CHINESE MEDICINE

BY HIREN KAMALIA, PG 16TH

 CHINESE MEDICINE

China was one of first countries to have a medical culture, with a history of
5,000 years

Medicine in China was quite different from that used in the West.

Chinese medicine was based upon different beliefs.

Ideas from Europe and the teachings of the European philosophers did not
have a major impact upon the medical practices of the Chinese.
HISTORY

*Primitive medicine in China

“God animated Nature” and disease being a result of the demon possession.

“Theory of Universal Animism”

All parts were animated by Gods

There were incalculable numbers of devils that were present everywhere.

In the Earliest times, medicine was in the hands of PRIESTS

Chinese medicine dates back to 3500 BC.

Shang dynasty (14th–11th centuries BC).

Traces of therapeutic activities in China date from the this dynasty

Oracular inscriptions on bones and tortoise shells refer to illnesses that affected the
Shang royal family: eye disorders, toothaches, bloated abdomen, etc., which Shang
elites usually attributed to curses sent by their ancestors.

There is no evidence of use ofherbal remedies.

Stone and bone needles found in ancient tombs led Joseph Needham to speculate
that acupuncture might have been carried out in the Shang dynasty.
Chou Dynasty (1140 BC)

The priests were assigned the duty of a supernatural nature

Doctors were assigned the duties relating to medicines and preparation of

drugs.

"Documentation of Chinese materia medica (CMM) dates back to around

1,100 BC when only dozens of drugs were first described.

Shen Nong brought into view “ The nature knowledge of her opposing
principles”, The Ying(negative and feminine) and The Yang (positive and
masculine).

Further enhanced by Confucius (551-479 BC) - developed

“Confucianism” by using the principles of Yin and Yang.
Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD)

Lao Zi founded Taoism, where Tao means way, reason.

taught that man himself can reach harmony by bowing to its natural facts
and following a course of passiveness (without interfering nature rules). THIS
THOUGHT STILL DOMINATE

Dong Zhongshu (100BC)

stated the cycle of Ying and Yang at work in the universe is at work in man
himself striving for harmony or balance .

WU physicians –
used charms, enchantments and death banishing medicinal herbs.

Trade with India and Gulf countries

Hua Tuo(141-208AD).

First treatment using anesthetics

Series of therapeutic kung fu exercises based on the movement of the five

animals (frolics of the five animals )

Practiced QiGong.

surgery was not carried forward - no books or direct disciples of Hua Tuo to develop
the art of surgery.
Thus, the surgery that is practiced in china is of western origin.
OTHER DYNASTIES:

Tang Dynasty
Song Dynasty
Ming Dynasty

Same principles of Confucianism and Taoism were followed and literature

flourished..
 Medical classic

Ming Dynasty
《 Ben Cao Gang Mu 》

581-682 AD
《 Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang 》

Western Jin Dynasty

《 Zhen Jiu Jia Yi Jing 》

Han Dynasty
《 Shang Han Lun 》

2,000 years ago

《 Huang Di Nei jing 》
LITERATURE

Shénnóng "Divine Farmer” lived around 2800 BC.

Shénnóng Běn Cuo Jīng (Shennong's Materia Medica) - oldest book on Chinese herbal
medicine.

Classifies 365 species of roots, grass, woods, furs, animals and stones into three categories
of herbal medicine:

"superior" category - Effective for multiple diseases

For maintaining and restoring the body balance.
Almost no unfavorable side-effects.

Tonics and boosters whose consumption must not be prolonged.

A category of substances taken in small doses, and for the treatment of specific diseases
only.

The original text of Shennong's Materia Medica has been lost; however, there are extant
LITERATURE

"Recipes for 52 Ailments", found in the Mawangdui tombs which were sealed in
168 BC.

Theories of yellow emperor were written down in The internal book of Huang Di
during this time - The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon

Treatise on Cold Damage Disorders and Miscellaneous Illnesses by Zhang

Zhongjing between 196 and 220 AD

Now circulates as two distinct books:

the Treatise on Cold Damage Disorders and
the Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Casket edited separately in
the eleventh century AD, under the Song dynasty.
 HUANG DI NEI JING OR “YELLOW
EMPERORS CLASSIC OF MEDICINE”
LITERATURE

The AB Canon of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (Zhenjiu jiayi jing ) by Huangfu Mi

, between 256 and 282 AD

Canon of the Pulse (Maijing) a "comprehensive handbook of diagnostics and

therapy."

The China’s first school of medicine in 629 AD, was established by the emperor of
the Tang

The Compendium of Materia Medica is a pharmaceutical text by Li Shizhen (1518–

1593 AD) during the Ming Dynasty of China.
OTHER CHARACTERISTIC HISTORY OF CHINESE MEDICINE:

Anatomy and physiology were based on theory of cosmogony and not on

observations

Disease were divided into 2 groups – those caused by external influences and those
caused by internal emotions.

Medical education was only for the emperor and his court.

Hygiene and public health was practiced as early s 1100BC.

Chinese were the early pioneers of immunization, they practiced variolation to

smallpox.

Doctors travelling to the distant places were called Bare-foot doctors

To a Chinese, a great doctor is one who treats not someone who is already ill but
someone not yet ill.
CONCEPTS & PHILOSOPHICAL BACKGROUND OF CHINESE
MEDICINE

There are three levels in traditional Chinese physiology

External level of the 12 meridian channels

Maintain the balance within the organisms and between the
organism and its environment.
The meridians are prone to attack by the environmental factors like
wind, cold, damp, dust and heat.
The Deep level includes 5 elements:
Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood.
Based on the observation of the seasons and elements and applying
these observations to the human body.

The Intermediate level includes 5 groups of tissues:

Blood, Qi and essences; soft tisues and fluids; skin and skin hair;
bones, joints, cartilage and head hair; and muscles and tendons
 MERIDIANS AND COLLATERALS
THE PATHWAYS TO LINK THE WHOLE
BODY
Distribution of the 14 meridians of the hand and foot
YIN AND YANG

Yin and yang symbol for balance

This doctrine underlies all Chinese philosophy, metaphysics, arts and crafts, religion,
astronomy, magic, science and medicine.
YIN AND YANG

Yin and yang are ancient Chinese concepts since Shang

dynasty (1600–1100 BC).

Good health is believed to be achieved by a balance between yin and

yang.

Sickness occurs if the two aspects lose their harmony.

Yang functions to protect from outer harm

Yin is the inner base to store and provide energy for its counterpart.

Yin is the inner and negative principles, and yang, outer and positive.
The Unity of Opposition Between yin and yang

The
varia
tions
of th
e four
seaso
ns
YIN AND YANG

Phenomenon YiN Yang

Celestial bodies moon sun

Gender female male

Location inside outside

Temperature cold hot

Direction downward upward

Degree of humidity damp/moist dry

Everything in the universe contains yin and yang

static dynamic
Yin Yang
dark bright

cold hot

substantial functional

etc… etc...
Yin vacuity (also termed "vacuity-heat"):

heat sensations, possible night sweats, insomnia, dry pharynx, dry mouth,
dark urine, a red tongue with scant fur, and a "fine" and rapid pulse.

Yang vacuity ("vacuity-cold"):

aversion to cold, cold limbs, bright white complexion, long voidings of clear
urine, diarrhea, pale and enlarged tongue, and a slightly weak, slow and fine pulse.
The Five Element Theory
natural philosophy in ancient China
Pheno-
menon Wood Fire Earth Metal Water

Direction
east south center west North

Colour
green/blue red yellow white black

Climate
wind heat damp dryness cold

Taste
sour bitter sweet acrid salty

Zang Organ
Liver Heart Spleen Lung Kidney

Fu Organ Small Large

Gallbladder Stomach Bladder
Intestine Intestine
Sense
eye tongue mouth nose ears

Facial part
Abovebridge Between eyes, Bridge Between eyes, cheeks(below
Basic substances to constitute the universe

the nature of growing freely liver eye east

the nature of flaring up heart lingua south

the nature of giving birth to all things spleen mouth middle

the nature of purifying and descending lung nose west

the nature of moistening kidney ear north

Two Examples of Relationships Between Phases:

Xiang Ke ( inter- inhibition, or control ) : wood

inhibits earth, earth inhibits water, water inhibits
fire, fire inhibits metal, and metal inhibits wood

Xiang Sheng ( inter-generation ): wood generates

fire, fire generates earth, earth generates metal,
metal generates water, and water generates wood
The relationships of generation, restriction

generation generation

restriction

restr
n
i c t io

i c t io
restr

generation generation
onrestr

n
t i
ic ic t
re str io n

generation
 Five Phases theory constitute the basis of the zàng-fu concept.

 Five Phase theory is also applied in diagnosis and therapy.

 Correspondences between the body and the universe have

historically also been seen in terms of the "Great Numbers" (dà
shū)
 Number of acu-points has at times been seen to be 365, in
correspondence with the number of days in a year
 Main meridians – 12 – has been seen in correspondence with the
number of rivers flowing through the ancient Chinese empire.

 Chinese medicine is based on Yinyangism  the combination of

Five Phases theory with Yin-yang theory)
 3.Model of the body

 Marginally concerned with anatomical structures,

 Focuses primarily on the body's functions (such as digestion,

breathing, temperature maintenance, etc.)

 "The tendency of Chinese thought is to seek out dynamic functional

activity rather than to look for the fixed somatic structures that
perform the activities. Because of this, the Chinese have no system of
anatomy comparable to that of the West."—Ted Kaptchuk, The Web
That Has No Weaver
 These functions are aggregated and then associated with a primary
functional entity –

 for instance, nourishment of the tissues(by blood) and maintenance

of their moisture(by body fluids) are seen as connected functions,
and the entity postulated to be responsible for these functions is xuě
(blood).

 The primary functional entities are

 qì
 xuě
 five zàng organs
 six fu organs
 meridians which extend through the organ systems.
 The zàng refers to the five entities considered to be yin in nature –
Heart, Liver, Spleen, Lung, Kidney

 The zàng's essential functions consist in production and storage of

qì and xuě

 fu refers to the six yang organs – Small Intestine, Large Intestine,

Gallbladder, Urinary Bladder, Stomach.

 The fu organs' main purpose is merely to transmit and

digest substances like waste, food, etc.
 These are all theoretically interconnected:

 each zàng organ is paired with a fu organ,

 which are nourished by the blood and concentrate qi(o2) for a

particular function,
 with meridians being extensions of those functional systems

throughout the body.

 Qi
THE ROOT OF LIFE
 Qi
 Defined by five "cardinal functions":

1. Actuation (tuīdòng

2. Warming (wēnxù) – the body

3. Defense (fángyù) – against Exogenous Pathogenic Factors

4. Containment ( gùshè) – of body fluids

5. Transformation ( qìhuà) – of food, drink, and breath into qi, xue

(blood), and jinye (“fluids”), and/or transformation of all of the
latter into each other.
 Qi is believed to be partially generated from food and drink, and
partially from air (by breathing).

 Vacuity of qi will be characterized by pale complexion, lassitude of

spirit, lack of strength, spontaneous sweating, laziness to speak, non-
digestion of food, shortness of breath (especially on exertion), and a
pale and enlarged tongue.

 Believe that vital energy - moving and energetic particles, state of

blood, and body fluid are the essential substances that compose
together to form the human body, and the basis for internal organs
to process.
 5.Concept of disease

 A disharmony in the functions or interactions of yin, yang, qi, xuĕ,

zàng-fu, meridians etc.
 and/or of the interaction between the human body and the
environment.

 A disease has two aspects: "bìng" and "zhèng".

 BING  "disease entity", "disease category", "illness", or

simply "diagnosis".

 ZHENG  "pattern".

