Foundations Flashcards
4 Pillars of TCM
- Inspection
- Inquiry
- Auscultation and Olfaction
- Palpation
Yin
- Interior
- Deficient
- Cold
Yang
- Exterior
- Excess
- Hot
Four law of yin and yang
- Opposition: When yin predominates, yang will be diseased, when yang predominates, yin will be diseased
- Inter-dependence: Yin remains inside to act as a guard for yang, and yang stays outside to act as a servant for yin
- Inter-consuming- supporting: Consumption of yin leading to gaining of yang
- Inter-transformation: Extreme yin will produce yang, extreme yang will produce yin
Functions of Qi
- Transforming
- Transporting
- Holding
- Raising
- Protecting
- warming
Examples of transforming
-Spleen Qi transforms food into food Qi
- Heart Qi transforms food into Qi/Blood with help of Lung Qi
Examples of transporting
-Spleen Qi transports food Qi
- Liver Qi transports Qi upwards, downwards, and outwards in all directions
Examples of holding
-Spleen qi hold blood in the vessels
-Lung Qi holds sweat in the pores
Examples of raising
-Spleen Qi raises the organs
-Kidney Qi rises upwards
Examples of protecting
-Lung Qi protects through wei Qi
Examples of Warming
- spleen yang warms the digestion
-kidney yang warms the body
Qi disfunctions
- Xu
- Stagnation
- Rebellious
- Sinking
Examples of Xu
Lung, spleen, heart, kidney can easily become xu
Examples of stagnation
Most often caused by injury or lack of movement in the lung, heart, or liver
examples of Rebellious
Lung and stomach can easily have rebellious Qi
Examples of Sinking
Organs, vessels, and spleen can all be affected.
Organs related to blood and their functions
- Lungs: Helps spleen send food qi to the heart, infuses Qi into the blood vessels
- Heart: Governs blood, responsible for blood circulation
- Spleen: Makes food Qi which is the basis of blood, holds blood in vessels
- Liver: Store blood, nourishes muscles and tendons, supplies blood to uterus
- Kidneys: Original/ Yuan Qi helps transform food qi to blood
Functions of blood
- Nourishing: Head hair and nail growth
- Moistening: Body tissues
3.Basis for mental activity: Anchors shen
Blood dysfunctions
- Deficiency: Heart and liver xu most common
- Stasis: can be from injury, organs affected heart, liver, large intestine, stomach, uterus
- Heat in the blood: orans involved heart/liver, can affect the uterus
Qi stagnation pain vs Blood stasis pain
Qi: More distention than pain
Moves around
Doesn’t typically show on the tongue
Blood: More stabbing than distention
Fixed pain
Purple or purple prickles on the tongue
Spleens relation to body fluids
-Initial transformation and separation into pure and impure
-Is always treated for any body fluid disorder
Lungs relation to body fluids
-Dispersion of the pure to the cou li
-Sends some fluids to the kidneys and bladder to regulate the water passages
Kidneys relation to body fluids
-Sends fluids back up to moisten the lungs
-Keeps the spleen yang warm from kidney yang for fluid transformation
-Helps the small intestine separate fluids
Body fluid functions
- Nourish muscles and orifices
- Moisten skin and joints
- Strengthen brain and marrow
Jin
-Clear and light
- Under the control of the lungs
-Distributed on the muscular surface (circulate with the defensive/ wei Qi)
- Nourish muscles, moistens skin
-Sweat, tears, saliva and mucous
Ye
-Thick and heavy
-Under the control of the spleen and kidneys
-Stored in the joints and spine, sense organ orifices
-Strengthen brain and marrow
Damp
-Heavy, dirty, sticky
-Flows downward
-Interior or exterior condition
- Feeling of heaviness
- Spleen points targeted in acupuncture
-No affect on the mind
- Mostly affects the organs and joints
- Interior dampness caused by spleen dysfunction
-Affects mostly yang organs and spleen
Phlegm
- Thicker and stickier
- Can be anywhere
- Interior conditions only
-Feeling of dizziness, obstruction in throat, oppression in the chest
-Stomach points targeted in acupuncture - Can mist the mind, cause intellectual disability, or mental-emotional concerns
- Substantial: Phlegm in lungs
- Insubstantial: channels (numbness), under skin, misting mind, nerve ganglia, lymph, thyroid
- can be caused by action of fire on the body fluids
-Affects mostly yin organs+ stomach
Different types of phlegm
Wind-phlegm- Wind stroke
Phlegm-heat- Lung, Stomach, heart
Cold-phlegm- Lung, stomach
Damp-phlegm- Lung
Qi-Phlegm- Qi stagnation: appears and disappears with mood (Plum-pit Qi)
Phlegm Fluids- Watery, thin, Splashing sounds
Definition of essence
Essence is a constitution candle, vitality, resistance to disease, bone development/ retention and mental development(in children and in old age)
What is pre-heaven essence
The blending of sexual energies of man and woman formed before bith.
Used to nourish fetus during pregnancy (fetus is affected by the kidneys of the mother during pregnancy)
What is post heaven essence
Essences produced by the spleen and Stomach after birth
What is kidney essence
-Mostly derived from parents before birth
-combination of pre-heaven essence and post heaven essence
-Considered an aspect of kidney yin
-Basis for kidney Qi
What are the 4 functions of kidney essence?
