Yin/Yang, 5 Element Theory Flashcards
4 Basic Characteristics of Chinese Medicine
- Holism
- Perpetualism
- Differentiation of Patterns and Determination of Treatment
- Theory, Methods, Formula, Herbs
HOLISM 1
- The Human Being as an Organic Whole
A. All parts of a human are related and interconnected
- all anatomy and physiology
- mind and body
B. Five Zang Organs form the center of the whole - through the jing-luo (channels and collaterals) they are connected to all the other parts of the body
HOLISM 2
- Humans and the natural world/environment are interconnected and related
- comprised of same material
- humans live within and are dependent upon the natural world [herbs given in summer can differ from herbs given in winter]
- directly and indirectly affects the physiology of humans
“Humans are connected to Heaven and Earth, and the sun and moon affect them”
PERPETUALISM
All things in the Universe, including human life, health and disease, are in a constant state of movement, transformation, and development. [as a clinician, seeing tendencies]
DIFFERENTIATION OF PATTERN and DETERMINATION OF TREATMENT: Bian Zheng Lun Zhi (meaning)
bian: differentiate
zheng: pattern
lun: determine
zhi: treatment
“Zheng”
(DIFFERENTIATION OF PATTERN and DETERMINATION OF TREATMENT)
Zheng: pattern [“syndrome” e.g. spleen deficiency]
- a manifestation of human sickness indicating the nature, location, and/or cause of sickness
- primary type of diagnosis in CM
- main thing which guides treatment in CM
- unique to CM
- holistic
- highly individualized
Two-Step Process
(DIFFERENTIATION OF PATTERN and DETERMINATION OF TREATMENT)
1st: Differentiate the pattern (bin zheng)
- collect info about the patient
- use CM theory to analyze this info and differentiate the pattern (cause, nature, and location of the disease)
2nd: Determine treatment (lun zhi)
- based on pattern, determine treatment methods
Diagram of:
DIFFERENTIATION OF PATTERN and DETERMINATION OF TREATMENT
- Bian Zheng
- Lun Zhi
- Apply Treatment
- Observe results and assess accuracy of diagnosis and treatment.
Use this info to guide further pattern differentiation.
Back to 1.
Disease vs. Pattern
(DIFFERENTIATION OF PATTERN and DETERMINATION OF TREATMENT)
Disease vs. Pattern (bing vs. zheng)
- Disease: - a specific kind of morbid condition - Ex: HTN, CAD, bronchial asthma, melanoma, etc.
- CM also labels and bases treatment on diseases, but emphasis is generally placed on differentiation and treatment of “pattern”
“Same disease different treatment, different disease same treatment” – [same disease different pattern, different disease same pattern]
THEORY, METHOD, FORMULA, HERBS
Fundamental Methodology of Chinese Medicine
A- Theory (li) - intake, analysis, diagnosis [differentiate the pattern]
B- Method (treatment methods) - determine treatment methods based on (li) theory
C- Formula - choose appropriate formula according to the methods [e.g. herb formula, no cold drinks, acu points]
D- Herbs - select herbs and dosages to fit patient’s condition (specifics of whatever treatment is to be used) [modification of the formula; formula specifics]
YIN YANG
Philosophical construct used to:
- describe phenomenon
- categorize phenomenon
- analyze phenomenon
- understand phenomenon
Properties not “entities”
All phenomenon have Yin Yang characteristics
Yin Yang as Taiji
Two opposite yet complimentary and interdependent “properties” – [everything in the Universe]
4 Aspects of Yin-Yang Relationship
- Opposition of Yin and Yang
- Interdependence of Yin and Yang
- Mutual Consumption of Yin and Yang
- Inter-transformation of Yin and Yang
OPPOSITION of Yin and Yang
*Everything in nature has two opposite aspects
- yin and yang
*Struggle with, control, and restrict each other [if there’s no yin to restrain yang, yang goes out of control, vice versa]
*Yin and Yang oppose and control each other to MAINTAIN BALANCE - in nature - in the human body
INTERDEPENDENCE of Yin and Yang
Neither can exist in isolation
- dependent on each other e.g. up, down; hot, cold; night, day; etc
