General TCM diagnostics - system review Flashcards
What are the Eight Parameters?
Excess……….Deficient Hot……….Cold External……….Internal Yang……….Yin
Comment on the following re: EXCESS vs. DEFICIENT Mucous Membrane Colour Pulse strength Tongue colour Pain Behaviour Body condition Seborrhea Appetite
Mucous Membrane Colour: RED vs. PALE Pulse strength: STRONG vs. WEAK Tongue colour: PURPLE vs. PALE/LAVENDER Pain: SEVERE vs. RESOLVES with MOTION Behaviour: AGGRESSION/ANXIETY vs. TIMID/SLEEPY Body condition: OBESE vs. SKINNY Seborrhea: OLEOSA vs. SICCA Appetite: RAVENOUS vs. LACK
Comment on the following re: HOT vs. COLD: Thirst Hunger Pathology Heart rate Temperature intolerance Temperature preference Urine colour Psychomotor state Worse in which season
Thirst: EXTREME vs. LACK Hunger: EXTREME vs. LACK Pathology: SUPP INFLAMM’n vs. LOW-GRADE ABD PAIN Heart rate: RAPID vs. SLOW Temperature intolerance: HEAT vs. COLD Temperature preference: COOL vs. HEAT Urine colour: DARK vs. CLEAR/PROFUSE Psychomotor state: RESTLESS vs. IMMOBILE Worse in which season: SUMMER vs. WINTER
Comment on the following re: EXTERNAL vs. INTERNAL: Lymphadenopathy Location of acute pain Location of inflammation Part of eye affected
Lymphadenopathy: PERIPHERAL vs. ABD Location of acute pain: NECK vs. COLIC Location of inflammation: SUP’L PYODERMA vs. COLITIS Part of eye affected: KCS vs. UVEITIS (HIGH FEVER vs. ENDOPARASITISM)
Comment on the following re: WOOD (5 element theory):
Organ:
Function:
Direction:
Weather:
Colour:
Flavour:
Orifice:
Body Part:
Emotion:
Spirit:
Season:
WOOD
Organ: Liver
Function: Move, Initiate
Direction: East
Weather: Wind
Colour: Green
Flavour: Sour
Orifice: Eyes
Body Part: Tendons
Emotion: Anger
Spirit: Hun (Soul)
Season: Spring
Comment on the following re: FIRE (5 element theory):
Organ:
Function:
Direction:
Weather:
Colour:
Flavour:
Orifice:
Body Part:
Emotion:
Spirit:
Season:
FIRE
Organ: Heart
Function: Engage, Govern
Direction: South
Weather: Heat
Colour: Red
Flavour: Bitter
Orifice: Tongue
Body Part: Vessels
Emotion: Joy
Spirit: Shen (Spirit)
Season: Summer
Comment on the following re: EARTH (5 element theory):
Organ:
Function:
Direction:
Weather:
Colour:
Flavour:
Orifice:
Body Part:
Emotion:
Spirit:
Season:
EARTH
Organ: Spleen
Function: Nourish, Assimilate
Direction: Central
Weather: Damp
Colour: Yellow
Flavour: Sweet
Orifice: Mouth
Body Part: Muscles, Flesh
Emotion: Worry
Spirit: Yi (Logic)
Season: Late Summer
Comment on the following re: METAL (5 element theory):
Organ:
Function:
Direction:
Weather:
Colour:
Flavour:
Orifice:
Body Part:
Emotion:
Spirit:
Season:
METAL
Organ: Lung
Function: Defend, Inhale, Withdraw
Direction: West
Weather: Dryness
Colour: White
Flavour: Pungent
Orifice: Nose
Body Part: Skin & Hair
Emotion: Grief
Spirit: Po (Reactivity)
Season: Autumn
Comment on the following re: WATER (5 element theory):
Organ:
Function:
Direction:
Weather:
Colour:
Flavour:
Orifice:
Body Part:
Emotion:
Spirit:
Season:
WATER
Organ: Kidney
Function: Storage
Direction: North
Weather: Cold
Colour: Black
Flavour: Salty
Orifice: Ears
Body Part: Bones & Marrow
Emotion: Fear
Spirit: Zhi (Will)
Season: Winter
What are the Five Fundamental Substances?
