TCM I: Blood

Question 1

The Chinese concept of blood

Answer 1

The Chinese concept of blood is different from, and more complex, then the Western one
* Blood is another expression of Qi, but in a denser form, which nourishes, lubricates and regulates body temperature
* Blood is Yin in nature and is only animated by the presence of Qi which is Yang
* “Qi is the commander of blood, blood is the mother of Qi”

Question 2

Organs and blood

Answer 2

The organs involved in the production of blood are:
* The digestive system (Stomach and spleen in TCM)
* The lungs
* The heart
* The kidneys

Question 3

The digestive system (Stomach & spleen in TCM)

Answer 3

The digestive system (whose organs are name stomach and spleen in TCM), processes food and extracts its Qi (called food Qi) which goes to the lungs

Question 4

The lungs

Answer 4

The lungs push the food Qi to the heart

Question 5

The heart

Answer 5

The heart, where the blood is ‘stamped red’ before being circulated.
In Chinese medicine, the heart is seen as the seat of the Shen (loosely translated as ‘sense of self’), which impregnates the blood with every heartbeat. That is, blood is a living thing, rather than merely a nutrient-rich fluid

Question 6

The kidneys

Answer 6

The Qi of the kidneys acts as a catalyst for all transformations of Qi. This resonates with Western medicine, as soon as we include the adrenals into the concept of kidneys

Question 7

Organs and blood:
Qi vs Western medicine

Answer 7

The Qi concept of the digestive and system and the lungs mirrors the thinking in Western medicine, whereby the nutrients extracted from food travel to the lungs (via the portal vein, liver, hepatic vein and the right side of the heart, before they returned to the left side of the heart, ready to circulation)