Tongue Inspection of LIngual Coating

Question 1

In inspecting the tongue, what are the 8 contents of lingual coating?

Answer 1

1. color [of lingual coating]
2. thickness “
3. humidity
4. quality
5. distribution
6. peeling
7. rooted or superficial
8. growing or declining

Question 2

what are the 4 types of color of coating?

Answer 2

1. white
2. yellow
3. grey
4. black

Question 3

white thin coating indicates?

Answer 3

exterior or cold syndrome

• acute
• no tongue damage
• thin coating indicates good ST Qi (whereas thick coating indicates pathogen)

Question 4

white thin and slippery coating indicates?

Answer 4

external pathogen invasion caused by wind-cold

-slippery indicates watery (cold & water)

Question 5

white, slippery, and sticky coating indicates?

Answer 5

existence of internal wetness-phlegm

• damp has no shape (but is bit more solid than qi)
• phlegm - has shape, size, and can get stuck

Question 6

white, tender, and slippery coating that can be scraped complete indicates?

Answer 6

interior deficiency cold syndrome

-rootless coat indicates ST qo exhaustion

Question 7

white coating on a crimson tongue indicates?

Answer 7

containment of dampness by hidden heat

-excessive heat, coating is not yellow bc coat is new

Question 8

white coating like a layer of accumulated white powder indicates?

Answer 8

serious filthy turbidity in epidemic febrile disease

Question 9

white, thick, dry and cracked coating with sharply contoured granules like sand indicates?

Answer 9

sudden and violent onset of internal Heat, accompanied with extreme exhaustion of body fluids

Question 10

yellow thin coating indicates?

Answer 10

interior or heat syndrome

*the deeper the yellow the higher the heat

Question 11

light yellow coating is still moist indicates?

Answer 11

external pathogen begins to invade the interior

• heat didn’t damage the fluids yet
• alos yellow but wet can indicate damp-heat

Question 12

yellow thick, dry, coating indicates?

Answer 12

exuberance of internal heat and body fluids has been consumed

*with red body of tongue indicates severe KD yin deficiency

Question 13

scorching yellow, dry, and cracked coating indicates?

Answer 13

the extreme exuberance of internal heat and body fluids have been depleted

*with cracks - fluid damage

Question 14

yellow, slippery, and greasy coating indicates?

Answer 14

• accumulation of damp-heat in SP-ST

- internal heat complicated by phlegm-turbidity

Question 15

grey color, or light black indicates?

Answer 15

interior syndrome

Question 16

grey and dry coating indicates?

Answer 16

exuberance of heat and the depletion of body fluids

Question 17

grey and moist coating indicates?

Answer 17

internal obstruction due to cold-dampness

Question 18

black coating indicates?

Answer 18

-may signify extreme internal heat or extreme internal, and it often appears in critical stage

Question 19

black, dry, crack, or prickled coating indicates?

Answer 19

extreme heat and genuine yin is about to be dried up

Question 20

what can you discern from the thickness of lingual coating?

Answer 20

we may assess the invading depth of pathogenic evils and the developing trend of clinical course

Question 21

thin coating indicates?

Answer 21

• mild disorders, righteous Qi has not been damaged
• exterior syndrome
• or the condition is not serious

Question 22

thick coating indicates?

Answer 22

• serious disorder
• exuberance of pathogenic evils
• interior syndrome
• or the accumulation of phlegm, dampness, turbidity
• retention of body fluids or food

Question 23

when the coat changes from thin to thick, it indicates?

Answer 23

advance of disease

Question 24

changes from thick to thin coating indicates?

Answer 24

a retreat of disease

Question 25

what does the humidity of coating indicate?

Answer 25

moistness and dryness of lingual coating reflect the wax and wane of body fluids

Question 26

Under humidity, moist coating indicates?

Answer 26

body fluids have not been damaged

Question 27

Under humidity, slippery coating indicates?

Answer 27

dampness, cold, or upward outflow of phlegm-fluid resulting from the decline of Yang or Vital Energy

Question 28

Under humidity, dry coating indicates?

Answer 28

• exuberance of heat
• exhaustion of yin or fluids
• failure of upward transportation of fluid due to yang qi deficiency

Question 29

what does changes of coating from moist to dry, or vice versa indicate?

Answer 29

change of pathologic state correspondingly

Question 30

In examining the quality, what does corroded coating that is thick, loose, like bean dregs, that are easy to wipe away, indicate?

Answer 30

• retention of food

- or accumulation of phlegm or turbidity (pathogen is so solid and congealed inside, difficult to expel)

Question 31

greasy coating is slimy, like an oily layer, unable to be wiped away or scraped off, this indicates?

Answer 31

• dampness-turbidity, phlegm

- food retention

Question 32

what are the two types of distribution of coating?

Answer 32

1. complete coating, which covers entire lingual surface

2. partial coating, which may cover anterior, posterior, medial, or lateral of lingual surface

Question 33

what causes peeling off of lingual coating?

Answer 33

this is invariably caused by depletion of both ST Qi and ST Yin

Question 34

if a piece of thick coating peels off, exposing a reddened dry lingual surface, this is an?

Answer 34

ominous omen

Question 35

if the peeling off occurs at multiple sits with clear-cut margins, exposing the lingual surface, this is called?

Answer 35

geographic tongue

Question 36

if coating peels off entirely, it is called?

Answer 36

mirror-like tongue

Question 37

what are the characteristics of the sublingual vessel collaterals?

Answer 37

• tortuosity or varicosity (usu. indicating blood stasis)
• distending or engorged collaterals
• thin or slender collaterals (usu. blood deficiency)