The secret of pulse diagnosis in Chinese medicine

Pulse diagnosis in Chinese medicine has a great mystique for many people, who believe that a Chinese doctor can understand a patient’s condition just by checking the pulse. Is this really true? I can tell you responsibly, “It’s a nice story, but it’s just fiction”. In fact, pulse diagnosis is only one of the methods of Chinese medicine. Chinese medicine diagnosis needs to look, smell, ask, cut four diagnosis to collect the condition, comprehensive reference, in order to come up with the most accurate treatment plan. The pulse diagnosis (also called pulse diagnosis, pulse number, pulse cutting, pulse taking) is a means for Chinese medicine doctors to understand the condition by probing the pulse. Chinese medicine pulse diagnosis after two thousand years of interpretation, both for the patient and the doctor, is the most amazing, mysterious, so much so that some places also call Chinese medicine pulse doctor.

1. pulse diagnosis source flow examination

Pulse diagnosis this diagnosis method, the first appeared in the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine, this book on the diagnosis of the pulse in the discussion, and proposed the pulse diagnosis time to the best in the morning, such as “Su Wen – pulse to the essence of the theory of” pointed out that “the diagnosis method is always to the flat Dan”. Later, Bian Ji’s “Difficult Classic” inherited the key points of the “Nei Jing” and proposed the inch pulse method. And the pulse diagnosis as the basis for the identification of evidence, when the Eastern Han Dynasty medical doctor Zhang Zhongjing. In the Western Jin Dynasty, Wang Shuhe, based on the theories of his predecessors and combined with long-term medical practice, wrote a special book on pulse science, “Pulse Classic”, which is still essential reading for learning and studying pulse science in Chinese medicine. After the Tang and Song dynasties, successive generations of physicians also attached great importance to pulse diagnosis, represented by Li Shizhen’s “near the lake pulse”.

Initially, the pulse clinic was investigated as the “three parts and nine waiting”, which is a whole-body diagnosis method, from the “Huangdi Neijing Suwen – three parts and nine waiting” It divides the human head, upper limbs, lower limbs into three parts, each taking the upper, middle and lower three arteries, pulse diagnosis in these parts, called “Three Parts and Nine Waiting Points”. Such a pulse diagnosis is comprehensive and detailed, but it is really troublesome to operate. Later, some people simplified it to take the upper “Renying” (the common carotid artery next to the junction of the throat), the middle “Cungu” (radial artery at the wrist) and the lower “Tarsus Yang pulse” (anterior tibial artery at the back of the foot) as three parts Each part is divided into floating, intermediate and sinking points with light, intermediate and heavy finger force, for a total of “nine points”. Later, according to clinical practice, Bian Ji simplifies the diagnosis method, and proposes “only take the inch mouth” of the three parts of the nine Hou pulse diagnosis method, the inch mouth pulse into inch, Guan, ulnar “three parts”, floating in the sink a total of nine Hou. The reason is that this place is “the end of the five organs and six internal organs”, “the pulse of the General Assembly”, so as to diagnose the lesions of the five organs and six internal organs.

2. how the pulse diagnosis is mystified

Modern film and television literature is a very common phenomenon, the patient dumb mouth, stretching out the inch mouth, the doctor three fingers a hitch, then the source of the disease from one to another, which is the most the parties and bystanders patted, fascinated by the scene. This is the most amazing and fascinating scene for the people involved and the bystanders. In addition, there are many charlatans who have used this as a means to sell the mystery and convince the patients. All “do not need the patient to speak, will know the cause of the disease” alone with a pillow, three fingers, unfold the patient’s suffering. Such scenes more, blackmail, in the hearts of the people who do not know what to do planted a brilliant Chinese doctor can determine the disease by pulse diagnosis alone, the sentence of life and death. Film and television literature on the deception of charlatan doctors, play a role in fueling the wave.

