Various parts of the tongue correspond to different bodily organs, such as kidneys, spleen and lungs, and a tcm doctor can determine their state of health and any pathological changes by observing the condition of the body muscular. Traditional chinese medicine diagnosis howstuffworks. These tongue signs play a part in specific tcm diagnoses and may be difficult for the non tcm practitioner to translate into a western practice. We may evaluate the size of the tongue compared to the opening of the mouth or observe any teeth marks on the sides. Tongue diagnosis gillian mckeith healthy eating, weight. The color of the tongue, its shape, its coating or lack of, all these details can give us information about what is going on internally. The demarcations that you look for are cracks or raised areas. Taking into account swelling of the tongue body your teeth marks it confirms the yin deficiency in the spleen and accumulation of damp. During an examination, the overall tongue coating, shape, and color is taken into account. The cracks, they might be congenital, otherwise they mean something has eaten up the fluids. The spleen and dampness in chinese medicine chinese. In tongue diagnosis, observation of the surface of the tongue is mainly focused on the shape, fur, and body of the tongue. A peeled or cracked tongue coat indicates insufficient lining or flora in the digestive system. Often, the practitioner can diagnose a disease through an inquiry and external examination.
It can present strong visual indicators of a persons overall harmony or disharmony. Cracks on the tongue with deep red color indicate excessive heat. The role of tongue diagnosis not all tongue irregularities are indications of disharmony, however. An acknowledged master of tongue diagnosis, maciocia describes how a tongue that lacks a coating pictured at right andor has scattered cracks is typical of yin deficiency. It will often be necessary to crossreference several or all of these aspects to establish a full picture. Aug 12, 20 tongue diagnosis is an important method in tcm to detect constitution like qi deficiency, yin deficiency, blood stasis, dampness, etc. The normal tongue in traditional chinese medicine has a light red or pinkish body with a thin white coating. Examining your tongue can tell you everything about your organs and the state of your health. The cracks, for example, may never go totally away, but the coat will repair pretty quickly. Since the tongue always reflects the basic, underlying pattern, it is extremely reliable, especially whenever there are.
It can show the condition of your body, organs, progress of a disorder and your tongue will show the depth and nature hot, cold, etc. The four examinations, part 2 tongue diagnosis in chinese. A healthy tongue looks like a piece of freshly killed meat. Cracks or lines down the center of the tongue also indicate a potential heart function issue. Oriental tongue diagnosis edited by desire dubounet introduction the tongue has many relationships and connections in the body, both to the meridians and the internal organs. Tongue diagnosis can be complicated but there are a few easy to look for signs that may give you an indication of whats going on. Stick out your tongue tongue diagnosis in tcm petersen. Jan 25, 2017 vertical crack on the tongue usually indicates the exhaustion of your body fluids specifically yin deficiency. The effectiveness of this has led to an integrative approach in the diagnosis of a condition. Tongue examination is generally conducted along with the examination of the pulse and collection of background data. A diagnosis in traditional chinese medicine requires keen observational skills and in depth inquiry. It is an important way to diagnose a patients health and sometimes can be crucial in deciding what to do first.
The spleen and dampness in chinese medicine the concept of dampness in chinese medicine is related to a deficiency of the spleens function of transporting and transforming body fluids. If wide and not deep it points to stomach yin deficiency usually. Sep 11, 2009 tongue apperance and mechanisms a quick guide tongue diagnosis is a powerful means by which a practitioner of chinese medicine can quickly locate the solution to many issues of internal medicine. Your tongue plays a unique role in understanding your bodys constitution. When the spleen becomes deficient, it will cause it to produce more dampness, creating a vicious cycle. It has a look of aliveness and is supple not stiff. Overweight people may have more damp andor phlegm, and, therefore, their tongues may be larger and lighter in color while thinner patients tend toward redder tongues. Why traditional chinese medicine diagnosis is worthless. The tongue will be a healthy red color when this organ is in balance. It is considered a pillar of diagnosis because it provides clearly visible clues to a patients pattern of disease. Since we cannot see much beyond the mouth without some invasive diagnostics, a quick look at the. The four examinations, part 2 tongue diagnosis in chinese medicine. Observing the tongue is one of the major diagnostic tools of tcm and there are hundreds of possible indications. Knowledge of tongue diagnosis is one of the unique treasures of traditional chinese medicine tcm.
When a chinese practitioner carries our his diagnosis through tongue session, he would take notes of the following. The tongue coating fur refers to a layer of moss over the tongue surface, which is produced by the stomach qi. It is especially important in confirming the tcm diagnosis. The appearance and qualities of the tongue is a critical part of diagnosis in chinese medicine tcm. A part from grooved tongue, this infections may also cause white bumps or lesion, pain and swelling of different parts of your mouth.
