Theory of Qi,Blood,Essence and Body Fluids:an introduction.
Introduction
✵Theory of Qi,Blood,Essence and Body Fluids:the theory of Qi,Blood,Essence and Body Fluids is theory about Qi, Blood, Essence and Body fluids, the Qi is referred to as the basic element which makes up the human body and supports its vital activities, the essence and blood often representing all the nourishing substances necessary for maintaining human life, the body fluids is a general term for all fluids in the body.
Introduction of the Theory of Qi,Blood,Essence and Body Fluids.
✵Qi: also known as Chi or Ch'i, the basic element that constitutes the cosmos and, through its movements, changes, and transformations, produces everything in the world, including the human body and life activities. In the field of medicine, Qi in its physiological sense is referred to as the basic element or energy which makes up the human body and supports its vital activities, such as Qi of foodstuff, i.e., food energy, Qi of respiration, i.e., the breathed air. Since Qi is invisible and its existence in the human body can only be perceived through its resultant activities as expressed through viscera and tissues, it is more frequently used in the sense of functional activities, such as Qi of Zang-Fu viscera, i.e., the functional activities of the Zang-Fu viscera. The term Qi can also be used in a pathological sense, e.g., which means pathogenic factor.
✵Food Qi: essential substance and energy derived from foodstuffs.
✵Water and Grains: food or diet.
✵Air: the earth's atmosphere, especially that which is breathed.
✵Breathed Air: air inhaled and exhaled through respiration.
✵Inborn Qi: innate Qi, the Qi that exists in a person from birth.
✵Acquired Qi: the Qi that is acquired after birth and is formed from food Qi obtained by the spleen and stomach in combination with the fresh air(oxygen) inhaled by the lung.
✵Original Qi: the Qi derived from the innate essence and supplemented by acquired Qi, acting as the primary motive force for life activities.
✵Genuine Qi: the combination of inborn Qi and acquired Qi, serving as the dynamic force of all vital functions.
✵Normal Qi: also known as healthy Qi, a synonym for genuine Qi, particularly referring to the body resistance opposing pathogenic factors.
✵Pectoral Qi: a combination of essential Qi derived from food with the inhaled air, stored in the chest, serving as the dynamic force of blood circulation, respiration, voice, and bodily movements.
✵Nutritive Qi: the Qi that moves within the vessels and nourishes all the viscera and tissues.
✵Nutritive Yin: another name for nutritive Qi as the Qi that moves inside the vessels pertains to Yin while that which moves outside the vessels pertains to Yang.
✵Defensive Qi: also known as protective Qi, the Qi that moves outside the vessels, permeating the body surface and warding off exogenous pathogens.
✵Nutritive Yang: another name for defensive Qi as the Qi that moves outside the vessels pertains to Yang while that which moves inside the vessels pertains to Yin.
✵Fluid Qi: (1).a synonym for Jing(body fluid),(2).a collective term for body fluid and yang Qi.
✵Essential Qi: the Qi of the essence, from which life originates and is maintained, including the Qi derived from reproductive essence, food essence, and essence of Zang-Fu viscera, generally equivalent to normal Qi or healthy Qi.
✵Motive Qi between the kidneys: that part of genuine Qi as the motive force necessary for the activities of the Zang-Fu viscera and meridian system.
✵Zang-viscera Qi: the functional activities of a Zang-viscus.
✵Fu-viscera Qi: the functional activities of a Fu-viscus.
✵Heart Qi: the functional activities of the heart.
✵Liver Qi: (1).the functional activities of the liver,(2).an abbreviation for stagnation of liver Qi.
✵Spleen Qi: the functional activities of the spleen.
✵Lung Qi: (1).the functional activities of the lung,(2).air breathed, including pectoral Qi.
✵Kidney Qi: the functional activities of the kidney.
✵Gallbladder Qi: the functional activities of the gallbladder.
✵Stomach Qi: (1).the functional activities of the stomach,(2).the reflection of the functional activities of the stomach in the pulse.
✵Clear Qi: (1).fresh air, usually referring to the air inspired in the lung, especially oxygen,(2).the clarified thin part of food essence,i.e.,the nutrient,(3).to clear up the Qi system, a method of treating febrile diseases with heat in the Qi system.
✵Turbid Qi: (1).the dense part of food essence,(2).waste gas,e.g., air expired or flatus discharged.
✵Yang Qi: the Yang aspect of Qi, often referring to functional activity in opposition to Yin-Qi as substance.
