in each other; they are interdependent. Light cannot exist without darkness, just as heat cannot exist without cold. Furthermore, an ebb and flow relationship is observed between many yin-yang phenomena. For example, as light increases, darkness wanes, and as heat increases, cold disappears. In addition, yin and yang counterbalance each other. Cold can counteract heat, and heat can overcome cold.
yin and yang are interdependent
The principle that although all phenomena can be divided into yin and yang, and each yin or yang phenomenon can be divided into yin and yang aspects, either phenomena of a pair that stands in a mutually dependent yin-yang relationship cannot be separated from the other without the loss of both. ``Division'' here means a cognitive distinction, whereas ``separation'' is the actual parting of the two. Yin and yang can be divided ad infinitum. For example, whereas motion is yang and stasis is yin, within motion there is a distinction between upward motion, which is yang, and downward motion, which is yin. Upward motion is yang within yang, whereas downward motion is yin within yang. However, though yin and yang can be differentiated in this way, they cannot be separated: the two are always interdependent and therefore inseparable; one cannot exist without the other.
yin and yang are rooted in each other
yin and yang counterbalance each other
Yin and yang are mutually dependent. ``Yin is rooted in yang and yang is rooted in yin.'' The notion of interdependence means that neither phenomenon of a yin-yang pair can exist without the other. Yin exists by virtue of yang, and yang exists by virtue of yin. Light (yang) cannot exist without darkness (yin), and darkness cannot exist without light. Similarly, activity (yang) cannot exist without rest (yin). (
yin beating differently from yang
Yin and yang both prevent their complement from becoming disproportionately strong. When either pole weakens, the other may grow stronger. Thus in the body, when yin humor is depleted, yang qi appears relatively stronger, and manifests in the form of heat (vacuity heat). In the body, yin and yang counterbalance each other. A deficit of one naturally leads to a surfeit of the other, while a surfeit of one will weaken the other. In both cases, yin and yang no longer counterbalance each other, and disease arises as a result. In medicine, the notion of counterbalancing is widely applied in physiology, pathology, and therapy. In physiology, for example, liver yin counterbalances liver yang, preventing it from becoming too strong. If liver yin becomes insufficient and fails to counterbalance its complement, ascendant hyperactivity of liver yang develops. In the relationship of evils and the human body, yang evils invading the body will cause a surfeit of yang, which may lead to damage to yin humor and the emergence of a heat pattern. Conversely, a yin evil entering the body will lead to a surfeit of yin, causing damage to the body's yang qi and the emergence of a cold pattern. These processes are described in Elementary Questions in the following way: ``If yang abounds yin ails, and if yin abounds, yang ails; when yang prevails there is heat, and when yin prevails there is cold.'' In therapy, if a disease is caused by heat evil, it is treated with cool or cold medicinals according to the principle that ``cold can counteract heat,'' meaning yin medicinals combat yang evils. Similarly, diseases caused by cold evil are treated with warm or hot medicinals, since ``heat can overcome cold,'' i.e., yang medicinals can combat yin evils. This is summed up in a guiding principle of therapy, ``heat is treated with cold; cold is treated with heat.'' It is most often applied in patterns of repletion characterized by a surfeit of either yin or yang. In conditions caused by deficit of yin or yang, the opposing complement is no longer kept in check and becomes disproportionately strong. If yin is vacuous, yang is no longer kept in check and its strength will grow out of proportion to that of yin. Such a condition is at root a yin vacuity, manifesting itself as vacuity heat. For this reason, treatment by draining fire and clearing heat alone is not only ineffective but also detrimental to the patient's health. It is replaced by a method such as enriching yin and downbearing fire, or fostering yin and subduing yang, whereby clearing heat and draining fire are secondary to enriching yin. By supplementing yin, the yang surfeit will naturally diminish. This explains the principle ``invigorate the governor of water to restrain the brilliance of yang.'' In the reverse situation, where yang is vacuous and fails to keep yin in check, there is exuberant internal yin cold, manifesting in such forms as clear-food diarrhea, fifth-watch diarrhea, and water swelling. Here, treatment should aim not simply at dissipating cold evil, but also at supplying the yang vacuity through such methods as assisting yang, boosting fire, and supplementing qi. This demonstrates the principle that ``where warming is to no avail, fire is lacking'' and ``boost the source of fire to disperse the shroud of yin.'' It is important to note the difference between the natural ebb and flow of yin and yang and a surfeit of one or the other complement. Waxing and waning of yin and yang refers to their normal relationship in the human body, which is one of constant fluctuation, rather than a rigid, immutable balance. ``When yin rises, yang ebbs,'' and ``when yang swells, yin subsides.'' This constant fluctuation is apparent in all the body's functions, such as fluid production and metabolism, the role of the five viscera in storing essential qi, and the role of the six bowels in conveyance and transformation of food. By contrast, ``deficit'' and ``surfeit'' denote the disturbance of the normal relative balance and failure to rectify the imbalance immediately. This is known as imbalance of yin and yang, which is the underlying cause of all disease.
yin bind
A pulse description. Elementary Questions states, ``yin beating differently from yang means there is a child.'' There are two interpretations (1) According to Wang Bing of the Tang Dynasty, ``yin'' refers to the cubit pulse ; ``yang'' refers to the inch pulse . When the inch pulse beats more markedly than the cubit, this is called ``yin contending differently from yang.'' (2) According to Zhang Jie-Bin of the Ming Dynasty, ``yin'' means the hand lesser yin or foot lesser yin: ``The heart governs the blood and the kidney governs the uterus, so both these viscera are related to the fetus and pregnancy. `Beating' means beating against the fingers. `Differently from yang' means that the yin pulse beats against the fingers like yang evil, but it is slippery and uninhibited, so is not a pulse caused by evil. Here we see yang in yin, with signs of harmony. This is what is meant by yang beating differently from yin.''
yin bulging
Insufficiency of the blood or insufficiency yin and the blood.
yin channel
Synonyms: yin vessel.
yin protrusion. morbid prominence.
yin cold
Cold seen as a yin phenomenon.
yin cold
Synonyms: yin cold.
Any of the three of the six channels labeled as yin, i.e., the greater yin , lesser yin , and reverting yin , as well as the controlling , thoroughfare , yin linking , and yin springing vessels.
yin collapse
Synonyms: yin desertion; fulminant desertion of yin humor.
genital cold. yin cold.
yin desertion
yin disease
prolapse of the uterus. failure of the yin door to close attributable to damage in childbirth or to physical strain. In some cases, there is painful swelling and difficult urination.
Yin collapse.
Medication: Supplement qi and the blood with Perfect Major Supplementation Decoction. Cnidium seed (Cnidii Monnieri Fructus) and sumac gallnut (Rhois Galla) can be decocted as a steam-wash.
yin disease is treated through yang
triple-yin disease.
Any disease manifesting as a vacuity pattern or cold pattern.
yin door
Synonyms: yin gates; jade gates; jade door; birth gate.
When exuberant yin cold damage yang qi, it should be treated by supporting yang. For example, water swelling with pale tongue and lips, low timid voice, lack of warmth in the extremities, inhibited urination or long voidings of clear urine, sloppy stool, and a deep slow pulse, can be treated by warming yang and fortifying the spleen and by moving qi and disinhibiting water, using Spleen-Firming Beverage. Disease affecting a yin channel and be treated by needling points on yang channels. For example, for a hand greater yin tai4 yin1 lung channel pattern of common cold and cough , points such as BL-11 (Great Shuttle) and BL-12 (Wind Gate) can be chosen.
yin epilepsy
The mouth of the vagina.
yin evil
Epilepsy in which episodes are characterized by cold limbs, absence of shrieking, absence of convulsions, and a sunken pulse. Yin epilepsy develops when frequent episodes of yang epilepsy weaken the health, or when excessive precipitation causes damage to original qi.
