氣、血、津液失常

The disorder of qi, blood and body fluid includes two aspects respectively: insufficiency and disturbance. Insufficiency causes deficiency syndrome, such as qi deficiency syndrome, blood deficiency syndrome and body fluid deficiency syndrome. Disturbance of qi, blood and body fluid mainly refers to the abnormal flow of them.

Disorder of qi

1. Insufficiency of qi

Insufficiency of qi causes qi deficiency syndrome with the manifestations of sallow complexion, dispiritedness, lassitude and low and weak voice. On the other hand, qi deficiency may bring on hypofunction of the viscera, leading to deficiency of heart-qi, deficiency of spleen-qi, deficiency of lung-qi and deficiency of kidney-qi.

2. Disturbance of qi

The manifestations of qi disorder are various, such as qi exuberance, qi stagnation, adverse flow of qi, qi sinking, qi closure and qi leakage, etc.

Qi exuberance means that qi is excessive, usually leading to blockage of qi activity and transformation into fire. Take exuberance of lung-qi for example. If it accumulates in the chest and blocks the chest, it will cause oppression and distension of the chest and sonorous dyspnea; if it trznsforms into fire to scorch the lung, it will bring on fever, profuse sweating, thirst, cough with yellowish thick sputum.

Qi stagnation means unsmooth flow of qi and stagnation of qi in local areas, leading to distension, fullness and pain. Protracted stagnation of qi tends to transform into fire, For example, stagnation of liver-qi leads to hypochondriac distension and fullness or distending pain of lower abdomen and depression; transformation of stagnant qi into fire and upward surge of liver-fire may lead to reddish cheeks and eyes and irascibility.

Adverse flow of qi, sinking of qi, closure of qi and leakage of qi are caused by abnormal changes of ascent and descent. Excessive ascent of qi causes adverse flow of qi; excessive descent of qi causes sinking of qi; failure of qi to disperse causes closure of qi, loss of qi fixation causes leakage of qi. Adverse flow of qi and stagnation of qi are excess syndromes while sinking of qi and leakage of qi are deficiency syndromes. For example, adverse flow of liver-qi causes dizziness, distension of head or syncope; adverse flow of lung-qi causes cough and asthma; adverse flow of stomach-qi causes nausea and vomiting. Sinking of gastrosplenic qi causes dizziness, diarrhea, visceroptosis and proctoptosis. Stagnation of lung-qi causes chest oppression, unsmooth breath, stuffy nose and anhidrosis. Loss of fixation of lung-qi causes spontaneous sweating; loss of fixation of kidney-qi causes incontinence of urine; excessive leakage of qi causes loss of qi.

Disorder of blood

1. Insufficiency of blood

Insufficiency of blood causes blood deficiency syndrome with the manifestations of pale complexion, dizziness, palpitation, insomnia, light-colored lips and nails, scanty and light-colored menses, etc. Blood deficiency causes malnutrition of the viscera with the manifestations of heart-blood deficiency syndrome and liver-blood deficiency syndrome.

2. Disturbance of blood

The manifestations of blood disturbance are stagnant blood and hemorrhage. The former refers to unsmooth flow of blood and blockage of meridians and vessels, leading to various pathological changes, such as pain, swelling, distension and abdominal mass. The latter is caused by flow of blood outside the vessels due to impairment of the vessels, or by failure of the spleen to command blood, or by failure of the liver to store blood, leading to various kinds of hemorrhage, such as hematemesis, hemoptysis, epistaxis, hematochezia and hematuria.

Disorder of body fluid

1. Insufficiency of body fluid

Insufficiency of body fluid usually causes dryness syndrome. If the body is attacked by pathogenic dryness and heat, external dryness syndrome will be caused. Internal dryness syndrome is usually caused by transformation of abnormal changes of emotions into fire, or by fever, profuse sweating, excessive vomiting and diarrhea and hemorrhage. Dryness syndrome is often marked by insufficiency of body fluid, insufficient moisture in the skin, the orifices and the viscera which lead to dryness of the skin, dry mouth and throat, dry eyes, scanty urine and dry feces. Severe deficiency of body fluid eventually leads to yin-deficiency syndrome.

2. Disturbance of body fluid

Disturbance of body fluid refers to internal retention of water and dampness due to disturbance of the metabolism of body fluid, leading to phlegm, rheum and edema, etc. The disturbance of body fluid results from dysfunction of the spleen, the lung and the kidney which leads to failure of the spleen to transport and transform water and dampness, or failure of the lung to regulate water passage, or failure of the kidney to control water metabolism.

Disorder of qi, disorder of blood and disorder of body fluid usually affect each other. For example, deficiency of qi causes deficiency of blood and vice versa; stagnation of qi causes stagnant blood and vice versa; stagnation of qi causes metabolic disturbance of body fluid; insufficiency of blood causes insufficiency of body fluid, etc. Such pathological changes caused by abnormal changes of the relationships between qi, blood and body fluid are described in detail in the fourth section of the third chapter entitled "Relationships Between Qi, Blood and Body Fluid".