Pulses

Question 1

*Floating

Answer 1

usually an excess condition- like an external invasion, but if the blood or jinye cannot root the pulse it floats to the surface

A floating and soft pulse is called EMPTY.

Question 2

*Sinking/Deep

Answer 2

Need to push all the way to the deep level to feel. Internal.

A very deep pulse is called HIDDEN.
A thin and soft deep pulse is called WEAK.
A wiry, big and strong pulse is called FIRM.

Question 3

*Slow

Answer 3

Beats 3 beats per respiration. Indicates cold

Question 4

*Rapid

Answer 4

Beats 6 beats per respiration. Indicates heat

Question 5

*Slippery

Answer 5

Like a greasy round ball which slides under the fingers. Indicates dampness, phlegm, food stagnation, or pregnancy.

Question 6

*Choppy

Answer 6

Life a knife being scraped over bamboo. Indicates blood stagnation, which can come from blood xu or perverse cold

Has a root which differentiates it from SCATTERED.
Can be felt at superficial and deep levels, which differentiates it from MINUTE.

Question 7

*Empty

Answer 7

Floating and soft. Feels full and big, but gives away easily with pressure, feeling soft and weak. Shows up when the zheng qi is damaged- shen disturbance with blood xu- fright, palpitations, perspiration. Could be summer heat damaging the yuan qi, yin xu creating heat damaging yuan qi, or overall blood or yang xu.

HOLLOW pulse will feel floating and big, and more like an onion with empty in the center

Question 8

*Full

Answer 8

Can be felt both superficially and deep with big strong beats. Indicates excess condition and accumulation.

Question 9

*Long

Answer 9

Extends beyond the three positions. Indicates strong health

Question 10

*Short

Answer 10

A deficient pulse, unable to fill all three positions. Kd yang xu, qi and blood xu

Question 11

*Flooding

Answer 11

Rough and big with beats that rise strongly and fade as the recede (like a wave at the beach) due to heat causing the yang to rise. Likely an underlying yin or blood deficiency or damage to jinye (body fluids).

Question 12

Minute

Answer 12

At times you can’t feel it. Caused more by a failure of the yang qi. Both qi and blood deficient due to yang being deficient.

Weaker than THIN

Question 13

*Tight

Answer 13

Rises and falls with strength and vibrates to the left and right. Indicates cold can indicate qi stagnation

Not as strong as FULL, and WIRY has no vibration (and is more wiry)

Question 14

*Leisurely

Answer 14

Exactly 4 beats/respiration, normal in every respect. Like a thread on a loom which has been tightened, and relaxed like a willow branch. Indicates health and abundance of shen

Question 15

*Hollow

Answer 15

Feels floating, big and soft under slight pressure but without substance in the center. Usually appears after bleeding

LEATHER feels more strong and wiry but empty inside

Question 16

Leather

Answer 16

WIRY, almost RAPID and without substance in the center. Blood xu with cold.

Question 17

Wiry

Answer 17

Taut, long and strong whether under pressure or not. No vibration from left to right. Caused by excess liver qi, qi stagnation anywhere in the body and pain

Question 18

*Firm

Answer 18

Deep, almost hidden. Strong, long and wiry. For a deep pulse this is opposite of LEATHER in that it is an excess condition– cold in the interior causing excess accumulation

Question 19

*Soft

Answer 19

Floating, very thin, without strength. Superficial and weak. Damage to the blood or deficiency of the yin qi, damage to marrow

Similar to WEAK, but can only be felt at the superficial position

Question 20

*Weak

Answer 20

Soft and thin at the deep level. Cannot be felt at the superficial level. All types of deficiency with yang qi unable to lift the qi.

Question 21

Scattered

Answer 21

Superficial, indistinct, big and without strength when slight pressure is applied and then disappears when increased pressure applied. Deficiency of the yuan qi or severe Sp and Kd yang deficiency

Different than SOFT, floating, thin and soft. Different than EMPTY, floating and big. Different than HOLLOW, floating and without substance in center

Question 22

Thin

Answer 22

Feels like a fine thread and is soft and weak. Qi and Blood Xu

Question 23

Hidden

Answer 23

Cannot be felt until deep pressure, and even then beats seem to come from beneath tendons. Indicates cold blocking the meridians, channels or zangfu. Can be food stagnation

Deeper than SINKING/DEEP.

Question 24

*Moving

Answer 24

Short, rapid, tight, and slippery with strong beats. Due to pain caused by cold overcoming the yang qi. Or fright or palps by qi confusion. Yin and Yang fighting with each other.

Question 25

Hasty

Answer 25

RAPID but loses a beat at irregular intervals (like a person who stumbles). Comes from fire accumulation due to one of the five accumulations

Different than KNOTTED which is leisurely, and different than INTERMITTENT in that it stops at regular intervals for a little longer than one beat

Question 26

Knotted

Answer 26

LEISURELY, but loses a beat at irregular intervals. Caused by stagnation and accumulation of qi and blood

Question 27

Intermittent

Answer 27

One pulse beat is missed at regular intervals and is then recovered. Felt when there is failure and weakness of the yuan qi