Pulse diagnosis Flashcards
What should the normal pulse consist of?
Full of stomach qi: it gives body to the pulse
Spirit: Soft with strength, reflects a good state of heart-qi and blood
Root: can be felt clearly at a deep level.
What is a superficial/floating pulse?
The pulse is felt distinctly at a superficial depth
Indications: External pathogen.
If Weak-floating, “like a silk thread floating on water”, Yin deficiency with Yang floating upwards.
What is a choppy pulse?
Pulse is uneven and rough, it is not smoothly flowing.
Classically defined as a knife scraping bamboo.
Meaning:
Blood deficiency or Blood stagnation.
What is a deep pulse?
Pulse has most strength at lowest level, located near the bone. Cannot be detected with light or moderate pressure, requires deep pressure to feel clearly.
Location: Internal patterns
What is a fast pulse?
Pulse is greater than 90 beats per minute, or more than 5 beats per practitioner’s breath.
Heat, either excess or deficient.
What is a full pulse?
Large, hard and replete pulse which
can be felt strongly on all three levels (superficial, middle and deep).
Excess condition where both pathogenic and anti pathogenic factors are strong.
What is a hurried pulse?
Very rapid, over 120 beats per minute or 7-8 beats per practitioner’s breath.
Irregularly irregular. Pulse seems to miss a beat with no apparent pattern.
Meaning:
Excess internal Heat causing recklessness of Blood, condition is serious.
What is an intermittent pulse?
Pulse seems to miss a beat with a definite pattern. Regularly irregular, stops at regular intermittent intervals. These intervals may be strikingly long.
Meaning:
Heart organ disharmony or exhaustion of the organs. Can be felt with pain, terror, fear, trauma.
What is a knotted pulse?
Irregularly irregular and slow. Pulse seems to miss a beat with no apparent pattern.
Meaning:
Cold obstructing the flow of Qi and Blood.
What is short pulse?
Pulse doesn’t seem to fill all three positions. Can be felt most clearly at the Guan position, more indistinct at the Cun and the Chi.
Meaning:
Short and forceful indicates Qi Stagnation.
Short and weak indicates Qi xu/Yang xu or congenital problem.
What is a slippery pulse?
Pulse feels like pearls coursing through the pulse, with a definitive rolling quality. The pulse quickly hits each individual finger and just as quickly rolls away.
Meaning:
Dampness of any variety, Phlegm. Considered normal for women during pregnancy or menstruation.
What is a slow pulse?
Pulse is less than 60 beats per minute, or less than 4 beats per practitioner’s breath.
Meaning:
Cold syndromes. Forceful and slow=accumulation of Cold; Forceless and slow=Cold from Yang xu; Slow and floating=external Cold; Slow and deep=interior Cold.
What is a thin pulse?
Exactly what it says. Pulse simply feels thinner than it should. It is like a silken thread, fine, without strength, but not scattered by pressure.
Meaning: Blood or yin deficiency.
What is a tight pulse?
Pulse feels taught like a rope, stretched and twisted. Thicker than wiry, feels as if the pulse evenly hits the fingers in different places with every beat, has strength.
Meaning: Cold, usually causing stagnation.
What is a weak pulse?
Strength of the pulse is minimal, and with more pressure cannot be felt at all.
Meaning: Qi deficiency.