Medication: Supplement center qi, moisten dryness, and transform phlegm with Six Gentlemen Decoction plus dragon bone (Mastodi Ossis Fossilia), oyster shell (Ostreae Concha), bupleurum (Bupleuri Radix), cimicifuga (Cimicifugae Rhizoma), bitter orange (Aurantii Fructu
Acupuncture: See root-securing right-supporting treatments for remission periods (time between fits) under epilepsy. In addition, needle with supplementation and moxa at CV-12 (Center Stomach Duct), CV-6 (Sea of Qi), CV-4 (Pass Head), SP-6 (Three Yin Intersection), KI
yin exuberance with yang debilitation
Any evil that is yin in nature, e.g., cold, dampness, phlegm. Evil qi invading a yin channel.
yin exuberance with yang vacuity
Exuberant yin cold with resulting debilitation of yang qi. In practice, this generally refers to water-damp damaging yang or to excessive use of cold or cool medicinals.
yin fire
Exuberant internal yin cold with resulting debilitation of yang qi characterized by signs such as aversion to cold, cold limbs, diarrhea, water swelling, and pale glossy tongue. A pulse that is small at the superficial level and replete and large at the deep level reflects the yang vacuity and yin cold respectively.
yin flat-abscess
Fire engendered by diet, taxation fatigue, or joy, anger, anxiety, and thought. Heart fire.
yin head
A flat-abscess characterized by yin cold signs. A genital sore.
yin head welling-abscess
The cap-shaped expansion that forms the head of the penis.
yin humor
tortoise's head welling-abscess.
yin is engendered by yang
Essence, blood, liquid, and humor, viewed as yin-natured entities in contrast to yang qi.
yin jaundice
According to the principle of yin-yang interdependence, if there is no yang, yin has not the wherewithal to arise. In the body, essence-blood and fluids rely on the transporting and constraining action of yang qi to perform their functions.
yin lichen
Jaundice characterized by somber withered-yellow facial complexion, torpid stomach, abdominal distention, lassitude of spirit, lack of strength, dull rib-side pain, short voidings of scant urine, unsolid stool, pale tongue with slimy tongue fur, and a sunken slow fine pulse. When this is the result of cold-damp, it is characterized by reduced food intake, oppression in the stomach duct, or even abdominal distention. When due to spleen vacuity and blood depletion, additional signs include dry skin, heart palpitations, and shortness of breath. When due to accumulation of static blood, there is a painful concretion under the left rib-side, and spider nevi. Yin jaundice sometimes develops from yang jaundice.
Medication: Cold-damp patterns are treated by warming the center, fortifying the spleen and transforming dampness with formulas such as Capillaris, Atractylodes, and Aconite Decoction. Spleen vacuity and blood depletion is treated by fortifying the spleen and warmin
Acupuncture: Base treatment mainly on ST, SP, and back transport points. Select BL-20 (Spleen Transport), BL-19 (Gallbladder Transport), ST-36 (Leg Three Li), SP-6 (Three Yin Intersection), and GB-34 (Yang Mound Spring); needle with supplementation and add moxa. Selec
yin linking vessel
Lichen of the anterior and posterior yin, i.e., the anus and genitals, and surrounding areas; attributed to wind-heat-damp invading the skin. It starts with papules or small vesicles that gradually spread to form clearly circumscribed patches that are covered with thin scales.
Medication: Apply No.1 Lichen Medicinal Water or realgar (Realgar) (12~g) steeped in 100~ml old vinegar.
Acupuncture: Base treatment mainly on BL, LI, SP, ST, and LR. Select a number of points from the following: BL-12 (Wind Gate), BL-18 (Liver Transport), BL-40 (Bend Center), LI-11 (Pool at the Bend), SP-9 (Yin Mound Spring), BL-20 (Spleen Transport), SP-6 (Three Yin In
yin macules
Synonyms: vacuity macules; yin-pattern macules.
One of the eight extraordinary vessels.
yin mounting
Macules occurring in vacuity cold patterns, arising when constitutional vacuity and deep-lying cold or inappropriate use of cold medicinals causes exuberant internal yin cold and causes rootless fire to spread to the exterior. Yin macules are pale red and indistinct, and in some cases occur in a small number on the chest only. They are accompanied by counterflow cold of the extremities, unpronounced thirst, clear-food diarrhea, and a faint sunken pulse. The tongue bears a glossy white fur or may be enlarged with a glossy black fur.
yin of the thigh
A mounting disease characterized by acute pain of the testicles and genitals attributed to cold evil invading the liver channel.
A generic term for prominent mounting, cold mounting, and reversal mounting.
Medication: Warm and transform; move qi. Use Liver-Warming Brew.
