Spleen-Stomach Syndrome: Introduction to Its Pathological Causes, Common Syndromes, and Syndromes Arising from Miscellaneous Diseases
✵Spleen-Stomach Syndrome: Overview of Common Spleen-Stomach Syndromes
Spleen-Stomach Syndrome
Ancient classical text Su Wen (The Plain Questions) states: “The spleen and stomach are the barn organs (granary organs); the five flavors originate from them.”
The renowned herbalist Li Dongyuan explained in his seminal classical works: “When the spleen and stomach are robust, one has a good appetite and tends to be well-nourished and plump; one eats abundantly yet remains unfazed by hunger, and feels no hunger even after the usual mealtime. When the spleen and stomach are weak, one eats little and becomes thin; overeating easily causes discomfort, and hunger returns soon after meals—or, although one appears plump, the limbs (arms and legs) feel weak and heavy. This reflects excessive spleen function accompanied by excess pathogenic qi. Alternatively, appetite may be strong while the limbs remain thin—indicating robust spleen function but also excessive pathogenic fire. Thus, the relative strength or weakness of the spleen and stomach can be discerned from such manifestations.”
Internal Etiologies: The stomach governs ingestion; the spleen governs transportation and transformation. Irregular eating habits—such as excessive hunger or satiety, or exposure to abnormal climatic influences (e.g., cold or summer-heat)—impair the stomach. Excessive worry, rumination, anger, or overexertion impair the spleen. When both stomach and spleen are impaired, symptoms include nausea, swelling (distension) and fullness, sallow complexion and lassitude, indigestion, and related syndromes.
External Manifestations (symptoms): In stomach disease, one may experience shortness of breath, listlessness, high fever, or upward-flaring heat that scorches the face. In spleen disease, one manifests lassitude, somnolence, inability to lift the limbs (could not collect arms and legs), borborygmus (intestinal gurgling, sounding in intestines), and diarrhea. When both spleen and stomach are diseased, bones lose strength and become powerless; the feet cannot bear weight (feet cannot step on the ground), and internal hurt progressively extends to the physical body—worsening day by day.
Additional Explanations of Spleen-Syndrome Symptoms:
Flaccid paralysis of limbs (weakness of arms and legs): Indicates spleen dysfunction, resulting in limb weakness (arms and legs are weak).
Edema of the head and feet: Reflects retention of dampness in the limbs (arms and legs) and periorbital region (upper and lower eyelids).
Obstruction in the nine orifices: Includes nasal congestion (nasal stuffness), hearing loss (obstruction of the external acoustic meatus), blurred vision (hypopsia, poor eyesight), and difficulty in urination or defecation.
Somnolence and somatic heaviness (bodily heaviness) after meals: One frequently feels drowsy (sleepy) and physically heavy (heaviness of the body) following food intake.[I]
Various types of spleen-stomach syndrome.
There are various types of spleen-stomach syndrome, these different types of spleen-stomach syndrome are introduced:
Seven modes of emotions stagnation, irregular diet (disorder of hunger and satiety ), rich fatty diet (greasy and surfeit flavour), generates phlegm and fire, and lead to splenic and gastric incoordination.
Improper diet or overstrain impairing the spleen
The cun and guan pulses are slippery and rapid, feeble, nausea (feel sick), thirst, not fond of food and drink, there is deficiency-fire in the stomach.
The cunkou pulse is moderate and weak, or slow and feeble, or empty and big, with vomiting and no appetite (does not take food), and there is deficiency-cold in the stomach, normally it is due to overtaking prescriptions of cold and cool.
The cunkou pulse is slippery and full, vomit and no appetite (does not take food), one is obese and has much stagnation (or depression), it belongs to dampness phlegm.
One often takes roasted meat and savoury (rich food), has much anger, the cunkou pulse is hollow, distention in the chest, fishiness in the mouth, or epigastric pain, the facial complexion is sallow, and there is stagnant blood in the stomach.
Lassitude of limbs (weakness of arms, legs), no appetite (does not take diet and drink), it is spleen deficiency.
The guan pulse is sunken and moderate, has appetite but indigestion, stagnant and retains under the heart, stuffiness in the chest and abdomen, ructus, acid regurgitation and odoriferous, it is food stagnation from spleen weakness.
After a chronic disease, or after emetic and purgative methods are applied, indigestion, pulse is choppy or wiry, feeble, it belongs to blood insufficiency of spleen Yin, body fluid can not make it moist, as a result, disorder of transformation and transportation.
If there is lassitude of limbs (weakness of arms and legs), a yellow facial complexion, heat in the core part of the hands, the pulse is large and feeble.
One has a chronic disease, no appetite (cannot take food), or indigestion, or takes over purgative herbs, as a result, the spleen and stomach are hurt.
Both the stomach and spleen are hurt, food intake, transformation and transportation all turns difficult, vomit or diarrhea, facial complexion is sallow, lassitude and lacking in strength.
One is at old age, chronic disease, incoordination between the spleen and the stomach, poor appetite, vomiting, or diarrhea.
An obese person suffers lassitude, incoordination between the spleen and the stomach, poor appetite, fullness and stuffiness, there is damp phlegm in the stomach.
Thin person has incoordination between the spleen and the stomach, disorder of transformation and transportation, constipation, dryness and thirst in mouth, full and stuffy under the heart, mostly belongs to blood deficiency.
If one has chronic disease, or innate timid and weak-willed, raw, cold, greasy diet hurts the spleen, deficiency, stuffiness, stuffiness in the chest and abdomen, and no appetite.
If one has a good appetite, slow in transportation and transformation.
One's stomach is weak and face is blue-green, facial complexion is white or pale yellow, coldness in hands, pulse is moderate.
After taking food, one feels lassitude and stuffy, with frequent urination, it is the sunkening of Promordial Qi.
Stuffiness in the diaphragm and no appetite, facial complexion is miserable, pulse is sunken, it is Qi stagnation.
References:
1.Spleen-Stomach Syndrome: Introduction to Its Pathological Causes, Common Syndromes, and Syndromes Arising from Miscellaneous Diseases
2.Su Wen:the Plain Questions of Huangdi's Internal Classic.By Huáng Dì (the Yellow Emperor).
2-1.Su Wen:Ling Lan Mi Dian Lun Pian (the Plain Questions:The secret scriptures treatise of efficacious orchid chapter).
2-2.Su Wen:Tiao Jing Lun Pian (the Plain Questions:The treatise on regulation of meridians chapter).
3.Pi Wei Lun (Treatise on the Spleen and Stomach).By Lǐ Dōngyuán.
✵Spleen-Stomach Syndrome: Overview of Common Spleen-Stomach Syndromes
