Etiology Flashcards
Etiology
Overview of CM History
What are the 2 basic causes of disease causing factors?
- the study of the causes of disease
CM - 2 basic categories of disease causing factors: YIN and YANG
- later doctors developed ideas further: 3 categories
- Shamanism (spirits, ancestors); Spring and Autumn (ideas about existence of natural laws and therefore natural causes of disease)
What are the 4 categories of disease causing factors?
- Internal
- External
- Non-Internal/External
- aka “miscellaneous causes of disease” - Pathologically-generated etiological factors
External Factors
- pathogens that invade the body from outside (from the environment)
What are the 6 Exterior Pathogenic Factors?
Liu Qi:
Six Qi
Six Climatic Factors
Liu Yin:
Six Exogenous Factors
Six Exterior Pathogenic Factors
Six Evils
- Wind
- Cold
- Damp
- Dryness
- Fire (Warmth, Heat)
- Summer-Heat
The Six Qi become the Six Evils/EPFs when
- when they are excessive or unseasonal, or the climate changes suddenly
- EPFs can only invade when the _______ is weak
(in relation to the strength of the EPF)
- Zheng Qi (True Qi)
“if the Zheng Qi is present (and in good form) in the interior, evil cannot invade”
“that which evil invades must be deficient of qi”
All EPFs, when affecting the body, invade through the
- skin, nose, or mouth
Invasion by the Liu Yin quote
"”When [external] evils invade the body, they first reside in the skin and body-hair. If not expelled, they enter and reside in the minute vessels (sun mai). It not expelled, they can enter and reside in the main channels (jing mai) and connect internally with the five viscera.”
Diseases due to the Six EPFs is closely related to
- seasonal changes in the weather and to living environment
EX:
- Heat diseases often occur in the summer
- Cold diseases often occur in the winter
- Damp diseases often caused by prolonged exposure to dampness
Each of the Six EPFs may affect the body singly or in combination?
BOTH
EX:
- Wind-Cold
- Wind-Damp-Cold
- Damp-Heat
The Six EPFs may, during the process of disease and under certain circumstances, transform…
- into each other!
EX:
- Cold may transform into Heat
- Heat may transform into Dryness
WIND
Predominant Qi of…
Wind may easily invade the body after…
- of SPRING
- after sweating or while sleeping
What is the primary EPF in causing disease?
WIND
- Cold, Damp, Dryness and Heat depend on Wind to invade the body
“Wind is the leading causative factor of the hundred diseases”
WIND
Yin or Yang?
YANG
- is characterized by upward and outward movement
- easily invades yang portions of the body (head, face, surface/exterior, back)
- tends to cause the pores to open (sweat comes out; aversion to wind)
Wind blows in…
Wind blows in gusts and is characterized by rapid changes
- abrupt onset
- rapid changes
- migratory symptoms (migratory joint pain, urticaria)
Wind is characterized by
constant movement
- causes symptoms such as:
- tremor, spasm, convulsions
- dizziness, vertigo
- paralysis, deviation of mouth and eyes (Bell’s Palsy, stroke, etc)
COLD
Predominant Qi of?
WINTER
(may occur in other seasons but usually not as strongly)
- thin clothing, exposure to cold after sweating, being caught in the rain, wading in water in winter, wearing damp clothes in cold weather, etc. – all may give rise to invasion of pathogenic cold
Cold: Yin or Yang?
YIN
- Cold is a yin EPF and consumes yang-qi
Cold causes
contraction and stagnation
- impairs opening and closing of pores
- spasmodic contraction of tendons
- impaired circulation of qi and blood
- PAIN, restricted movement, aversion to cold, etc.
DAMP
- Predomninant Qi of
LATE-SUMMER
- Damp disease often occurs in late summer but is also frequently caused by damp living conditions, wearing damp clothes, frequent exposure to water, prolonged periods of rain, etc.
Damp is characterized by
heaviness and turbidity
- heavy body/head/joints, etc.
- turbid discharge (suppurative sores, weeping eczema, leukorrhea, turbid urine, sticky stool, stool with mucous)