Acupuncture: Base treatment mainly on LR, SP, and CV. Select CV-3 (Central Pole), LR-8 (Spring at the Bend), LR-2 (Moving Between), LR-3 (Supreme Surge), KI-10 (Yin Valley), LR-1 (Large Pile), SP-6 (Three Yin Intersection), and KI-3 (Great Ravine); needle with drainag
yin organs
The inside (yin side) of the thigh. The Magic Pivot states, ``The liver foot reverting yin vessel... ascends in the inner face of the back of the knee, follows the yin of the thigh upward, and enters the region of the pubic hair.
yin pattern
The external genitals. The yin organs are traversed by the foot reverting yin liver channel, and their development and functioning is related to the strength and weakness of kidney qi. Diseases of the yin organs are often treated through the liver and kidney.
yin pattern resembling yang
yin macules.
yin pile
The appearance of heat signs in disease of a cold nature developing to a critical stage. When a disease is at root a yin pattern, the appearance of red face, thirst, flailing of the arms and legs, and a large floating pulse is described as a yin pattern resembling yang. This is the same as true cold and false heat.
yin protraction
Synonyms: yin protrusion.
Any protrusion of flesh from female genitals.
yin protrusion
Synonyms: vaginal protrusion; eggplant disease; eggplant yin; yin bulging.
A condition characterized by a tendency to erections of the penis of abnormally long duration (lasting hours or days) or swelling of the penis that gives the appearance of a partial erection. It is caused by liver channel damp-heat.
Medication: Minor Bupleurum Decoction plus coptis (Coptidis Rhizoma) and phellodendron (Phellodendri Cortex). Alternatively, use Bupleurum Dampness-Overcoming Decoction or Gentian Liver-Draining Decoction. In severe cases, use Three-in-One Qi-Coordinating Decoction
yin qi
rigid center.
yang rigidity.
yin protraction. A women's disease characterized by heaviness, sagging, and swelling of the anterior yin or the hanging of the interior outside the body. Yin protrusion is usually the result of center qi fall or insufficiency of kidney qi, if not due to holding the breath and straining in childbirth. The center qi fall pattern is one of vacuity and includes signs such as a sagging sensation in the abdomen, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, lassitude of spirit, vaginal discharge, and a floating vacuous pulse. Kidney vacuity is identified by the presence of limp aching lumbus and knees. If there is redness, swelling, and a exudation of yellow water, as is often the case when friction causes damage, the pattern is considered to be one of damp-heat pouring downward; this condition may also be identified by a burning sensation on urination, heart vexation, spontaneous sweating, a dry mouth with bitter taste, and a slippery rapid pulse.
Medication: For center qi fall, treat by supplementing vacuity and raising the fall using Center-Supplementing Qi-Boosting Decoction with extra cimicifuga (Cimicifugae Rhizoma) and mix-fried astragalus (Astragali (seu Hedysari) Radix). For kidney vacuity, treat by su
Acupuncture: Base treatment on CV and GV. Main points: CV-4 (Pass Head), CV-6 (Sea of Qi), GV-20 (Hundred Convergences), and Infant's Palace. For qi vacuity fall, add ST-36 (Leg Three Li) and SP-6 (Three Yin Intersection); needle with supplementation and add moxa. For
yin rigidity
The opposite of yang qi. Yin and yang are the complementary and opposite poles of phenomena. Yin qi and yang qi are yin and yang viewed as complementary and opposing forces. Yin denotes physical substrata as opposed to function. It denotes the qi of the five viscera as opposed to that of the bowels. It denotes construction qi as opposed to defense qi. It denotes inward and downward movement, suppressive action, weakening, and that which is heavy and turbid.
yin springing vessel
A diffusely swollen painful sore below the cheek on the left or right, accompanied by generalized heat~effusion and aversion to cold.
A sore in the female pudenda.