✵Yin Qi: the Yin aspect of Qi, often referring to substance in opposition to Yang-Qi as functional activity.
✵Lucid Yang: light and clear Yang-Qi that usually exists in the upper or exterior part of the body, including the fresh air inhaled and the superficial resistance.
✵Meridian Qi: the Qi that constitutes the structure and particularly that which maintains the functional activities of the meridian system.
✵Defense Qi Nutrient and Blood: four systems denoting the four portions or strata of the body from the superficial to the deep, to show the location, seriousness, stage or phase of an acute febrile disease as a guide to diagnosis.
✵Defense system: also known as superficial defensive system, the most superficial stratum of the body apt to be invaded at the initial stage of an acute febrile disease, often abbreviated as Wei Fen.
✵Qi system: the second stratum of the body deeper than the superficial defensive system, often referring to the lung, gallbladder, spleen, stomach or large intestine.
✵Nutrient system: the stratum of the body further deeper than the Qi system, often abbreviated as Ying.
✵Blood system: the deep stratum of the body involved in the severest stage of an acute febrile disease, often abbreviated as blood.
✵Qi movement: the constant movement of Qi(ascending, descending, exiting and entering) that promotes and facilitates various physiological activities, maintaining life.
✵Qi transformation: a general term referring to various transforming changes through the activity of Qi, namely the metabolism and mutual transformation between essence, Qi, blood and fluids. In other words, Qi transformation corresponds to metabolism, substance transformation and energy transformation.
✵Middle Qi: an abbreviation for Qi of the middle energizer,i.e., Qi of the spleen and stomach.
✵Blood: the red fluid circulating through the blood vessels and nourishing the body tissues.
✵Essence-blood: a combined term indicating both the essence and the blood owing to their close relationship, and often representing all the nourishing substances necessary for maintaining human life.
✵Nutrient-blood: (1).a synonym of blood as the nutrient, being the Qi of blood,(2).nutrient and blood:the later two stages of an acute febrile disease in which both the nutrient system and blood system are involved.
✵Blood vessel: any channel for carrying blood.
✵Blood Qi: the Qi of blood, referring to the functions of blood.
✵Essence: (1).essence, the fundamental substance that builds up the physical structure and maintains the body function,(2).semen, known also as reproductive essence.
✵Food essence: the essential substance derived from food, which is required for the maintenance of life activities and the metabolism of the human body, also known as essence of water and food.
✵Refined essence: usually referring to the refined nutritious substances derived from foodstuffs through digestion.
✵Innate essence: the original substance which is essential for construction of the body, often referring to the reproductive essence.
✵Acquired essence: the fundamental substance derived from food to maintain the body functions and replenish physical construction.
✵Reproductive essence: the fundamental substance for reproduction, referring to semen and ovum.
✵Kidney essence: the original essence stored in the kidney, including the reproductive essence.
✵Turbid yin: heavy and turbid matter in the body, chiefly referring to the urine and feces, but also to the concentrated and turbid part of food essence.
✵Refined juice: the juice contained in the gallbladder, referring to bile.
✵Shen: (1).Mind,condition of one's mental faculties, including consciousness, attention, and thinking.(2).Vitality:liveliness or vigor.
✵Configuration and constitution: or physique, general appearance and condition of a person's body.
✵Spirit: state of mind or mood.
✵Ethereal soul: the moral and spiritual part of man, as distinguished from his intellect.
✵Corporeal soul: the animating part of the mind.
✵Thought: act or power of thinking.
✵Will: mental power by which a person can direct his thoughts and actions,(2).memory:power to remember.
✵Thin fluid: the fluid that circulates with Qi and blood. It is mainly distributed over the exterior part of the body, and can be secreted as tears, saliva, sweat, etc.(2).saliva.
✵Thick fluid: or mucous fluid, the fluid that does not circulate together with Qi and blood, but is stored in body cavities such as the articular and cranial cavities.
✵Body fluids: a general term for all fluids in the body, including secretions such as saliva, tears, sweat, etc.(2).liquid nutrients.
✵Yin fluids: all kinds of nutrient fluid in the body, especially that of the internal viscera.
✵Clarity and turbidity: often referring to the essence and the waste of digested food.
✵Five kinds of fluid: sweat, tears, snivel, slobber and spittle.
✵Secretion from the five Zang-viscera: sweat derived from the heart, tears from the liver, saliva from the spleen, snivel from the lung, and spittle from the kidney.
✵Sweat: a product of fluid metabolism discharged from the pores.