- human body: front, back; substance [yin], function [yang]
MUTUAL CONSUMPTION of Yin and Yang
State of Constant, mutual consumption, maintaining a state of dynamic balance by continuous adjustment of their relative levels
- functional activities (yang) consume substance (yin)
- generating substance (yin) consumes energy (yang) [e.g. to make the blood consumes energy]
[“they eat each other up” e.g. candle yin is being consumed by yang]
INTER-TRANSFORMATION of Yin and Yang
Yin and Yang change into each other
- yang transforms to yin
- yin transforms to yang
- night to day; summer to winter; etc
*Occurs when conditions are right: “extreme yin will necessarily produce yang, and extreme yang will necessarily produce yin.. Severe cold will give birth to heat, and severe heat will give birth to cold”
Clinical examples: yin excess transforms to yang; yang excess transforms to yin
Yin Yang: Pathology
Health and Disease
Health: balance of yin and yang
Disease: imbalance of yin and yang
Yin Yang: Pathology-Deficiency and Excess
Deficiency of body’s normal, good stuff (zheng-qi) [not enough of something, absence of zheng-qi]
- yin deficiency
- yang deficiency
Excess of pathogen (xie-qi)
- yin excess
- yang excess
Anti-pathogenic Qi - (zheng qi): “upright qi”, “normal qi”
Pathogenic Qi - (xie-qi) – [harmful; “stuff that shouldn’t be there”]
Yin Yang: Pathology
(4 states of imbalance) *be able to draw graphs
Yin Deficiency [deficiency heat, empty heat–deficiency of YIN, not enough water]
Yang Deficiency [deficient cold, empty cold, not enough fire]
Yin Excess [full cold, excess cold]
Yang Excess [full heat, excess heat]
Yin Yang: Treatment
Deficiency - Tonify/supplement that which is deficient
- yin deficiency -tonify/supplement the yin
- yang deficiency - tonify/supplement the yang
Excess - Reduce that which is in excess [remove]
- yin excess - reduce yin excess
- yang excess - reduce yang excess
FIVE ELEMENTS (Wu Xing)
Wu: five
Xing: movements
changes/transformations, “elements”
WOOD
FIRE
EARTH
METAL
WATER
WOOD
Basic Nature and Characteristics
Wood: Mu
- bending, straightening: flexible
- FREELY expanding, ascending, and reaching
- birth and early growth
FIRE
Basic Nature and Characteristics
Fire: huo
- heat, warming
- flaring upwards, ascending
- growth (rapid growth)
EARTH
Basic Nature and Characteristics
Earth: tu
- stability, the center
- sow and reap
- “mother of the ten thousand things”
- transformation
METAL Basic Nature and Characteristics
Metal: jin
- sinking and descending
- purification, elimination
- contraction
- harvest
WATER
Basic Nature and Characteristics
Water: shui
- moistening
- downward/descending movement
- cold, cooling
- storage
Five Elements
Normal Relationships
Normal, healthy, physiological relationships
- Generating (shen) [to generate or give birth to]
- aka promoting, interpromoting
- Controlling (Ke)
- aka interacting
*When these relationships are in balance there is harmony/health (each is generated/restrained appropriately)
Generating “Shen”
Each element generates/promotes the next in the order of the generating shen
- wood generates fire - fire generates earth - earth generates metal - metal generates water - water generates wood
- Mother-Son relationship - Mother generates/nourishes Son
Controlling “Ke”
Each element controls the next in the order of the Controlling Cycle
- wood controls earth - earth controls water - water controls fire - fire controls metal - metal controls wood
5 Elements Pathological Relationships
Overacting (over-controlling)
Insulting (counteracting)
Mother’s disease affecting the Son
Son’s disease affecting the Mother
Overacting “Cheng”
“over-controlling”
- an element OVER-controls the element that it normally controls
Two possible reasons:
- Overacting element is excessive (attacks next element in Control Cycle)
- Overacted-upon element deficient (invites previous element in Control Cycle to overact)
Insulting “Wu”
An element insults (counteracts) the element that normally controls it in the Controlling Cycle
Two possible reasons
