PROFESSOR DREW'S CLASSROOM
This is the first in a series of articles
explaining the theories, the herbal formulas and diagnostic tools used in
Oriental Medicine to heal. The medical application of tongue
diagnosis is very old. The earliest records
are inscriptions on bones and tortoise shells unearthed during the Yi Dynasty;
the first dynasty of the Bronze Age. Ancient Chinese physicians developed a
special way of approaching the diagnosis of diseases through four types pf
physical examination: inspection,
questioning, smelling, and listening. In
addition to taking the pulse, palpation of the abdomen, and tongue diagnosis an
inspection of the features of the tongue to aid in disease diagnosis were very
important.
Tongue
diagnosis plays a most important role in the four methods of TCM
diagnosis. Many ancient doctors regarded
the tongue as the “window of the Heart”, also the location for external
expression of the digestive system. Many
main acupuncture meridians are connected to the tongue, making it an important
site for diagnostic examination. All
internal changes in the body, visceral deficiencies or excess, weather disease
conditions are mild or advanced, weather body fluids are full or deficient,
weather the Qi (energy) or blood are healthy or in decline, can be objectively
reflected by the changes on the tongue.
Some
of the clinical applications of the tongue are as follows:
The tongue has two aspects the
coating and the body. The coating
reflects the amount of Qi (energy) activity in the body as it relates to the
exterior of the body, cold and flu, and the digestive system. If there is a pathogen of environmental toxin
attacking the body the coating becomes thicker. Moreover, if there is
stagnation in the digestive system the coating will also appear thicker. A thick coating on the tongue indicates
accumulation of dampness, phlegm, or food.
The
body of the tongue represents the interior aspects of the body, the organ and
the blood. When the body becomes weakened due to improper diet, stress, not
enough sleep, medications, etc., the tongue will lose its coating representing
a lack of Qi or nutrition. When the
tongue has no coating and it is red and cracked the body is hot and dry of
fluid deficiency, just like a mud puddle or a river bed that dries up in the
hot sun. The body needs foods and herbs to cool and moisten the body. Conversely, if the tongue looks pale with
not coating the body is cold and deficiency.
The body is lacking warmth and needs warming herbs and foods.
If you would like to have an online tongue diagnosis just contact me at taoofhealth@aol.com
To Your Health
Professor Drew
Founder/Director
New York Institute of Herbal Medicine & Nutrition
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