✵Tear: one of the five kinds of fluid, which cleanses and moistens the eyeballs, and excessive discharge of which, if not during weeping, is often related to the liver meridian.
✵Slobber: thin saliva, liquid produced in the mouth that helps one chew and digest, one of the five kinds of fluid that is closely related to the functions of the spleen.
✵Snivel: nasal mucus.
✵Spittle: thick saliva, a part of liquid produced in the mouth, one of the five kinds of fluid that is closely related to the functions of the kidney.
Theory of Qi,Blood,Essence and Body Fluids:the basics.
The Basics: The basics for the Theory of Qi,Blood,Essence and Body Fluids are briefly as:
✵Tears are the fluids of the liver: it is so said because tears come from the eyes, which reflect the condition of the liver as its specific opening.
✵Lack of tears with dry eyes is a common symptom indicating a deficiency of essence and blood in the liver.
✵Sweat is the fluid of the heart: it is also said because sweat comes from blood, which is controlled by the heart. Clinically, spontaneous sweating is commonly seen when heart Yang is insufficient, while night sweating usually suggests heart Yin deficiency.
✵Slobber is the fluid of the spleen:it is also said because the spleen has its specific body opening in the mouth. Clinically, dry mouth is frequently seen in cases of the inadequacy of fluid in the spleen and stomach, and dysfunction of the spleen in sending up fluid.
✵Snivel is the fluid of the lung: it is so said because the nose is the specific body opening of the lung. Clinically, a dry nose is usually due to heat or dryness in the lung, while patients with impeded functions of the lung often have a running nose.
✵Spittle is the fluid of the kidney: it is so said because the kidney meridian runs through the sublingual area. clinically, excessive spittle can be cured by using kidney tonics.
✵Blood and sweat have one and the same source: it is so said because sweat comes from blood.
✵Essence and blood have a common source: both essence and blood constitute the material basis of the human body, blood comes from congenital essence and is nourished by acquired food essence.
✵Body fluids and blood are derived from a common source: both body fluids and blood are derived from water and food, so they are closely related physiologically and pathologically.
✵Qi is the commander of blood: it is so said because Qi serves as the dynamic force of blood flow, keeps the blood circulating within the vessels, and promotes blood regeneration, and hence, stagnancy of Qi is apt to cause blood stasis, and deficiency of Qi may lead to chronic bleeding or deficiency of blood.
✵Blood is the mother of Qi: it is so said because blood is the material basis of Qi, deficiency of blood usually leads to insufficient Qi(vital energy), and massive loss of blood may cause prostration of Qi manifested as collapse.
✵Qi in motion keeps the blood circulating.
✵Defense Qi warms the flesh, flushes the skin, replenishes the interstices and controls the opening and closing of the pores.
✵Pectoral Qi accumulates in the chest, issues through the throat, goes through the heart and vessels, and conducts respiration.
✵Nutrient Qi secretes fluids, discharges them into the vessels and turns them into blood, to nourish the limbs and supply the Zang-Fu viscera.
✵Essence is the basis of the body.
✵What enables human generation is called essence, when Yin essence and Yang essence combine, life activity exists, which is called spirit.
✵When one has a tranquil mind content in nothingness, genuine Qi will come in the wake of it, and when one concentrates one's spirit internally, how can any illness occur?
References:
1.Theory of Qi,Blood,Essence and Body Fluids:an introduction.
✵Theory of Qi,Blood,Essence and Body Fluids:the theory of Qi,Blood,Essence and Body Fluids is theory about Qi, Blood, Essence and Body fluids, the Qi is referred to as the basic element which makes up the human body and supports its vital activities, the essence and blood often representing all the nourishing substances necessary for maintaining human life, the body fluids is a general term for all fluids in the body.
✵Qi: also known as Chi or Ch'i, the basic element that constitutes the cosmos and, through its movements, changes, and transformations, produces everything in the world, including the human body and life activities. In the field of medicine, Qi in its physiological sense is referred to as the basic element or energy which makes up the human body and supports its vital activities, such as Qi of foodstuff, i.e., food energy, Qi of respiration, i.e., the breathed air. Since Qi is invisible and its existence in the human body can only be perceived through its resultant activities as expressed through viscera and tissues, it is more frequently used in the sense of functional activities, such as Qi of Zang-Fu viscera, i.e., the functional activities of the Zang-Fu viscera. The term Qi can also be used in a pathological sense, e.g., which means pathogenic factor.
The Basics: The basics for the Theory of Qi,Blood,Essence and Body Fluids are briefly as:
