24. CHOPPY PULSE Chinese Name • Se Mai a.k.a.

Hesitant, Rough Description • Rough under the fingers;

like a jagged edge • Feels like “a knife scraping
bamboo” • Also means a pulse that changes rapidly in
rate and quality Clinical Significance • Indicates stasis
or deficiency of blood • Could mean exhaustion of
fluids, especially after profuse sweating or vomiting
25. LONG PULSE Chinese Name • Chang Mai
Description • Longer than normal; extends slightly
beyond normal pulse Clinical Significance • Indicates a
Heat pattern • May indicate that there is no
Pathological condition
26. SHORT PULSE Chinese Name • Duan Mai
Description • Occupies shorter space than normal
position Clinical Significance • Indicates a severe Qi
deficiency • Frequently appears on Front position;
either left or right • Specifically denotes deficiency of
Stomach-Qi
27. OVERFLOWING PULSE Chinese Name • Hong Mai,
a.k.a. Surging, Flooding Description • Feels big and
extending beyond normal pulse position • Superficial;
generally “overflows” normal pulse channel Clinical
Significance • Indicates an Extreme Heat pattern •
Frequently appears during Fever, and Interior Heat
diseases Indications • Overflowing and Empty on
pressure – Empty Heat from Yin deficiency
28. FINE PULSE Chinese Name • Xi Mai, a.k.a. Thready,
Thin Description • Feels thinner than normal Clinical
Significance • Indicates a deficiency of Blood • May
indicate Dampness with severe Qi deficiency
Indications • Thin and Rapid – Heat brought by Yin
deficiency
29. MINUTE PULSE Chinese Name • Wei Mai, a.k.a.
Faint Description • Thinner than the Fine pulse; harder
to feel; very small Clinical Significance • Severe
deficiency of Qi and Blood
30. TIGHT PULSE Chinese Name • Jin Mai, a.k.a. Tense
Description • Feels twisted, like a thick rope • It also
can be felt as it “vibrates” Clinical Significance •
Indicates a Cold pattern, exterior (i.e. Wind-Cold) or
Interior • May indicate pain from an interior condition
Indications • Tight and Floating – Exterior Cold • Tight
and Deep – Interior Cold
31. WIRY PULSE Chinese Name • Xian Mai, a.k.a.
Stringlike, Bowstring Description • Feels taut, like a
guitar string • Thinner, more taut and harder than the
Tight pulse • “No fluidity or wave-like qualities” Clinical
Significance • May indicate Liver disharmony • May
indicate Pain • May indicate Phlegm
32. SLOWED-DOWN PULSE Chinese Name • Huan Mai,
a.k.a. Moderate Description • Four beats per
respiration cycle Clinical Significance • Generally
considered a healthy pulse • If Dampness is suspected
by other signs, it can be used to indicate its presence
33. HOLLOW PULSE Chinese Name • Kong/Kou Mai,
a.k.a. Scallion-stalk Description • Felt at superficial and
deep; any middle pressure makes it empty Clinical
Significance • Indicates a loss of Blood • Usually
appears after a hemorrhage Indications • Hollow and
slightly Rapid – Forthcoming loss of Blood
34. LEATHER PULSE Chinese Name • Ge Mai, a.k.a.
Drumskin Description • Hard, tight and stretched
superficially; empty at Deep level • Large pulse, not
thin Clinical Significance • Indicates severe deficiency
of Kidney-Essence or Yin
35. FIRM PULSE Chinese Name • Lao Mai, a.k.a.
Confined, Prison Description • Only felt at Deep level;