A sore or flat-abscess manifesting as a yin pattern.
bedsore
yin summerheat
One of the eight extraordinary vessels.The yin linking originates at KI-6 (Shining Sea) below the medial malleolus, runs up the medial aspect of the leg, penetrates the genital region and then continues internally up the abdomen and chest to emerge in the supraclavicular fossa at ST-12 (Empty Basin). It proceeds up the throat, passing in front of ST-12 (Empty Basin), then continues up the medial aspect of the cheek to the inner canthus, where it joins the foot greater yang bladder and yang springing channels to ascend over the head and enter the brain. The main physiological functions of both the yin (as also the yang) springing vessels are to control the opening and closing of the eyes, control the ascent of fluids and the descent of qi, and to regulate muscular activity in general. Disease signs associated with the yin springing vessels include: eye diseases, heavy sensation of the eyelids or inability to open the eyes, clouding sleep, watery eyes, lower abdominal pain, pain along the waist extending into the genitals, hernia, vaginal discharge, and tightness and spasms along the medial aspect of the lower limb, with corresponding flaccidity along its lateral aspect.
yin sweating
Synonyms: genital sweating.
A summerheat pattern attributed to exposure to wind or drafts or to excessive consumption of cold drinks in the hot summer months. When cold invades the fleshy exterior, there is heat~effusion, headache, aversion to cold, sweating, and generalized pain; this is treated by warming and dissipating with formulas such as Origin-Boosting Powder. When cold damages the viscera, there is vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain; this is treated by warming the center with formulas such as Agastache/Patchouli Qi-Righting Tablet.
Acupuncture: Base treatment mainly on PC, LI, ST, and CV. Main points: PC-6 (Inner Pass), LI-4 (Union Valley), and ST-36 (Leg Three Li). Selection of points according to pattern: For cold assailing the fleshy exterior, select GV-20 (Hundred Convergences), GB-20 (Wind
yin tetany
Sweating of the external genitals and surrounding area. Yin sweating due to liver channel damp-heat is associated with cold of the genitals relieved by warmth, animal odor, reddish urine, and impotence. Damp-heat pouring downward can also occur in combination with liver-kidney depletion. When due to kidney yang vacuity, there is copious sweating of the scrotum with fear of cold and cold limbs, and limp aching lumbus and knees. Other signs include unhard erection, seminal efflux, premature ejaculation, and long voidings of clear urine. The tongue is moist, pale, and enlarged with dental impressions; the pulse is sunken and slow.
Sweating due to debilitated yang and exuberant yin.
Medication: Liver channel damp-heat is treated by draining, clearing, and disinhibiting, using Gentian Liver-Draining Decoction. Since ``wind can overcome dampness,'' one or two wind medicinals such as schizonepeta (Schizonepetae Herba et Flos) or ledebouriella (Lede
Acupuncture: For liver channel damp-heat, use LR-2 (Moving Between), GB-43 (Pinched Ravine), GB-34 (Yang Mound Spring), SP-9 (Yin Mound Spring), LI-4 (Union Valley), and KI-7 (Recover Flow), needling with drainage. For damp-heat pouring downward with signs of liver-ki
yin vacuity
Weather bearing yin qualities, i.e., dull, cloudy, damp weather.
yin vacuity blood heat
The manifestation of insufficiency of the yin aspect and depletion of liquid and blood. When yin is vacuous, internal heat arises; hence there is low fever, heat in the hearts of the palms and soles, postmeridian heat~effusion, emaciation, night sweating, dry mouth and throat, short voidings of reddish urine, red tongue with little or no fur, and a forceless fine rapid pulse. Yin vacuity may be focused in any of the five viscera, especially in the kidney.
yin vacuity fire effulgence
Heat~effusion due to depletion of essence, blood, and fluids. Yin vacuity heat~effusion may take the form of postmeridian heat~effusion (occurring sometime after midday), steaming bone heat~effusion (appearing to emanate from the bones), or vexing heat in the five hearts (heat or sensation of heat the hearts of the palms and soles and the heart of the chest). Yin vacuity heat~effusion is associated with emaciation, night sweating, dry mouth, red tongue, and a rapid fine pulse. It is seen in a wide variety of enduring sicknesses.
Medication: Enrich yin and nourish the blood to abate the vacuity heat. Use Major Yin Supplementation Pill or Six-Ingredient Rehmannia Pill.