There is no movement quivering, trembling, sidetoside motion, curling or shifting to one side. Understanding the process of tongue diagnosis is a. Tongue diagnosis is a very traditional and effective method which has been used to diagnose diseases for over two thousand years. Tongue assessment in traditional chinese medicine tcm. Tongue diagnosis of traditional chinese medicine for. They are based on imagination, not on anatomical and physiologic reality.
Furthermore, some people have minor, unchanging cracks on their tongue, which are considered. The tongue is totally peeled without coating and with many cracks, both signs of chronic yin deficiency. In the elderly, energy and blood deficiency is more common, so the tongue may present with dryness and cracks while infants tend to have a white thick coating that is easily removed. Tongue diagnosis introduction tongue is generally known as the organ of taste. If you stick your tongue out at yourself in the mirror, you can actually see the health of your organs. Tongue diagnosis and analysis natural health techniques. Yin and yang in tongue, swollen tongue, tcm theory, channels in tongue. Learning to read the 28 pulses that are an essential part of chinese medicine diagnosis takes years of study and practice. Cracked tongue pictures, causes, diagnosis, treatment. Cracked tongue is among the symptoms of this mouth infection. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. In this article, learn what scalloped tongue edges means, especially in the context of chinese medicine, pictures, the causes including thyroid, dehydration, sleep apnea. Most causes of a cracked tongue have distinctive and telltale symptoms, so a visual inspection followed by a medical history can accurately determine most culprits. However, your chinese medicine practitioner will talk to you about your pulse diagnosis, and the most common descriptions are.
Pale red tongue with white glossy coating, red tongue with fissures. Chinese medicine diagnosis and treatment sacred lotus. Tongue diagnosis tongue diagnosis is part of diagnosis by looking in traditional chinese medicine tcm. And if you find cracks on a red tongue, it usually means that theres heat either excess heat thats burned up the tongue or theres insufficiency of yin, usually stomach yin. Tongue diagnosis is an important method used in chinese medicine to understand the health. Diagnosing the tongue body this refers to qualities of the tongue related to size, shape, and color independent of the tongue coating. A tongue without cracks is frequently soft and supple. Why traditional chinese medicine diagnosis is worthless stephen barrett, m. The symptoms of a fissured tongue are cracks on top surface of the tongue. In fact, im surprised when acupuncturists dont use it.
What your tongue says about your health eu yan sang. In fall or autumn, the tongue may be thinner with a coating that is more dry. When a practitioner of tcm looks at a patients tongue heshe is looking at many things such as the tongue body, shape, movement, coating as well as the yin and yang organs reflected on the tongue. Over time, chinese medicine has observed that certain parts of the tongue relate to certain parts of the body. Chronic yin deficiency leads to emptyheat and we know in this case that the blood stasis derives from heat as the tongue is a reddishpurple colour. The stomach crack on the tongue is rather wide and it is in the central section of the tongue corresponding to middle burner. Tcm diagnosis winter midterm tongue diagnosis 48 terms. The tongue reflects the health of the internal organs and blood circulation. Tongue diagnosis in tcm tongue diagnosis is one of the main diagnostic tools in traditional chinese medicine. If you find cracks on a pale tongue, it usually means that the qi and the blood is deficient. The basics of this art can be learned in a single day or less.
If there is no tongue fur over the crack or fissure, the fissure belongs to pathologic changes. In traditional chinese medicine, the diagnosis is based on dialogue, observation and differentiated pulse and tongue analysis. The 2 pillars of chinese medicine treatment plan by acupro academy. Tongue analysis can be used in complement with pulse, nail, and facial diagnosis in order to really see what is going on. This is a common tongue when people have been sitting for too long or for women. The tongue body refers to the muscular tissue of the tongue. The diagnoses made by its practitioners have very little to do with people. The treatment of diseases with acupuncture and chinese herbs, 2e. In auricular diagnosis, specific problems in the body are revealed by areas of the external ear that are darker, discolored, or flaky. Ask the patient not to brush their tongue, at least the day of their tcm tongue diagnosis. Chinese medicine considers the tongue to be the window to total body health. Chinese tongue diagnosis is an essential tool used by tcm practitioners. Many cracks on tongue fissured tongue ayurvedic diet.
People with such a crack often have no digestive symptoms but i always recommend treating it by using ren12, st36 and sp6. Jan 20, 2011 tongue diagnosis, yin and yang in tongue, swollen tongue, tcm theory, channels in tongue, byung choi duration. Observation of the tongue, also known as tongue diagnosis, is an important procedure in tcm examination. If there is insufficient blood in the heart, the tongue may appear pale. This method involves examination of the shape, size, color, and texture of the tongue body and coat and helps reveal the state of organ functions and progression of conditions. A central short crack in the middle of the tongue often indicates stomach yin.
