Chinese medical pathophysiology Flashcards
What is aetiology?
Aetiology refers to how and why the diseased occurred.
What is pathology?
Refers to the disease state and what is happening in the blood.
What are the four diagnostic methods?
- Inspection
- Palpation
- Inquiry
- Listening / smelling
What are the main substances in TCM?
Yin & Yang Qi Xue (blood) Jing (essence) Shen (spirit) Jin Ye (fluids)
What is Xu, Shi and Yu?
Xu = empty, deficiency Shi = Full, excess Yu = Stasis
What is Qi?
Qi is refined energy produced by the internal organs, assumes different forms in different places, Qi is the functional activity of an internal organ, an energy which manifests simultaneously on the physical, emotional-mental-spiritual level. Meaning that we can see the symptom on a physical level but also on a emotional-mental-spiritual level.
What is Zheng Qi and Xie Qi?
Zheng Qi = upright Qi that protects the interior
Xie Qi = Pathogenic Qi that disrupts the body
What is the pathology of Qi?
Deficiency
Excess
Stagnation
What is Xue (blood)?
Blood is a form of Qi and the role of blood is to nourish the body.
What is the relationship of Qi and Blood?
Qi moves the blood and blood nourishes Qi.
How is blood produced?
Blood is produced by the Spleen and Stomach.
The Spleen transformed Gu Qi (food qi) where it is sent to the Lungs where it combines and mixes from support from the Kidneys.
Gu Qi turns into blood which is sent to the Heart.
What organs is the production of blood dependent on?
Kidneys Heart Spleen Lung Stomach
What organs have the biggest role in blood?
Liver - Stores blood and can lead to blood stagnation.
Spleen - Makes blood and can lead to blood deficiency.
Heart - governs blood and can lead to blood heading to the wrong place.
What is the pathology of blood?
Deficiency (tonify)
Stagnation (move)
Heat (clear)
What can excess of Jin-Ye (fluids) cause?
Excess fluid can cause blockages, cloudy thinking and oedema (build up of damp in the tissues), phlegm, growth and masses.
What does a deficiency of fluid cause?
Can cause dryness and heat.
What is the yin and yang relationship with Jin-Ye?
Yin nourishes fluids
Yang moves fluids
How is Jin-Ye produced?
Originates in the spleen and stomach and is moved around the body through the lungs to the space between the skin and the muscles.
What is the nature of yin?
Cool, passive, fluid & blood, Interior, Zang, Substance, Chronic
What is the nature of yang?
Hot, Active, Qi, Exterior, Fu, Movement, Acute
What is Yang excess?
Excess of yang qi and heat in the body, this is referred to as full heat as yang qi is overflowing and needs to be drained.
What is Yang deficiency?
Can result in symptoms of cold, referred to as empty, source of the problem is due to emptiness. Treatment principle is to tonify the yang: foods and moxa.
What is Yin excess?
Cold type symptoms, reduce, drain remove, fullness of cold.
What is Yin deficiency?
Yang type symptoms in the body. Empty heat and treatment principle would be to tonify the yin.
What is Shen (spirit)?
Shen refers to a person’s consciousness, self-awareness and ability to follow their true pathway in life.
What other spirits is Shen associated with?
Shen can be considered as the spirits associated with the organs: Hun (ethereal soul, Liver), Yi (intellect, Spleen), Po (Corporeal / animal soul, Lungs), Zhi (Willpower, Kidneys), and Shen (The Mind, Heart).
What is essence?
- Pre-natal: connected to the kidneys
- Post-natal: connected to the spleen and stomach where production of essence starts and then is stored in the kidneys. Can support pre-natal Jing.
What is Pre-natal essence?
Comes from parents, linked to constitution, linked to the kidneys and influences bones, teeth and the brain. Our body will call on this resource of extreme overwork/fatigue/stress. Pregnancy and excessive ejaculation will deplete this resource.
What is Post-natal essence?
Produced by the spleen and stomach, supports our bodies growth and development without calling on our pre-natal essence.
• Depleted Jing can effect other parts of the body such as the blood.
What are the three treasures?
Shen, Qi, Jing.
Heaven, Humanity, Earth.
What is Chinese medical pathophysiology?
Focusses on what has gone wrong, what are the contributing factors of the illness/disease/disharmony.
What are the causes of disease?
