Bob Flaws Pulse Images Flashcards by Angie TCM Student

normal pulse (ping mai)

has spirit/shen
has stomach/wei
has root/gen

some degree of slipperiness is normal, suggests qi & blood flowing at least somewhat freely

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has stomach

Stomach- earth- harmonizing- has a sense of moderation to it

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has spirit

lively

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has root

felt at the chi position all the way down to the bone

or at deepest depth in all three positions

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located in the exterior
with finger raised, it has surplus
when pressing down it is insufficient
when pressure is released, it regains full strength

floating pulse
(fu mai)

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floating
wide
hard 
hollow
(Li Shizhen, wiry/strong, rapid)

drumskin (subset of scallion)

ge mai

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floating
wide
forceful
(Li Shi zhen felt at all 3 levels)

surging/flooding

hong mai

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floating
wide
forceless

vacuous/empty

xu mai

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floating
wide
forceless
hollow (forceless at the middle depth)
(disappears completely and rapidly)

scallion stalk/hollow

kou mai

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floating
wide/large
forceless
no edges
(disappears with pressure)

scattered

san mai

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floating
fine
forceless

soft /soggy

ruan mai

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cannot be felt with light pressure
cannot be felt with moderate pressure
can only be felt with heavy pressure

deep pulse/sinking

chen mai

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deep
fine
forceless

weak pulse

ruo mai

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very deep
fine
forceless/forceful

hidden pulse

fu mai

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very deep
bowstring/firm
forceful
(all 3 positions but only deepest level)

confined

lao mai

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less than 60 bpm

3 beats per breath

slow

chi mai

50-60 bpm

4 beats per breath

moderate

huan mai

> 90 bpm

>5 beats per breath

rapid

shuo mai

> 120 bpm

>7-8 beats per breath

racing

ji mai

wide
forceful
(all three levels, stronger as you press downward)

replete “forceful”
(shi mai)
not clinically used because found with other qualities

feels like a taught violin string
finer than tight pulse
staccato

bowstring/wiry

xian mai

feels like a taught rope
wider/larger than bowstring
vibrating side to side

tight

jin mai

extends beyond the cun/chi positions

long

chang mai

located only in the guan position
or
located only in the guan & chi, absent in the cun

short

duan mai

located in the guan/"short" rapid forceful (feels like there is something in the pulse)

stirring, moving, spinning bean | dong mai

feels smooth like pearls rolling in a dish comes and goes freely, no obstruction legato

slippery (hua mai) *can be normal

changes rate with the breath goes from normal to slow and back to normal inconsistent rhythm, lots of hesitation

choppy | se mai

fine forceless (deep, disappears with pressure)

fine/thin subset of weak | xi mai

very, very fine very, very forceless difficult to feel vague shape sometimes you feel it, and sometimes you lose it (Li Shizhen floating, disappears with pressure)

faint | wei mai

wide diameter

large (da mai) not really a pulse image, used with other pulse images

slow | skips a beat at irregular intervals

bound/knotted | jie mai

slow skips beats at regular intervals pause may be long

intermittent | dai mai

rapid | skips beats at irregular intervals

skipping | cu mai

pulse not where it is expected, dorsal side of arm radial side

fan guan mai