 For example, the disease entity of a common cold might present with a
pattern of wind-cold in one patient, and with the pattern of wind-heat in
 6.Considerations of disease causes

 Three fundamental categories of disease causes

 The Six Excesses

A. Wind (fēng)

B. Cold (hán)

C. Fire/Heat (hui)

D. Dampness (shī)

E. Dryness (zào)

F. Summerheat (shu)

Six-Excesses-patterns can consist of only one or a combination of

Excesses
 Internal causes

 The "Seven Affects"( "Seven Emotions“)



JOY
ANGER
BROODING
SORROW
FEAR
FRIGHT
GRIEF
NON-EXTERNAL-NON-INTERNAL CAUSES:


 DIETARY IRREGULARITIES (especially: too much raw, cold, spicy, fatty or sweet
food; voracious eating; too much alcohol)


 FATIGUE


 SEXUAL INTEMPERANCE


 TRAUMA


 PARASITES
7.DIAGNOSTICS
FOUR METHODS OF DIAGNOSIS

OBSERVATION AUSCULTATION ENQUIRY PULSE TAKING

N’ OLFACTION N’ PALPATION
WONDER THAT THEY CAN CURE COUNTLESS PATIENTS WITHOUT ANY
 8.PRESCRIPTIONS

Chinese medicine enhances the recuperative power, immunity, and state of well-being.

It is said that “Western drugs often control symptoms but do not alter the disease process,
whereas Chinese herbal therapy treats the imbalance underlying a condition's symptoms.”

Each treatment is given to the individual and based upon a traditional diagnosis.

1.DECOCTIONS

2.CHINESE PATENT MEDICINE STANDARDIZED HERBAL FORMULAS.

3.CHINESE HERBAL EXTRACTS

.
【 plant 】 【 animal 】 【 mineral 】
CHINESE HERB LEAVES
.
Traditional categorization

Methods to classify traditional Chinese medicinals:

The Four Natures

The Five Flavors

The meridians

The specific function.

ACUPUNCTURE
ACUPUNCTURE AND MOXIBUSTION

Insertion of needles into superficial structures of the body (skin,

subcutaneous tissue, muscles) –
Usually at acupuncture points (acupoints)
Their subsequent manipulation

This aims at influencing the flow of qi.

Relieves pain and treats (and prevents) various diseases.

Acupuncture is often accompanied by moxibustion 

burning mugwort on or near the skin at an acupuncture point.
ANCIENT ACUPUNCTURE: NINE NEEDLES
TUI NA
Tui na is a form of massage akin to acupressure.

Oriental massage is typically administered with the patient fully clothed,

without the application of grease or oils.

It often involves thumb presses, rubbing, percussion, and stretches. Some

hand positions are given here:
Qigong

A system of exercise and meditation that combines regulated breathing, slow

movement, and focused awareness, purportedly to cultivate and balance qi.
Cupping

Cupping is a type of Chinese massage, consisting of placing several glass

"cups" (open spheres) on the body.

A match is lit and placed inside the cup and then removed before placing the
cup against the skin.

As the air in the cup is heated, it expands, and after placing in the skin, cools,
creating lower pressure inside the cup that allows the cup to stick to the skin
via suction.
Gua Sha

Abrading the skin with pieces of smooth jade, bone, animal tusks or horns or
smooth stones; until red spots then bruising cover the area to which it is
done.

Believed that this treatment is for almost any ailment including cholera.

The red spots and bruising take 3 to 10 days to heal, there is often some
soreness in the area that has been treated.
Die-da

Diē-dá or bone-setting is usually practiced by martial artists who know

aspects of Chinese medicine that apply to the treatment of trauma and
injuries such as bone fractures, sprains, and bruises.

Conclusion:
Chinese medicine is one of the great herbal medicinal systems of the world
with an unbroken tradition going back to the 3rd century.

Its distinctive approach and effectiveness makes it a special from other

medical sciences
REFERENCES

McGrew, Roderick. Encyclopedia of Medical History (1985),

Sivin, Nathan, Medicine(2000). (Science and civilisation in China, Vol. VI)

Arun bhasme, Rosario D’souza, Angelo smith’s, MEDICINE, The voyage

through time(2007)