Inspection of the Tongue Body Flashcards
1
Q
How does the Kidney Meridian reach the tongue?
A
it reaches root of the tongue throught he regular and Jing Bie
2
Q
How does the Heart Meridian reach the tongue?
A
Luo connects to the root of the tongue
it’s influence is seen on the tip of the tongue
3
Q
What are the 8 things we assess when looking at the tongue?
A
- Body color/vitality
- Shape
- Sheen moisture
- Body movement
- Coat color
- Coat thickness
- Coat texture
- Coat distribution
4
Q
What do we see from the body color of the tongue
A
See Quality of blood - yang Qi, yin, blood fluids
5
Q
A thin tongue indicates
A
yin def
6
Q
an enlarged tongue indicates
A
dampness or XS condition
7
Q
Scallop tooth sides
A
SP Qi def + dampness
8
Q
Purple body
A
Blood stagnation
9
Q
Pale body
A
cold/blood def
10
Q
Body Dusky
twinge of purple or dots
A
LIV Qi stagnation
11
Q
Pale swollen
A
Qi of Body def. for a long while
12
Q
Red tongue w/ sm contracted body
A
Ki yin def. or severe loss of fluids
13
Q
Red tongue w/ normal tongue body
A
KI yin def. or heat getting into the blood
14
Q
Cracks depressions
A
energetic disharmonies in specific organs
Either constitutional or yin def. KI & HE yin def.
15
Q
coat shows
A
Interior or exterior
16
Q
Slippery yellow coat
A
damp heat
17
Q
Dry yellow coat
A
heat predominant
18
Q
In an acuteness disorder _________ takes precedence over shape of body. Especially what?
A
coating
thickness, location and texture
19
Q
What are the characteristics of a normal tongue?
A
fresh body, well supplied with blood, fresh pink/ pale red; ease of movement, protrude w/o difficulty, little moisture - adequate fluids; thin white coat.
20
Q
What does a normal pale red tongue indicated about the Yang and Qi of the body
A
that they are strong enough to transport the blood to the tongue
21
Q
What is the cause of a pale white tongue?
A
Due to qi and blood not thriving to the tongue Qi not transporting - cold or blood def.
22
Q
Cause of a pale white tongue with a normal body shape
A
slight def SP or LU Qi
23
Q
cause of a pale white small tongue
can be slightly dry
A
lacking def. Qi and Blood
24
Q
cause of a pale white swollen tongue
often wet
A
common: yang Qi weak - not transforming fluids properly
25
cause of a pale white tongue
deficiency and often cold
26
Cause of a pale & swollen tongue
SP yang def or SP Qi def
27
Blood def tongue
pale and dry, less fur, size normal or shrunken
28
Qi def tongue
tongue becomes white tender w/ fur, & tongue body slight enlarged
29
Pale white, body enlarged and tender, damp and moist with much fluid & teeth impressions
Yang def = internal collection of cold damp
30
Causes of pale tongue
Malnutrition; Severe or chronic anemia from blood loss; Enduring disease where the body is vacuous; Pale white governs vacuity and cold
31
How would the lack of blood and body fluids affect the tongue
decline volume of tongue body -> thinning, shrinking or contracting.
32
Pale and slightly dry
blood def
33
Pale sides
LIV Blood Def
34
orange hue
severe blood def
35
Pale and slightly wet
Yang def
36
Pale swollen with teeth marks
SP Qi and Yang def
37
Pale swollen and moist
damp cold
38
Pale depression at root
Qi def and essence def
39
Pale thin tougue
essence def
40
Pale narrow sides
blood def
41
Pale swollen anterior third
SP & LU Qi Def.
42
Tongue red, prickles, fur is thick
extreme heat
43
Tongue red, tongue heart dry
heat scorching stomach fluids
44
Sides tongue red
Heat in LIV & GB
45
Tip red
warm disease in upper burner, febrile acute - cold in the lungs, or HE heat
46
Red tip + prickles
upflaming heart fire
47
Red tongue w/ purple macule dots
disease about to develop macules on skin
48
tongue appears red and dry
| why?
Heat can dry up fluids
49
Crimson tongue
| What are the primary disease patterns
XS heat and stasis
50
Cause of a purple tongue
disease due to repletion heat and heat evil entering construction blood, heat pathogen entering the blood level
51
crimson and prickles
Heat enters construction blood
52
Crimson and dry center
ST fire heat scorching liquids
53
Crimson and dry with cracks
heat pathogen burning up the yin
54
Crimson and black fur
extreme exuberance of repletion heat / exuberant excess heat
55
Crimson and sticky mucus on surface
mid burner harboring turbidity, almost looks like it has been planted on tongue - something is stuck in the middle burner
56
absent coating
deficiency heat
57
mirror tongue
Crimson lacking fur, glossy & lacking liquid
| Internal heat damaging Yin and yin liquid depletion consumption
58
Crimson dry withered and listless
desiccating & exhaustion of kidney yin
59
what does stasis look like?
Crimson tongue dark stasis dots
| b/c blood stasis creates heat
60
Crimson tongue is indicates what
warm diseases, a high fever
61
Green blue purple
yin cold or blood stasis -> Qi Stagnation
62
Purple red
heat XS w/ Qi and blood obstruction stagnation and blood stasis
63
Purple & dark, damp & moist
phlegm damp or blood stasis
64
Deep purple entire tongue
blood & viscera and bowels - deep
65
Partial blue green and purple
light blood stasis, or only in certain organs.
66
Tongue fur - green-blue & glossy
yin cold
67
If stasis due to heat, what will the tongue look like
tongue deep purple & red/ dry and burnt
68
If stasis due to cold what will the tongue look like?
pale purple / green blue, spoil by dust/glossy
69
Rough and coarse, hard and tough governs
XS. & Heat patterns
70
Body fine, sickly, slightly swollen and tender, possible teeth impressions
deficiency and cold patterns
71
What does the enlarged or shrunken tongue idicate
the fluid physiology of the body
72
Pale white color, enlarged, tender and moist, white glossy fur
SP & KI yang def. & water damp collection
73
Tongue pale red/red-Crimson & enlarged, thick fur yellow & slimy
SP & ST damp heat w. Phlegm collecting and stagnation
74
What does the coat of the tongue reflect
ST & SP
75
Tongue red, swollen, Descends and fills the mouth
XS heat
76
Tongue red, swollen, Descends and fills the mouth with yellow fur
XS heat toxin / Heat HE & SP
77
Tongue large & tender, dark purple
toxin stroke pattern
78
Tongue dark purple, swollen and descends
counterflow surging alcohol toxin
79
A shrunken tongue governs ____________
deficiency
| Generally due to yin and blood def.
80
Tongue shrunken pale red, tender
dual def. HE & SP & insufficiency Qi and blood
81
Shrunken, dry, Crimson
yin def. XS heat XS/ blood def and heat
82
Pricles
Heat XS
83
If blue green or purple prickles not protruding from surface
stasis
84
large and profuse prickles
Evil Qi XS
85
Prickles pure red or fresh red
GB fire & heat scorching construction asp.
86
If prickles more intense what is happening to the heat
turning into fire
87
Prickles at tongue tip
HE fire
88
Prickles at centre
Stomach fire
89
Fissures generally indicate
yin def
90
Red & Crimson, little fur, dry and fissured
Heat XS damaging yin, seen in dehydrated patients
91
Pale red, tender w fissures
def KI yin or blood def and yin depletion
92
superficial cracks
ST SP Qi Def
93
deep cracks
Blood and yin def
94
Tender with fissures
insufficient KI yin def or blood def. & yin def.
95
Elderly , jagged fissures
yin def.
96
Red slimy fur and thick, fissures
Heat XS in viscera and bowels
97
Crimson glossy and fissures
great damage to yin humor
98
tooth impressions govern
deficiency Qi and SP
99
Pale red, tongue enlarged, tender and tooth impressions
SP def. and water not being transported
100
Pale white, fur white, damp and moist, tooth impressions
cold damp in SP
101
tongue sores protrude on sides and tip
heat toxin in HE channel
102
tongue sores doe not protrudes
lower burner yin def. & upflaming def. heat
103
dark purple sublingual veins w dark spots
upper burner severe blood stasis
104
Rough large and tortuous plus stasis macules or stasis dots on tongue
blood stasis
105
inspecting the bearing of the tongue:
| Limp was stiffness, trembling, deviation, contraction and protrusion and worrying
Usually due to yin and blood def - inability to nourish the tongue body or wind or heat - often critical
106
Limp or weak tongue
```
def heat
Floppy soft w/o strength, doesn't come out with flexibility, doesn't turn or move naturally.
```
107
Limp, pale white
def. Qi and blood & lack of nourishment to sinew vessels
108
Limp, Crimson w/o fur
def. of LIV & KI yin -> dryness
109
Limp, dry, red
heat scorching Yin
110
Limp contracted, fulcrum swollen, lips turned over
SP channel Qi expiry
111
stiff tongue
Severe lack ST Qi - due arisal of wind, heat or phlegm turbidity
112
Stiff dry, red or Crimson
XS heat enters PC and XS heat damages liquids
113
Pale red, stiff and deviated
LIV wind or wind stroke pattern - seen often w. Deviated mouth and eyes - hemo lateral paralysis
114
Grey , enlarged and stiff
obstructing stagnation of phlegm tubidity
115
Red or Crimson, Tremble like a gentle wind
due to XS heat create wind
116
Pale white, trembles slightly
Qi vacuity or blood vacuity w. wind
117
Red trembling, difficulty speaking
HE or SP def, or if sweating yang collapse - check in b/c sleep indicates HE, check LIV looking for wind.
118
deviation of tongue
wind stroke
Wind evil striking channels and network vessels causing obstructing stagnation of wind phlegm in networks, can be accompanied by wind stroke pulse
119
unable to extend tongue from mouth
critical unless congenital
120
Contracted, red, dry
extreme heat damaging yin causing vessels and networks lack nourishment
121
Contracted, pale white, damp and moist
sudden desertion of yang Qi w/ cold congealing in channel vessels
122
Tongue enlarged, sticky, slimy and short
phlegm construction tongue root = wind stroke patterns
123
Red and protruding or worrying tongue
HE and SP heat
124
Purple/Crimson, protruded/worrying
epidemic toxin attacking HE
125
Worrying in children
fright wind or critical sign of enduring disease, slow development
126
tongue doubling
Due to upward surging of fire heat through HE channel due to external evil
127
Palsy of the tongue
| numb, does not turn of move flexibly
Internal stirring of LIV wind due to blood vacuity/ internal wind combined phlegm patterns
128
Protracted deep red, drooling, mouth and eyes deviated
wind phlegm or phlegm fire harassing HE
129
protracted & numb tongue
Qi and blood def