Fissured tongue in tcm tongue diagnosis tcm health. There is a reasonable congruence between ayurvedic tongue assessment and tcm regarding the map of the organs on the tongue. A cracked pale tongue indicates insufficiency of yin and blood. There are several shapes such crack and fissure on the surface of tongue, which differ in depth and numbers. Cracks anywhere suggest yin deficiency in the related zangfu.
Most common is the longitudinal midline crack running up the centre or the tongue from back to front. This is a method for tcm physicians to understand and predict the pathological. Tongue diagnosis is a practice long used in traditional chinese medicine a system of alternative medicine that originated in china. If something is on the exterior it cannot change the tongue coating. The diagnosis can also be made using the clinical symptoms of the tongue. Tierra, leslie tongue diagnosis american herbalists guild. This suggests overabundance of pathogenic heat in the body, which could be due to eating too much spicy food, particularly redgreen chilis, tabasco sauce, or deepfried, greasy food, fast foods, andor highly stressed. Many dont use pulse diagnosis either, which is another vital way to. Ideally it looks like the tongue of a six or sevenyearold child if you have access to one, check it out. The colour, coating, shape, wetness and cracks of the tongue map out the condition of your internal organs as well as your mental and emotional health.
Another sign of yin deficiency is a tongue with deep cracks. When we ask you to stick your tongue out, we are observing the appearance of the tongue in three distinct areas. Introduction to tongue assessment for the western herbalist. I encourage you to investigate the resources listed if you are interested in diving more deeply into this subject.
Tongue diagnosis in chinese medicine by giovanni maciocia. Changes in the tongue color usually reflect chronic illness. A cracked tongue is a benign condition with multiple small but furrows, fissures or grooves visible on the dorsal of the tongue. Within tcm there are a couple of different schools of thought with regards to where to map different organs on the tongue. The coating of the tongue would be observed separately from the actual body of the tongue. Tongue diagnosis in tcm is comprehensive and much information can be gathered from it such as the degree of the pathogenic factor and the state of. Tcm diagnostics is a study of the theories, methods and techniques of diagnosis used in traditional chinese medicine tcm. Traditional chinese medicine tcm is based on fanciful notions that ill health is caused by imbalances of the flow of vital energy chi or qi through alleged pathways called meridians. Tongue diagnosis is a key process used in chinese medicine and there is.
Food and drugs may change the coating or color of the body of the tongue. This study explored 2 components of tongue diagnosis. They include having weak immune system, suffering from diabetes, iron and. Now they have a bright red tongue with cracks and its peeled.
Tongue diagnosis in tcm acupuncture theory tcm acupuncture theory. It is rare to need a biopsy to diagnose a fissured tongue. Most people dont even notice the cracks on their tongue. These measures provide precise indications about the path taken by the flow of energy inside the body. Tongue diagnosis in tcm acupuncture clinic of tom ingegno. To contrast and compare the heart and stomach cracks, the former is rather narrow and runs all along the tongue from near the root to near the tip, while the latter is rather wide and is only in the middle of the tongue. There are various factors that increases the risk of developing oral thrush. Diagnosis through tongue acupuncture and chinese medicine. A central short crack in the middle of the tongue often indicates stomach yin deficiency 15 fig. The tongue is divided into different areas, and these areas reflect the chinese medicine organ system. However it is best to see a practitioner who specialises in tongue diagnosis. In ayurveda, one of the primary investigative tools of practitioners for determining the state of ones health is tongue diagnosis or evaluation of the tongue the tongue is the beginning of the digestive tract, which lumbers on for another 30 feet or so.
One of the principal diagnostic methods in traditional chinese medicine tcm is the inspection of the tongue. The concept of heat in traditional chinese medicine. Diy ayurvedic tongue diagnosis john douillards lifespa. According to the principles of tcm, analyzing the appearance of an individuals tongue can provide a greater understanding of his or her overall health. Cracks on a red tongue surface these points to a fungal infection in the body, and is often accompanied by night sweats, sleeplessness and irritability if you like the video, give it a thumbs.
Vertical crack on the tongue usually indicates the exhaustion of your body fluids specifically yin deficiency. The tongue, according to ayurveda, is a strong diagnostic tool for looking at ones systemic health. A misguided study to test the reliability of traditional chinese medicine pulse diagnosis. A physician will observe multiple characteristics of the tongue such as the tongue s colour, coating and movement. In some cases, the cracks may cause burning sensation while consuming specific food type or may leave you tasteless too. It is therefore very useful and important during inspection for confirming diagnosis. Jun 24, 2017 cracked tongue is a condition in which the top visible surface of your tongue gets cracks or fissures. Chinese tongue diagnosis poster 18 x 24 laminated or heavy weight paper chinese tongue examination is much, much easier to master than chinese pulse examination. The tongue is a map of the body in chinese medicine. Discover what a tongue diagnosis of cracks on your tongue means and how to remedy a cracked tongue with ayurveda.