- Insulting element excessive (insults previous element in Control Cycle)
- Insulted element deficient (invites next element in Control Cycle to insult)
Mother’s Disease Affecting Child
An element (Mother) transmits its disease to the following element (Child) along the Generating Cycle
- Deficient Mother fails to nourish Child
- Child becomes deficient (“Mother not nourishing the Child”) - Excess mother transfers excess to Child
- Child becomes excess (“Mother’s disease affecting the Child”)
Child’s Disease Affecting Mother
An element (Child) transmits its disease to the precious element (Mother) in the generating cycle
Typically: Child is deficient and draws excessively from the Mother - Mother becomes deficient
*[excess can also transfer back to Mother, affect Mother]
Five Elements in Chinese Medicine
Purpose
- Help explain functions of the relationships between the organs
- Help explain pathological changes to the organs and how those changes may affect other organs
- Used in diagnosis of disease
- Used in treatment of disease
Five Elements: Functions of Organs
Each organ is assigned to an Element and its function is related to the nature of that Element:
- Ex: fire has warming and ascending nature. Heart yang has warming function. Therefore, Heart belongs to Fire.
- Each organ is related to the items that are associated with its Element
- “East begets wind, wind begets wood, wood begets sour, sour begets liver, liver begets sinews… liver commands the eyes.”
Five Elements: Relation Between Organs (Normal)
Organs share the normal relationships that are common to the Five Elements
- Generating (Wood generates Fire, therefore Liver generates/nourishes Heart)
- Controlling (Wood controls Earth, therefore, Liver controls the Spleen)
Five Elements: Pathological Relationships between Organs
Organs share the abnormal, pathological relationships of the Elements
- Mother disease affecting the son (Wood disease affecting Fire, Liver failing to generate/nourish Heart)
- Son disease affecting Mother (Earth disease affecting Fire, Spleen affecting Heart)
- Over-controlling (Wood over controls Earth, Liver over controls Spleen and Stomach)
- Insulting (Wood insults Metal, Liver insults Lung)
Five Elements: Diagnosis
Body as an organic whole. Interior reflects on the exterior
- “that which exists in the interior [of the body] must manifest on the exterior [of the body]”
Color, emotion, sound, flavor, etc are all associated with the elements and can be used diagnostically - ex: blue-green, anger, shouting, sour: Wood/Liver
Five Elements: Treatment 1,2,3: 1
- Guide herbal treatment
- five flavors and five colors
- ex: yellow and sweet enter Spleen
Five Elements: Treatment 1,2,3: 2
- Control disease development and progression
- understand development and progression of disease according to Five Element theory/relationships and use this understanding to prevent disease and control development and progression of disease
- “[when one] sees the Liver is diseased, know the Liver transmits to the Spleen, therefore [one should] first supplement Spleen qi”
- strengthened spleen controls kidney, weakened kidney allows heart fire to strengthen, strengthened heart controls lung, weakened lung allows liver to flourish and recover.
Five Elements Treatment 1,2,3: 3A (Generating Cycle)
Determine treatment principles and treatment methods
A. Generating Cycle
- Treatment Principles -“when there is deficiency, supplement/tonify the Mother; when there is excess, reduce the son
- Treatment Methods - ex: moisten Water to nourish Wood, supplement Wood to generate Fire, Strengthen Fire to supplement Earth, nourish Metal to generate Water
Five Elements Treatment 1,2,3: 3 (Controlling Cycle)
Determine treatment principles and treatment methods
B. Control Cycle
- Treatment Principles - CONTROL THE STRONG, SUPPORT THE WEAK
- Treatment Methods - ex: control Wood and support Earth - Wood excess, Earth deficient
- ex: assist Metal and pacify Wood - Metal/Lung deficient and unable to control Wood/Liver which then becomes excessive
