Pulse Indications Flashcards
Floating (4)
- Exterior Pattern
- Yin Def if floating and Empty
- Interior Wind (if no exterior symptoms)
- Exterior Def or general weakness from prolonged Illness
Floating is clearly felt with light pressure, somewhat weak with heavy pressure
Deep (3)
- Interior Pattern
- Qi/Blood Stasis (if Full)
- And Yang Def (if weak)
Deep is not clear with light pressure, but clear with heavy pressure felt near the bone
Slow(4)
- Cold Pattern
- Def/Cold, if weak
- Excess-Cold, if full
- Cold retarding movement, Qi insufficiency
Slow is less than 4 beats per respiration cycle of the practitioner
Rapid (3)
- Heat Pattern
- Full Heat (if strong), Def Heat (if weak)
- Heat is accelerating the movement of blood
Rapid is more than 5 beats per respiration cycle of the practitioner
Empty
- Qi/Blood Def
- Organ Def
Empty is Big, but without strength
Full (2)
- Full Pattern
- Excess Heat if Rapid/Excess Cold if Slow
Fulls is Big and Strong and Pounding against the fingers at all three depths
Surging (2)
- Excess Heat has injured the Fluid/Yin
- Qi exhaustion following a long period of illness (if Empty)
Surging arrives like waves, hitting the fingers with strength at all three depths and overflowing, but it leaves the fingers with less strength, like a receding wave
Thin (3)
Blood/Yin Def
Dampness with Qi def
Blood Def unable to fill the pulse properly, Qi Def
Thin is a fine thread but is very distinct and clear
Slippery (3)
- Accumulation of Phlegm, Damp or Food
- Excess Heat
- Normal during pregnancy
Slippery is Extremely fluid, feels like a ball bearing covered with viscous fluid.
Choppy (3)
- Blood/Qi Stasis if full
- Blood/Essence def if Thin
- Congealed Blood
Choppy is the opposite of slippery, uneven and rough and sometimes irregular in rhythm.
Wiry (3)
- LB/GB disharmony (Excess or Def)
- Pain (stagnation in the body)
- Phlegm or Phlegm-Fluid
Wiry is taut feeling like a guitar or violin string
Tight (4)
- Cold Pattern (usually excess)
- Exterior Cold if Floating, Interior Full Cold if Deep, Interior Empty Cold (if weak-deep)
- Pain
- Food Retention
Tight is strong and seems to bounce from side to side like a taut rope. It is fuller and more elastic than wiry pulse.
Soggy (2)
- Damp from excess or def
- Blood or Jing deficiency
Soggy =Thin, Empty and Floating. Less clear than Thin Pulse. Pressure makes it disappear
Weak (2)
Qi/Yang Def (because of its low amplitude) Blood Def (because its thin)
Felt at the deep level only. No force.
Hasty (5)
Excessive HT Yang, HT Fire (Severe Heat) Congested Qi in the UJ Accumulation of Phlegm or Food Ht Qi Def, if Weak Qi/Blood Stagnation
Rapid Pulse that skips beats irregularly
Knotted (6)
-Cold Obstructing Qi/Blood
-Qi/Blood/Jing Def
-HT not ruling the blood properly
(more interruptions more severe)
-Blood Stasis
-Excess of Yin
-Accumulation of Qi
Knotted is slow, irregular pulse that skips beats irregularly
Intermittent (5)
- Serious debilitation of all internal organs
- Wind pattern, pain pattern
- HT problem, palpitation
- Declining Zang Qi or Yang Qi
- Extreme Fear or Fright
Intermittent usually skips more beats than Hasty and knotted, but does so in a regular pattern.
Long (1)
Excess Heat pattern (surplus of Yang Qi)
Long is the pulse is perceptible beyond the first and third pulse positions
Short (3)
Severe Qi Def
Qi Stagnation if forceful
ST Qi Def
Short does not fill the spaces under the three fingers and is usually felt in only one position
Minute (1)
Extreme Def of Qi/Blood
Minute is extremely fine and soft, lacks clarity of thin pulse. Barely perceptible and seem about to disappear
Moderate (2)
Generally a healthy pulse
Damp with SP Def, if Slippery
Normal in Depth, 4 beats per respiratory cycle
Hollow (2)
Great Blood loss, blood def
Forthcoming hemmorage, if Rapid
Hollow feels like the stem of a green onion.
Leather (2)
Severe Def of KD Essence of KD Yin
Blood Def
Leather feels hard and tight at the superficial level and stretched like a drum, but it feels empty at the deep level.
Also Wiry, Floating and Empty. Like the tight skin of a drum
Confined (2)
Interior Cold accumulation, if slow
Blood stasis, pain
Felt only a the deep level and it feels hard and rather wiry.
Scattered (3)
Serious Disharmony, KD Yang exhausted and floating away
Severe Def of Wi/Blood or KD Qi
Imminent expiry of Zang-Fu Qi
Small and superficial. Pulse feels like it is broken into small dots.
Hidden (3)
Cold obstructing the meridian, if Full
Severe Yang def, if weak
Severe Yang Def
Hidden is and extreme form of sinking pulse, intense pressure must be applied to feel it.
Moving (2)
Ht Palpitation, fright, anxiety
Pain
Moving like a round shape of a bean, it trembles under finger. Can also feel somewhat slippery
Big (2)
Heat in the ST/Intestines
Entrance of disease (with force)
Outward floating of Yang (without force)
Big is Broad in diameter and very distinct, suggests Excess
Hurried
Fire exhausting Yin
Hurried feels very rapid but it also feels very agitated and upset.