Pulse diagnosis and tongue diagnosis are widely used in traditional chinese medicine. Tcm diagnosis initial interview and observation, pulse and tongue diagnosis. Tongue diagnosis in tcm acupuncture theory chinese medicine. Aug 20, 2011 tongue diagnosis requires a great deal of knowledge of tcm theory and experience with patients but here is a simplified guide that you can use to observe your own health. Observation of the tongue, also known as tongue diagnosis, is an important. Tongue diagnosis is used all the time by acupuncturists and practitioners trained in chinese medicine. The secondary functions of the tongue are to help swallowing and chewing the food. Seasons of the year in summer, there may be more dampness present in the tongue coating, leaving it slightly thicker and light yellow.
If there are sensations of a burning tongue, or pain due to canker sores in the mouth, or you are often irritable, look for a crimson red tongue or tongue tip with reddish prickles. These 9 changes on your tongue reveal almost all your diseases. Practical diagnosis in traditional chinese medicine, 1e. This suggests overabundance of pathogenic heat in the body, which could be due to eating too much spicy food, particularly redgreen chilis. It can be a strong indicator of a persons overall harmony or disharmony. A normal tongue is pink in color, medium thickness, no cracks, ulcers, no teeth marks and with a light white moist coat with root on it. For example, coffee yellows the coating and peptobismol turns the tongue black. But in ayurveda, cracks on your tongue tell an important story. In ayurveda, one of the primary investigative tools of practitioners for determining the state of ones health is tongue diagnosis or evaluation of the tongue. Sacred lotus has helped millions of people learn chinese medicine for over 15 years.
Tongue coating in the first place, the properties of tongue coating should be examined. A cracked tongue diagnosis usually involves looking at the tongue to see what else is occurring alongside the cracks. If you find cracks that are horizontal, that almost always means yin insufficiency. Whether you need a quick reference or in depth knowledge, we provide authentic, researched, and well organized information. A reddishpurple tongue body colour usually indicates blood stasis deriving from or. It forms the foundation of all, physicians assess a persons syndromes or disease, and state of health by collecting and analyzing clinical information on the basis of different diagnostic methods.
Tongue diagnosis is an important part of the chinese medical assessment. Tongue diagnosis is a highly skilled practice with thousands of tongue variations representing hundreds of conditions and is just one of the tools that a chinese medical doctor uses to analyse. The tongue is the beginning of the digestive tract, which lumbers on for another 30 feet or so. Sep 11, 20 tongue assessment is part of both tcm and ayurvedic medicine. It includes observing the tongue and any coating it may have.
Traditional chinese medicine tongue diagnosis carahealth. In this simplified guide, we have selected some major tongue characteristics for you to perform your own examination. Shape of the tongue fissures cracks in the tongue movement of the tongue. The upper surface contains the taste buds that act as. The cornerstone classics of chinese medicine tongue diagnosis, tongue diagnosis is. Chronic yin deficiency leads to emptyheat and we know in this case that the blood stasis derives from heat as the tongue is a. If your tongue stays orange for more than a week or two, see your doctor for diagnosis. This crack is in the midline extending from near the root to near the tip. When the stomach is diminished and there is no coat on the tongue, thats a bad sign the coat of the tongue will change faster than the body of the tongue. Oct 24, 2016 tongue diagnosis is an important diagnostic tool in traditional chinese medicine tcm. A misguided study to test the reliability of traditional. We call this purplish color dusky and it shows stagnation of some kind, either qi or blood stagnation. How tongue diagnosis works by transformational acupuncture. These tongue cracks might go unnoticed because of their benign effects, but they change the tongue appearance.
It is a very accurate view into the inner health of an individual. It is therefore very useful and important during inspection for confirming tcm diagnosis. A cracked tongue can be observed as an incidental finding during a routine dental examination. The upper surface contains the taste buds that act as the primary organ of taste. As described above, but requiring more experience to recognize, a yin deficiency pulse may be. Inspection and tongue study methods in tcm shen nong. What follows on this page are the various tongue body and coating appearances, how they came to look that way mechanisms and what they indicate. It is likely that the yin deficiency preceded the blood stasis. If the tongue body also has cracks and there is little or no tongue coat, this usually indicates deficient heat due to. In this article i am going to share with you knowledge about tongue diagnosis. If there is blood stagnation, the tongue will reflect this with a dark purple color. Debris can sometimes get trapped in the cracks of deep grooves.
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