- Governs growth, preproduction, development
- Basis for Kidney QI
- Produces Marrow
- Constitutional Weakness
Kidney Essence Dysfunction
- Developmental/intellectual disability disorders
- Kidney Disorders
- Marrow disorders
- Constitutional weakness
The three treasure
Jing
Qi
Shen
Characteristics of Jing
-kidneys
-earth
-Distribution by the 8 extra vessels
-Lower dantian
Characteristics of Qi
-Day to day
-person
-middle dantian
Characteristics of shen
-Spirit
-Heaven
-Upper dantian
Yin organ relationship
Lungs and heat- Qi and blood
Heart and liver- Blood
Heart and Kidneys- Fire and water
Liver and Lungs- Qi and blood
Liver and spleen- Qi and digestion
Liver and Kidneys- Exchange of blood and Jing
Spleen and lungs- Assist each other
Spleen and kidneys- Mutual nourishment
______ governs blood, _______ governs Qi, this is a Qi and blood relationship
Heart, Lungs
Qi and blood relationship
Why are Qi and blood interdependent?
Blood nourishes Qi, and Qi pushes blood
Heart _____ the blood, but relies on _______ to assist.
Moves, Lungs
Lungs produce ____ and _____ Qi
______ Qi flows with the ______ and the vessels.
Ying and wei
Ying, blood
Heart and lung Qi connect via
the zong (chest) Qi
What happens to heart Qi when lung Qi is deficient, and what are the symptoms
Heart Qi becomes stagnant, which can lead to stagnation of blood of the heart.
Symptoms include heart palpitations, blue lips, and chest pains.
What can excessive heart fire do to lungs and what are the symptoms?
It can dry the lung fluids and cause dry cough, dry nose, and thirst.
Heart ____ Blood, Liver ______ Blood and regulates its ________
Governs, store and regulates
If heart blood is deficient how does this affect liver?
Disrupts livers ability to regulate blood (dizziness and excessive daydreaming)
Deficient liver blood can also cause…
deficient heart blood (heart palpitations and insomnia)
Heart stores ______, liver rules smooth flowing of _______.
Shen, emotions
__________ and __________ mutually support each other. Weak ________ and ________ may lead to depression and anxiety. or when _______ stagnates, this constrains _______ and can weaken ________.
Shen and emotions, heart and shen, Liver- emotions-shen.
Heart yang _______ to warm kidney _____, while kidney yin _______, to nourish heart ______.
descends, yin, ascends, yang.
If kidney yin cannot transform fluids they will over flows upwards to ______
Heart
What happens when kidney yin cannot rise to nourish heart?
Over active heart fire (mental restlessness, insomnia, agitation)
Heart and kidneys are the common root of what?
Shen and essence.
The heart houses ______, while the kidneys stores ______
shen, jing
Shen is the external manifestations of?
Jing, as its derived from jing
What is the foundation for Shen?
What nourishes shen?
Prenatal jing, Postnatal jing
Normal mental activity needs jing, without it symptoms can include…
Lack of vitality, willpower, and self confidence.
Lungs ______ Qi, and the liver regulates and stores ______.
Qi, blood.
Liver relies on ______ to regulate blood and the lungs rely on ______ to smoothly move Qi.
lung qi, liver qi
Liver Qi and _____ the chest, and interfere with the _______ function of descending
stagnate, lungs
symptoms: cough, dyspnea, asthma
Stagnation of liver Qi can cause?
Liver fire to rise and injure lung yin (hypochondriac pain, coughing, blood, pain on breathing)
Liver aids spleen in what?
Healthy digestion, it ensure smooth flow of bile which aids digestion.
Kidney jing contributes to the making of what?
Blood! (bone marrow)
Kidney jing xu may lead to?
Blood deficiency
Kidney yin fails to nourish liver yin causes?
Liver yang hyperactivity
Spleen extracts ______qi and sends it to the _____, where it combines with air and becomes _____ Qi
Food, lungs, zong
Spleen relies on lungs ________ _________ to assist in the transformation and transportation of food (pumping action)
descending function
Lung also assists spleen in the transportation of
body fluids
When in dysfunction can cause edema
When spleen Qi is Xu
Production of qi is impaired
tiredness, weakness of limbs, breathlessness, weak voice
can also cause phlegm in lungs
Spleen is the root of
post heaven Qi
Kidneys are the root of
pre-heaven Qi
Most important organ post heaven essence
Spleen
Where is post and pre-heaven essence stored?
The kidneys
Which Qi provides the necessary energy for the transformation and transportation of the substances and formation of Qi?
Original Qi from the kidneys prenatal essence
Wen spleen Qi is weak body fluids cannot be transformed and transported and accumulate to form…
Dampness
This can affect kidneys function causing more dampness and edema.
When kidney yang is deficient there is not enough heat to transform fluids, this causes….
dampness or edema, chilliness, diarhea
Lungs send Qi and fluids down to the?
Kidneys! Kidneys hold down the Qi, evaporate some of the fluids, and then send the vapor back up to the lungs to moisten them. Lungs then send the fluids to the skin.
What does the lung function of governing Qi and respiration rely on?
Kidney function of receiving Qi.
What happens when Kidney Qi is weak and cannot hold down Qi?
It invades lung and causes asthma, cough, dyspnea.
Spleen provides _______ for the formation of blood
Food
What does deficient spleen Qi lead to?
Deficient blood, which causes heart blood to be deficient
What are the 6 pathogenic factors?
1.wind
2. Cold
3. Summer heat
4. Damp
5. Dryness
6. Fire
Wind is the _______ of ________
Qi of spring
What organ does wind affect first?
Lungs
Wind is _____ in nature
Yang (moving)
What does wind do in the body?
- arises quickly and suddenly
- can cause symptoms to move around the body
- Can cause shaking, convulsions, stiffness, or paralysis
Cold is the ______ of _______
Qi of winter
Cold is _____ in nature and consumes _________
Yin, yang
What does cold do in the body?
Contracts and obstructs (stagnates) Qi and blood.
Can affect the abdomen, pores, tendons, and channels.
Can cause pain, aversion to cold, lack of sweating and poor movement