At present, mankind has recognized more than 20,000 kinds of diseases, and this number is increasing day by day. Chinese medicine pulse diagnosis has a total of 28 pulse phases, of which 17 or 8 are commonly used, how will a dozen pulse to determine more than 20,000 diseases? I do not dare to make a rash judgment with such uncertainty and vague thinking to guide the prescription of potential medicine.

3. correct understanding of pulse diagnosis role

Li Shizhen’s most famous book is the “Compendium of Materia Medica”, in fact, in the “Compendium of Materia Medica” is not very reputable in the Chinese medical community, because it is too ponderous to be practical. However, “The Pulse of the Lake” is indeed a must-read for Chinese medicine practitioners. Li Shi diagnosis in the “near lake pulse” said “the world’s medical disease two, salty to diagnose the pulse as the first priority, do not know the pulse is still four diagnosis of the un, said the coincidence of the er, the upper scholar want to be its full, non-prepared four diagnosis can not be”. Su Dongpo cloud “I have a disease will tell all the doctors, and then diagnose the pulse, although the medium level of doctors can also treat, but I seek to heal the disease er, its to trap the doctor as a matter”. It can be seen that pulse diagnosis is only one of the four Chinese medicine look, smell, ask, cut, pulse diagnosis is not a substitute for the remaining three diagnoses. A real Chinese medicine doctor to treat patients, must be a full range of the four diagnoses, the lack of one.

4. How to diagnose the pulse in Chinese medicine

Briefly popularize the pulse diagnosis knowledge, so that we have some understanding, so as not to be some self-appointed pulse god, but in fact is uneducated people deceived. Chinese medicine pulse diagnosis is divided into inch, Guan, ruler, three parts, three parts and three different pulse cutting force floating, in, sinking, so Chinese medicine has three parts of the nine. The high bone behind the palm is Guan, in front of Guan is inch, after Guan is ruler. The left hand inch, Guan, ruler correspond to the heart, liver, kidney small intestine, the right hand corresponds to the lung, spleen, kidney large intestine. The doctor should use his left hand to cut the pulse of the patient’s right hand, and the right hand to cut the pulse of the patient’s left hand, so as to form a circle, taking the meaning of the doctor and the patient’s breath round.

This contains the profound truth of the five elements, Chinese medicine has known for thousands of years why there are two kidneys, while the heart, liver, lungs and spleen have only one mystery. Everything is born in water, life originates in the sea, and begins with water. The left ruler is kidney water, kidney water gives birth to liver wood, liver wood gives birth to heart fire, fire is divided into king fire, phase fire, heart fire on top for the king, right kidney on the bottom for the phase (phase fire), kidney fire gives birth to spleen earth, spleen earth gives birth to lung gold, lung gold gives birth to the left kidney water, shaped like a circle of life, life is not only. If a TCM practitioner does not even know the minimum rules of pulse cutting, or if he does not follow these rules, it can only be said that he is not a pure TCM practitioner, a TCM practitioner who cannot be trusted. The following is the Chinese medicine textbook with the picture, the two old Chinese doctors look to have the Tao line, look kind and trustworthy it, wrong wrong wrong wrong. A connoisseur’s hand will know there is no, see the medical road does not prosper there are years to carry on.

5. concluding remarks
Chinese medicine believes that the pulse is a normal physiological activity, Chinese medicine is said to have a god qi, stomach qi, there are roots. The pulse can also be the phase of the body’s positive qi and the evil qi fighting each other, the evil qi invasion of the body, the positive qi is bound to fight, so there will be a variety of different pulse, which is the basis for us to discern the nature of the disease by identifying the different changes in the pulse. “If there are internal, there will be external”. That is, the internal changes in the human body will always be manifested externally, through the body surface changes in the analysis of disease symptoms, should be four diagnoses together, not away from the pulse, never more than the pulse. Each of the four diagnoses has its own unique role, we should oppose the “myth pulse diagnosis”, but also to fully recognize the importance of the clinical value of pulse diagnosis, the diagnosis and treatment to be well-informed. Must bear in mind that there is no god in this world, there is no miracle doctor, only pulse diagnosis without the other three diagnosis of Chinese medicine must be a charlatan, is a fraud.