Blood
Shen
Essence
Qi
Fluids
Regarding Fundamental Substances:
What provides the foundation for movement within the body?
The Gallbladder and the storage of Blood by the Liver.
Regarding Fundamental Substances:
What are involved in prudent decision making ?
The Small Intestine,
the Shen,
and the Heart.
Regarding Fundamental Substances:
What is involved in facilitating the defense of the organism as well as the descent of all substances within the interior?
The Large Intestine,
Lung,
and Qi.
Regarding Fundamental Substances:
What is involved in generating Yin stores?
The Bladder,
Essence,
and the Kidneys.
Regarding Fundamental Substances:
Which 2 organs are involved in the process of digestion?
The Stomach assists the Spleen.
Name five Zang organs.
Liver
Heart
Lung
Kidney
Spleen
Name 5 Fu Organs.
Gallbladder
Small Intestine
Large Intestine
Bladder
Stomach
Zang organs are considered relatively ________ (Yang or Yin)?
Why?
Yin.
Because they accumulate moist Fundamental Substances & do not interface with the outside world.
Fu organs are considered relatively ________ (Yang or Yin)?
Why?
Yang.
Because of their greater movement & activity, and due to the interface they must have with the external environment to allow them access to food & water.
What are the three broad categories of function of the Zang-Fu organs?
Describe each function
- Heart & Lungs - engage with external environment
- Heart: guides the body through it
- Lungs: inspires air (a form of Qi) - Spleen & Stomach - transforming ingesta into Fundamental Substances & distributing through the body (with the help of the Liver) to obtain pure Qi & Essence.
- Kidneys, Small/Large Intestine & Bladder - extracting pure fluids from the remnants of ingesta to add them to the stores in the Kidney. Turbid impure materials are voided by these same organs.
What is the Triple Burner?
A corridor that links & runs through each of the three functional Zang-Fu organ divisions.
Yang energy (Fire) is needed for each division to function.
What is the function of the SPLEEN and STOMACH?
Spleen & Stomach extract Qi & Essence from food.
The Spleen then raises it up to the upper burner.
The middle burner (Stomach & Spleen) is fueled by the Source Qi (flames) and Essence (wood pile of the lower burner.
What is the function of the STOMACH?
The Stomach is the vessel where digestion takes place = mechanical process of digestion.
What is the function of the SPLEEN?
The Spleen facilitates assimilation after digestion. Roughly equates to the microvilli and pancreas. Spleen Qi allows absorption of amino acids, glucose & fats.
The Spleen “raises the clear” up to the Lung (particularly the Qi).
Describe symptoms that indicate SPLEEN QI SINKING:
GI:
Bladder:
Reproductive:
Respiratory:
Colour:
Mental states:
Symptoms that indicate SPLEEN QI SINKING:
GI: constipation/incontinence
Bladder: incontinence
Reproductive: miscarriages, metrorrhagia
Respiratory: shortness of breath
Colour: pallor
Mental states: dullness, anxiety
Describe symptoms that indicate SPLEEN QI DEFICIENCY:
GI:
GU:
Symptoms that indicate SPLEEN QI DEFICIENCY:
GI: inappetance, weight loss, undigested food in stool, coprophagy, pica
GU: kidney failure (insufficient Essence production for storage in the Kidneys)
Name 6 products of digestion.
6 products of digestion:
Blood
Postnatal Essence
Yang
Yin
all fluids
Qi
What is the main storage organ for Blood?
the liver
What is Ying Qi?
What does it do?
Nutritive Qi.
Akin to plasma.
Facilitates the formation & movement of Blood from the Essence stored in the Kidneys or manufactured in the Spleen.
What happens if the Spleen’s production of Yin Qi is deficient?
Blood is not able to be held in the vessles, and passively oozes out (diapedesis).
Name 8 common signs of SPLEEN DEFICIENCY.
Spleen Deficiency signs:
muscle wasting & weakness
watery painless diarrhea
anemia
hemorrhage
inappetance
lassitude
dyspnea
pallor
Name 6 common signs of STOMACH PATHOLOGY.
Stomach pathology:
vomiting & regurgitation
halitosis
excessive appetite
thirst
epigastric pain or distention
dyspepsia
Name 15 signs of DAMPNESS or PHLEGM.