Acupuncture: Base treatment mainly on KI, PC, and HT. Select KI-6 (Shining Sea), KI-2 (Blazing Valley), LU-10 (Fish Border), HT-8 (Lesser Mansion), PC-8 (Palace of Toil), KI-1 (Gushing Spring), and HT-7 (Spirit Gate); needle with even supplementation and drainage. For
yin vacuity headache
Heat in the blood owing to yin vacuity and in some cases also nurtured by externally contracted heat evil.
yin vacuity heat~effusion
Headache caused by yin vacuity stirring fire. Yin vacuity headache is accompanied by heat vexation, red face and upbearing fire flush, insomnia, red tongue, and a fine stringlike rapid pulse.
Medication: Enrich yin and downbear fire with Anemarrhena and Phellodendron Eight-Ingredient Pill or Jade Lady Brew. If effulgent fire signs are not pronounced, use Six-Ingredient Rehmannia Pill, Four Agents Decoction, or Left-Restoring Kidney Yin Pill.
Acupuncture: For yin vacuity with stirring fire, base treatment mainly on back transport points, KI, and HT. Supplement GV-20 (Hundred Convergences), BL-2 (Bamboo Gathering), Fish's Lumbus, SP-6 (Three Yin Intersection), BL-23 (Kidney Transport), BL-18 (Liver Transpor
yin vacuity lung dryness
yin vacuity panting
Lung dryness due to yin vacuity. The lung is the delicate viscus, and is susceptible to scorching by fire, especially effulgent yin vacuity fire, which manifests in dryness and pronounced vacuity. The main signs are dry cough without phlegm, blood-flecked phlegm, sore throat, hoarse voice, pale red tongue with little fur, and a rapid floating pulse.
Medication: Use Adenophora/Glehnia and Ophiopogon Decoction. For acute dry cough, add Sichuan fritillaria (Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus), apricot kernel (Armeniacae Semen), and steamed stemona (Stemonae Radix). For blood-flecked phlegm, add moutan (Moutan Radicis Co
Acupuncture: Base treatment mainly on back transport points, LU, KI, ST, and SP. Select BL-13 (Lung Transport), BL-43 (Gao-Huang Transport), LU-5 (Cubit Marsh), KI-6 (Shining Sea), BL-21 (Stomach Transport), ST-36 (Leg Three Li), and SP-6 (Three Yin Intersection). Nee
yin vacuity stomach duct pain
Panting due to yin vacuity with floating yang. Yin vacuity panting stems from yin-blood depletion or kidney vacuity, which deprives yang qi of its support and causes it to surge upward. During episodes of panting, the patient experiences qi surging up from below the umbilicus. Other signs include tidal heat~effusion and night sweating.
Medication: Enrich yin and nourish the blood; supplement the kidney and boost yin. Use formulas such as Four Agents Decoction, Pulse-Engendering Variant Powder, Ophiopogon and Rehmannia Pill, and Placenta Great Creation Pill, adding medicinals that subdue yang and pr
Acupuncture: Base treatment mainly on back transport points, LU, and KI. Select BL-23 (Kidney Transport), KI-3 (Great Ravine), KI-6 (Shining Sea), BL-13 (Lung Transport), Panting Stabilizer, BL-43 (Gao-Huang Transport), LU-5 (Cubit Marsh), CV-17 (Chest Center), and LU
yin vacuity throat impediment
yin vacuity throat lichen
Throat impediment (sore throat with difficulty swallowing) attributable to yin vacuity. When due to liver-kidney yin vacuity, signs include tinnitus, night sweating, and limp aching lumbus and knees. When due to damage to the lung-stomach yin by dryness, it is characterized by dry throat, dry lips, and cough without phlegm.
Medication: Liver kidney-yin vacuity is treated by enriching yin and downbearing fire with formulas such as Anemarrhena, Phellodendron, and Rehmannia Pill. Damage to lung-stomach yin is treated by moistening the lung and nourishing yin with formulas such as Yin-Nouri
Acupuncture: For liver-kidney yin vacuity, base treatment mainly on KI and LU. Needle with supplementation at BL-18 (Liver Transport), BL-23 (Kidney Transport), SP-6 (Three Yin Intersection), KI-3 (Great Ravine), KI-6 (Shining Sea), and KI-2 (Blazing Valley), and with
yin vacuity tidal heat~effusion
Throat lichen due to yin vacuity.
yin vacuity wilting
Tidal heat~effusion due to yin vacuity, as opposed to yang brightness interior repletion patterns.
yin vacuity with floating yang
Wilting (weakness and limpness of the sinews) arising when enduring illness or sexual intemperance cause insufficiency of the liver and kidney and effulgent yin vacuity fire which damage the sinew and bones.