- Constitution: Jing (essence) and genetic factors
- Diet: overeating, insufficient eating, wrong food energetics
- Environment: External pathogens: Fire, Wind, Heat, Cold, Damp, Dryness
- Lifestyle: Overwork, excessive sexual activities, lack of moderation, ignoring seasonal change
- Emotions: anger, joy, pensiveness, sadness, worry, fear, shock
- External pathogens: wind
How does wind enter the body?
- Wind breaks down Wei Qi (protective Qi, associated with the Lungs) and allows a pathogen to enter the interior
- If the Zheng Qi (upright Qi) is strong the pathogen will remain trapped at the surface of the body (Head cold)
- If the Zheng Qi is weak the pathogen will enter into the deeper layers of the body (delirium)
How is the spleen and stomach connected to diet?
Related to a healthy spleen and stomach qi, is essential to all post natal qi and blood production and it supports the Wei Qi (our immune system).
Disordered Spleen and Stomach: impairs post natal qi and blood production and also leads to a disorders in the ZangFu e.g. Phlegm in the Lungs and Liver Blood deficiency are both pre-cursed by a disharmony in the middle jiao.
What are the causes of spleen and stomach disharmony?>
Cause of spleen and stomach disharmony: overeating (stagnates Qi), Excess dairy or sugar (produces phlegm), Cold and raw food (Extinguishes stomach fire and weakens the spleen), Spicy food and alcohol (generates stomach fire) and Lack of food or irregular eating (limits qi and blood production).
How do lifestyle factors effect the body?
• Lifestyle factors: excessive sitting (injures the muscles: spleen), Excessive standing (injures the bones, kidneys), Excessive exercise (injures the sinews, liver), Overwork (depletes qi and yin), Stress (disrupts the free flow of liver qi), Lack of moderation (causes pathologies of excess), ignoring seasonal change (can injure yin, yang and qi), irregular sleep patterns ( nightshift injures yin and oversleeping disrupts yang), excessive sexual activity (depletes kidney essence) and many children (depletes kidneys).
How do lifestyle factors effect Qi?
Excessive lifestyle factors can deplete and stagnate Qi or lead to improper movement of it, improper lifestyle factors can cause an imbalance between yin and yang and CM promotes moderation in all things and following seasonal change in the way we approach our daily patterns.
How do the emotions effect the body?
Emotions are related to the organs.
Experiencing a range of emotions is healthy, if only an emotion becomes overwhelming or that is continually developed it is an issue, suppression of emotions can create stagnation of Qi and blood, all emotions impact Shen.
What are the emotions and their movements?
Joy - Heart - Relaxes / slows qi Pensiveness - Spleen - Knots qi Grief / sadness - Lungs - dissolves qi Anger - Liver - makes qi rise Fear - Kidneys - descends qi
Shock - scatters qi.
How does constitution influence health?
Underlies a persons health and tendency towards disease and their capacity to respond to disease.
What is a hot condition?
Aversion to heat, fast pulse, red tongue, red complexion, thirst, restless sleep, dry stools, scanty dark urine.
What is a cold condition?
Aversion to cold, deep slow pulse, White tongue coating, white complexion, desire for warm drinks or lacks thirst, loose stools, clear abundant urine.
What is full cold?
Excess of Yin. Caused by consumption of cold food and drinks or exterior cold pathogen that penetrates and comes lodged in the interior. Yin is in excess and Yang is normal.
What is empty cold?
Deficiency of Yang where yang fails to warm the body. This can be caused by: excessive physical work, internal cold injuring yang, diet (insufficient warming foods), surgery/medication/anaesthetic. Yin is normal, yang is deficient.
What is full heat treatment principle?
Full heat treatment principle is clear heat and drain fire.
What is the difference between full and empty cold in relation to the complexion?
Full cold: Face is bright white
Empty cold: Face is dull white
What is the difference between full and empty cold in relation to pain?
Full cold: pain is sharp and worse on pressure
Empty cold: pain is dull and better on pressure.
What is the difference between full and empty cold in relation to bowel movements?
Full cold: Bowels are better after bowel movement
Empty cold: Bowels are worse after bowel movement
What is the difference between full and empty cold in relation to the pulse?
Full cold: full tight and deep
Empty cold: Slow and deep
What is the difference between full and empty cold in relation to the tongue?
Full cold: Thick white coating
Empty cold: Thin white coating