Dampness or Phlegm signs:
masses
joint swelling
Heat symptoms (inc appetite/thirst, restlessness, panting, insomnia, heat/exercise intolerance)
polyuria
weight gains/rounded abd
exudates from ears, skin, eyes
slimy fluid & mucous in stool & vomit
productive cough
tenesmus (organ wall swelling)
wet swollen tongue
tenacious saliva
slippery pulses
benign growths (numerous/sizeable)
skin odor
jaundice
Give some examples of the conditions caused by DAMP or DAMP HEAT (11)
Conditions caused by Damp or Damp Heat:
cystitis
urolithiasis
colitis
lipomas
weight gain
seborrhea oleosa
yeast otitis externa
gastritis
conjunctivitis
insulin resistance syndromes
chronic inflammation
What is the most common cause of Damp accumulation?
Improper diet (carbohydrate rich).
What emotion is attributed to the Spleen?
Yi.
Analysis, planning, strategizing.
Where is Zhi (Will) stored?
the kidney
What organ is injured by our modern, sedentary lifestyle?
the spleen
Key statements regarding the Spleen:
It governs the ___________.
It rules the _________ & __________.
It rules _____________ & __________.
It opens into the ________.
It houses the emotion: ____.
The Spleen:
It governs the Blood.
It rules the muscles & flesh.
It rules transformation & transportation.
It opens into the mouth.
It houses the emotion: Yi.
What are the major actions of the Lungs & Large Intestine?
To gather, descend & distribute Qi.
WEI QI
What is the translation?
Where is it produced?
Where is it gathered?
WEI QI = Defensive Qi
Produced by the Spleen.
Gathered by the Lungs.
What spirit is housed by the Lungs?
What is this spirit?
What happens in Excess Lung conditions re: this spirit?
Po, the spirit of reactivity & defensiveness.
In Excess: patients become highly reactive, anxious & excitable.
What contributes to the formation of Blood?
The Spleen makes Essence, which is carried up to the Lungs by ascending Ying Qi which the Spleen also makes.
Once there, the blend of Essence & Ying Qi is augmented by inhaled Tian Qi. It is a combination of all 3 elements that leads to the formation of Blood.
Where is excess of Essence stored?
the kidneys
Where is Wei Qi manufactured?
Where does it circulate?
In the Spleen
Outside blood vessels.
How is Source Qi augmented?
Through the merging of Heart Yang (Shen) with Kidney Yin (Essence), and through the intake of Qi from the environment via ingestion & inhalation.
Name 4 signs of LUNG PATHOLOGY.
Lung Pathology signs:
dyspnea
cough
frequent colds (humans)
neck & back pain
What are 2 signs of LARGE INTESTINE PATHOLOGY?
Large Intestine pathology signs:
constipation (too hot)
diarrhea (too cold)
Name 3 bodily fluids that are manifestations of Essence.
semen
breast milk
Blood
What are the two types of Essence, and where do they come from?
Prenatal Essence - conferred to the organism at conception (all hormones crucial to normal development).
Postnatal Essence - produced by the body through digestion, esp from foods rich in animal protein.
Name some symptoms of KIDNEY ESSENCE DEFICIENCY (5).
hearing loss
cognitive decline
memory loss
osteoporosis
lower limb & back weakness
Which organs represent the Yin and Yang poles of the body.
What does the relationship between these poles confer?
Yin = Kidneys Yang = Heart
Confers the ability to generate life force (Source Qi) by an exchange of Yin & Yang between the organs.
What is the most common clinical example of a breakdown in the relationship between Kidney Yin & Heart Yang?
Chronic renal failure in an aging cat.
What are common examples of diseases that result from TRIPLE BURNER OBSTRUCTION?
hemolytic anemia
congestive heart failure
hypoadrenocorticism
cancer
inflammatory nephropathies
The Kidneys:
- store _________ and _______.
- rule ________, _________, and produce ________.
- grasp _______.
- open into the ________.
The Kidneys:
- store Essence and Will.
- rule Water, bones, and produce marrow.
- grasp Qi.
- open into the ear.
The Lung is said to:
- store the _______.
- rule the _______.
- facilitate the descent of _______.
- generate the ___________.
- open into the __________.
The Lung is said to:
- store the Po.
- rule the Qi.
- facilitate the descent of water.
- generate the body hair.
- open into the nose.