Medication: Enrich yin and clear fire; supplement the liver and kidney. An appropriate formula is Hidden Tiger Pill.
Acupuncture: Use the basic treatments given under wilting, and add KI-3 (Great Ravine), KI-2 (Blazing Valley), KI-6 (Shining Sea), SP-6 (Three Yin Intersection), LR-3 (Supreme Surge), and HT-8 (Lesser Mansion), needling with supplementation.
yin vacuity with yang hyperactivity
Insufficiency of true yin and liquid-blood depletion causing yang qi to stray to the upper body, and causing dizziness, tidal reddening of the face, red eyes, dry sore throat, and toothache.
yin vessel
Essence-blood or fluid depletion causing a yin-yang imbalance in which yang becomes unrestrained and exuberant. Yang hyperactivity exacerbates depletion of fluid so that a vicious circle is set in motion. Yin vacuity with yang hyperactivity is characterized by tidal heat~effusion, reddening of the cheeks, night sweating, vexing heat in the five hearts, coughing of blood, emaciation, dry red tongue, and rapid fine pulse. In some cases, there is insomnia, vexation, agitation, and irascibility, or seminal emission and excessive libido.
Medication: Foster yin and subdue yang. Use Gastrodia and Uncaria Beverage or Liver-Settling Wind-Extinguishing Decoction.
Acupuncture: Base treatment mainly on KI, LR, and HT, needling with supplementation at BL-23 (Kidney Transport), SP-6 (Three Yin Intersection), KI-6 (Shining Sea), and KI-2 (Blazing Valley), and with drainage at GB-20 (Wind Pool), LI-11 (Pool at the Bend), KI-1 (Gushi
yin within yang
From Dan Xi's Experiential Methods Water swelling attributed to devitalized spleen yang and debilitated kidney yang failing to move and transform water, and characterized by swelling of face and instep, or by swelling of the lower limbs first. The swelling pits under pressure, and is associated with oppression in the chest, reduced food intake, cold limbs, lassitude of spirit, sloppy stool, scant urine, heavy body and aching lumbus, an enlarged tongue with white fur, and a sunken slow weak pulse. Yin water is so named because it includes vacuity and cold patterns.
Medication: Fortify the spleen, warm the kidney, free yang, and transform dampness. For devitalization of spleen yang, warm spleen yang and control water-damp. Use Spleen-Firming Beverage. Add ginseng (Ginseng Radix) and astragalus (Astragali (seu Hedysari) Radix) fo
Acupuncture: Base treatment mainly on CV, back transport points, SP, and ST. Select CV-9 (Water Divide), CV-6 (Sea of Qi), BL-22 (Triple Burner Transport), SP-6 (Three Yin Intersection), BL-39 (Bend Yang), SP-9 (Yin Mound Spring), and ST-36 (Leg Three Li), needling wi
yin within yin
The yin part of yang phenomenon (i.e., a phenomenon that is yang in relation to others). For example, the upper body is yang and the lower body is yin, whereas the back of the body is yang and the front is yin. The chest is therefore the yin within yang. Elementary Questions states, ``Midday to dusk is in the yang part of the day, and is the yin within yang.'' This is to say, the afternoon falls in daytime (yang) as opposed to nighttime (yin), and being the decline of daytime, it is their the yin part; hence, the afternoon is one example of yin within yang. Compare yin and yang are divisible but inseparable.
yin-blood
Constipation attributed to spleen-kidney vacuity cold and characterized by the absence of bowel movements for many days despite desire to defecate, yet with the absence of fullness or distention. Yin bind is associated with a weak state of health, lack of warmth in the extremities, long voidings of clear urine, pale tongue with a thin white tongue fur, and a slow sunken pulse. vacuity constipation.
yin-blood depletion
Blood considered as yin. Yin and blood as a combined entity.
yin-collapse vacuity desertion
A critical pattern of wearing of yin-blood. The chief signs are copious sweat, palpably hot skin, and warm limbs or reversal cold of the limbs with heat in the hearts of soles and palms. There is agitation or, in severe cases, clouded spirit. There is thirst with desire for cool fluids. Breathing is short and hasty with difficulty catching the breath. The tongue is dry and red, whereas the pulse is weak and rapid.
