BODY FLUIDS Flashcards
What are Body Fluids called in Chinese; what do the characters mean?
Jin-ye = 'organic fluids' / body fluids "jin" = 'moist' or 'saliva'/ anything liquid "ye" = 'indicates fluids of a living thing'
What is the source of body fluids?
- food and drink/ the Stomach
Stomach receives food and drink, then it’s transformed and separated by Spleen
Where does the Spleen send the a)’clean’ and b)’dirty’ fluids after separating them?
a) clean fluids UP to Lungs (which spread some to skin, and some down to Kidneys)
b) dirty fluids DOWN to Small Intestine (where they’re separated gain into pure and impure)
The second separation of fluids (‘dirty’ into ‘pure’ and ‘impure’ occurs in the Small Intenstine. Where do the ‘pure’ and ‘impure’ fluids go from here?
- Pure fluids go to the Bladder
- Impure fluids go to the Large Intestine (where some water is re-absorbed)
How does the Bladder relate to the process of separation of Body Fluids? (Describe the Bladder “function of Qi transformation”)
- receives ‘impure’ fluids from Small Intestine
- further transforms and separates the fluids it receives into ‘pure’ and ‘impure’
- pure fluids flow upwards from Bladder and go to Exterior
- impure fluids flow downwards and are transformed into urine
Pure and impure fluids are transported in which directions?
pure= upwards impure= downwards
What powers the Bladder function of transforming and separating fluids?
Qi, which is receives from Kidney Yang.
What does the correct movement and transformation of fluids depend on?
The correct movement of Qi (the Qi Mechanism/ Qi Ji).
What organs PRIMARILY contribute to the transformation, transportation, and excretion of Body Fluids?
Lung, Spleen, Kidneys.
others involved: SI, LI, BL
What is the “Upper Source of Water”? Why?
Lungs
- pure fluids flow upwards to Lungs, which distribute some to space between skin and muscles, and send some down to Kidneys (ultimately, Bladder)
What is the “Lower Source of Water”? Why?
Kidneys
- Bladder function of Qi transformation is controlled by Kidney-Yang
What is the “most important” organ in relation to the physiology and pathology of Body Fluids? Why?
Spleen
- controls initial transformation and separation
- controls crucial direction of moving pure upwards and impure downwards at ALL STAGES of Body Fluids production
What organ will always be treated in any type of disorders of Body Fluids?
Spleen
What organ is said to regulate the “water passages”? Why?
Lungs
- b/c they diffuse some pure fluids to space between skin and muscles (diffusing function)
- and send some downwards to Kidney and Bladder (descending function)
What organ is responsible for keeping the Lungs moistened/ preventing them from drying out?
Kidneys
- vapourize some of fluids they receive, send upwards back to Lungs
How do the Kidneys contribute to the transformation of fluids? And, what aspect of the Kidneys in particular?
Kidney-Yang
- provide heat necessary for Spleen to transform Body Fluids
- assist Small Intestine in its function of separation of fluids into pure and impure parts
- provide Qi (in form of Kidney-Yang) to Bladder for its process of Qi transformation
- assist the Triple Burner/Energizer transformation and excretion of fluids
What initial deficiency will almost certainly lead to a deficiency of Spleen-Yang? What will be the consequence?
Kidney-Yang deficiency
- b/c it provides heat to Spleen
- accumulation of fluids
What are the Upper, Middle, and Lower Burners compared to (as they relate to Body Fluids)?
Upper Burner = Mist
Middle Burner = Maceration chamber
Lower Burner = Drainage ditch
(“maceration”: in biology: softening of a solid by soaking in a liquid; in chemistry: the preparation of an extract by solvent extraction)
What controls the Small Intestine function of separating fluids?
Kidney-Yang
provides heat and QI necessary for this separation to take place
How does Bladder excrete urine?
-separates fluids it receives into pure and impure & excretes urine by the power of Qi transformation
How does the Triple Burner/Energizer assist in transformation, transportation, and excretion of Body Fluids at all stages? What are the 3 burners compared to?
UPPER BURNER
- assists Spleen in directing pure fluids upwards
- assists Lungs in dispersing them to space between skin and muscles
- ‘mist’
MIDDLE BURNER
- assists Stomach in its function of churning the fluids & directing impure downwards
- Maceration chamber / muddy pool
LOWER BURNER
- assists Small Intestine, Bladder, Kidneys in their function of transforming, separating, and excreting fluid
- ‘drainage ditch’
“___ is the official in charge of irrigation and it controls the water passages.”
The Triple Burner
Of the Stomach and Spleen, which likes dryness and which likes to be moist?
- Stomach likes to be moist, damaged by dryness
- Spleen likes dryness, damaged by dampness
According to the Spiritual Axis, what are Jin (fluids), and what are Ye (liquids)?
- Jin: fluids dispersed between skin and muscles, come out as sweat
- Ye: “when Qi is abundant, fluids overflow to bones, enabling them to bend, irrigating and tonifying the brain and marrow, and moistening the skin.”