felt hard and rather wiry • Could be described as a
Wiry pulse at the Deep level Clinical Significance •
Indicates Interior Cold (if it is also Slow) • Indicates
Interior Stagnation and Pain
36. SOGGY PULSE Chinese Name • Ru Mai, a.k.a. Soft,
Weak-Floating Description • Only felt on superficial
level; very soft and slightly floating • Disappears when
pressure is applied to feel Deep level Clinical
Significance • Indicates presence of Dampness if there
are other signs that represent a Qi deficiency • May
also indicate lack of Yin or Essence
37. WEAK PULSE Chinese Name • Ruo Mai, a.k.a. Frail
Description • Only felt on Deep level; also soft Clinical
Significance • Indicates a deficiency of Yang or of Blood
38. SCATTERED PULSE Chinese Name • San Mai
Description • Small and relatively superficial • Feels as
if it was broken into small dots Clinical Significance •
Severe deficiency of Qi and Blood, especially Kidney-Qi
• ALWAYS indicates a serious condition
39. HIDDEN PULSE Chinese Name • Fu Mai Description
• As if it was hidden beneath the bone • Extreme case
of Deep pulse Clinical Significance • Extreme deficiency
of Yang • If strong, indicates an obstruction of Cold
40. MOVING PULSE Chinese Name • Dong Mai, a.k.a.
Spinning-Bean Description • It is short and “trembles”
under the finger • Does not have a definite shape;
shaking and also slippery • Combination of short, tight,
slippery and rapid pulses Clinical Significance •
Indicates shock, anxiety, fright or extreme pain •
Found in people with deep emotional problems,
especially fear, or those who have suffered severe
emotional shock
41. HASTY PULSE Chinese Name • Cu Mai, a.k.a.
Abrupt, Skipping, Hurried Description • Rapid pulse,
stops at irregular intervals Clinical Significance •
Indicates extreme Heat and a deficiency of Heart-Qi •
Also felt in conditions of Heart-Fire
42. KNOTTED PULSE Chinese Name • Jie Mai, a.k.a.
Bound Description • Slow and stops at irregular
intervals Clinical Significance • Indicates cold •
Indicates deficiency of Heart-Qi or Heart-Yang
43. INTERMITTENT PULSE Chinese Name • Dai Mai,
a.k.a. Regularly Interrupted Description • Stops at
regular intervals; feel the pulse and feel the stops
Clinical Significance • Indicates a serious internal
problem of one or more Yin organs • If it stops every
four beats or less, the condition is serious • It can also
indicate a serious heart problem (in the Western
medical sense)
44. RACING PULSE Chinese Name • Ji Mai, a.k.a. Swift
Description • Pulse is very rapid, but agitated and very
urgent Clinical Significance • Indicates an Excess of
Yang, with Fire in the body exhausting Yin
45. PULSE DIAGNOSIS 28 Different Pulse Qualities
(with similar Grouping) (The groups have been been
grouped on a Yin-Yang level) Deep Floating Slow Rapid
Empty Full Deep Floating Slow Rapid Empty Full Firm
Hollow Knotted Hasty Weak Overflow Hidden Leather
Choppy Hurried Fine Wiry Moving Minute Tight Rolling
Soggy Long Short Firm Soggy Scattered
46. PULSE DIAGNOSIS 8 Principles General Description
Pulse Quality Specific Pulse Quality Exterior (Yang)
superficial Felt with light pressure Superficial; floating;
hollow; leather; soft Interior (Yin) deep Felt with deep
pressure Deep; Firm; Hidden Hot (Yang) rapid More
than 80 BPM (>5 per breath) Rapid; Hasty; Moving
Cold (Yin) slow Less than 65 BPM (3> per breath) Slow;
Tight; Knotted; Intermittent (not necessarily slow but
often) Full (Yang) full Large, long, substancial Full; Big;
Overflowing; Wiry; Tight; Long; Slippery; Flooding;
Empty (Yin) empty Small, short, insubstancial Empty;
Weak; Fine; Minute; Short; Scattered; Choppy
47. SKIN PALPATION Palpating the skin involves
focusing on three major topics: • Temperature of the
skin • Moisture of the skin • Texture of the skin We do
this by three different methods: • Touching • Stroking
• Pressing
48. PALPATING THE BODY There are three different
palpation techniques: • Touching - Light touch of the
patient’s skin • Detecting temperature, moisture and
sweat • Stroking – stroking in the skin and deeper
tissues of the patient • Usually carried out in chest,
abdomen and limbs • Determines presence of
tenderness and swelling • Pressing – pressing relatively
hard to deeper levels • Usually done in the abdomen •
Determines presence of pain or masses
49. SKIN PALPATION Key things to Know •
Temperature • Subjective feeling of heat does not
always correspond to the objective feeling of heat of
the skin • Skin feels hot to the touch – often indicates
Damp-Heat • Cold feeling indicates Cold pattern; often
felt in loins, lower abdomen or lower back (indicates
Kidney-Yang deficiency) • Hot on first touch, ceasing to
feel hot with sustained pressure – indicates Wind-Heat
invasion, still on exterior • Skin over vessel hot on
medium pressure but not on heavy pressure – interior
Heat in Middle Jiao or Heart • Skin hot on heavy
pressure nearly nearing the bone – Empty Heat from
Yin deficiency
50. SKIN PALPATION Key Things to Know • Moisture
and Texture • Moist skin may indicate invasion of the
Exterior by WindCold, or more commonly, Wind-Heat
• Moist skin with absence of exterior symptoms
indicates spontaneous sweating from Lung-Qi
deficiency • Dry skin indicates Blood or Lung-Yin
deficiency • Rough-like skin may indicate Painful
Obstruction Syndrome from Wind • Scaly and dry skin
indicates exhaustion of body fluids • Swollen skin with
a pit left after pressing indicates oedema • Swollen
skin, no pit indicates retention of Dampness