Medication: Enrich yin and increase humor; nourish liquid and secure qi. Use large quantities of Pulse-Engendering Powder. Cornus (Corni Fructus), scutellaria (Scutellariae Radix), calcined dragon bone (Mastodi Ossis Fossilia Calcinata), and calcined oyster shell (Os
Acupuncture: Base treatment mainly on CV and GV. Select GV-26 (Water Trough), GV-25 (White Bone-Hole), PC-6 (Inner Pass), GV-20 (Hundred Convergences), CV-4 (Pass Head), ST-36 (Leg Three Li), and KI-1 (Gushing Spring); needle with supplementation or direct moxa. Apply
yin-pattern cold damage
Any interior, cold, or vacuity pattern, e.g., somber white or dark dull complexion, curled-up lying posture, cold limbs, inactivity and tendency to talk little, low faint voice, faint weak breathing, shortness of breath and lack of strength, reduced food intake, bland taste in the mouth, absence of vexation and thirst or desire for warm drinks, sloppy stool, long voidings of clear urine, abdominal pain that likes pressure, pale enlarged tongue, glossy slimy tongue fur, and a forceless sunken slow fine pulse.
pattern in which sores of any kind present with broad roots, with paleness of the skin in the affected area, and with absence of heat, swelling, redness and pain. Compare yang pattern.
yin-pattern macules
Cold damage affecting any of the three yin channels.
Medication: Greater yin cold strike is treated with Stomach-Calming Poria (Hoelen) Five Decoction or Aconite Center-Rectifying Decoction. Lesser yin is treated with formulas like True Warrior Decoction. Reverting yin is treated with formulas such as Tangkuei Counterf
yin-type weather
soft tetany.
Tetanic disease with counterflow cold of the limbs.
Medication: Warm yang and dispel the evil using formulas such as Ovate Atractylodes Powder.
Acupuncture: Base treatment mainly on GV, LR, and KI. Select GV-20 (Hundred Convergences), KI-1 (Gushing Spring), LR-3 (Supreme Surge), GV-16 (Wind Mansion), GV-8 (Sinew Contraction), KI-3 (Great Ravine), ST-36 (Leg Three Li), BL-23 (Kidney Transport), and GV-4 (Life
yin-yang disharmony
The yin aspect of a yin phenomenon. According to the principle that yin and yang are divisible but inseparable, all yang phenomena can be divided into yin and yang components, as can all yin phenomena. For instance, chest and abdomen are yin as opposed to the back, which is yang. However, the chest (upper part) is yang, whereas the abdomen (lower part) is yin. The abdomen is thus the yin within yin. Compare yin and yang are divisible but inseparable.
yis
Imbalance between any yin and yang elements of the body and evils within the body. Elementary Questions sums up the essence of yin-yang disharmony as follows, ``When yin prevails, yang ails; when yang prevails, yin ails. When yang prevails, there is heat; when yin prevails, there is cold.'' Yin and yang can fall out of harmony in more than one way. When the counterbalancing principle observed in ebb and flow breaks down, a surfeit of one pole means a deficit of the other. A fierce sun parches the land, and a long winter shortens the summer. Likewise, a deficit of one complement is often observed with a surfeit of the other, as a lack of warmth manifests as cold. Sometimes, when interdependence breaks down, a deficit of one complement can lead to a deficit of the other. For example, absence of rest can make incessant activity unproductive. Since both evils and aspects of the body may be classified according to yin and yang, both health and disease may be viewed in terms of yin and yang. When the yin and yang elements within the body and between the body and the environment are in balance, the body is healthy. When any aspect of the balance is upset, disease arises. When a person is healthy, the principle of interdependence and mutual counterbalancing of yin and yang operates. A morbid imbalance is seen in terms of a failure of these relationships, or in terms of the mutual convertibility of yin and yang.
yuan
Abbreviation for the yin springing vessel.
