All lessons Module 2: Pulse Lesson 6
Reading the positions
What does one deviating position tell you, and how do you compare left and right?
After this lesson you know which organs are fixed in every map and which ones shift, you can read per position what weak, strong or a quality means, you compare left with right and top with bottom, you follow a fixed method when one position deviates, and you know the limits of the positions.
Know by heart
- The fixed Zang. Left: cun Heart, guan Liver, chi Kidney (Yin). Right: cun Lungs, guan Spleen and Stomach, chi Kidney (Yang, Ming Men); mnemonic: the left stores, the right moves.
- Top and bottom. Cun is the Upper Burner (head to diaphragm), guan the Middle, chi the Lower (navel to feet). Cun strong and chi empty: full above, empty below; mnemonic: cun is the roof, chi the foundation.
- Left and right. Left Blood and Yin, right Qi and Yang (rule of thumb, from the organs on each side). Also classical: left (renying) for what comes from outside, right (qikou) for what comes from inside, such as food.
- One position. Weak: the organ falls short. Strong or with a quality: something is in excess or stuck there. Read the whole first, then the position, and check it against the symptoms.
- Five fixed pictures. Left guan wiry and right guan weak: Liver invading the Spleen. Right cun empty: Lung-Qi. Both chi deep and weak: Kidney-Yang. Left cun overflowing and rapid: Heart-Fire. Right guan full and rapid: Stomach-Heat.
- The limits. That the positions differ has been measured; that they are organs has not. The Fu shift from map to map. A middle finger pressing too hard makes guan fuller; an artery that runs differently makes a position empty.
- Red flags. One whole side weaker or absent: first the blood pressure on both arms; with a cold, pale or painful arm, emergency services (112 in Europe, 999 in the UK, 911 in North America). A difference between the arms is first a question about the vessel, not about an organ.
The rest of this lesson is reference.
Three practice questions from this lesson
Which Zang lie at left cun, guan and chi in every classical map?
- Heart, Liver, Kidney
- Lungs, Spleen, Kidney
- Heart, Spleen, Liver
Answer: Heart, Liver, Kidney. Left Heart, Liver, Kidney; right Lungs, Spleen and Stomach, Kidney (Yang, Ming Men). What shifts are the Fu, the Pericardium and the Triple Burner.
Why do some maps put the intestines at cun and others at chi?
- Because one map follows the channels, the other body space
- Because the intestines have no position of their own in the book
- Because the intestines lie differently in women and men
Answer: Because one map follows the channels, the other body space. Channel map: Small Intestine with the Heart, Large Intestine with the Lungs, via the paired channels. Space map: the intestines lie in the lower abdomen, the Lower Burner, so at chi.
Cun is strong on both sides, chi weak on both sides. What do you read in broad terms?
- Full above, empty below
- Empty above, full below
- An exterior picture at cun
Answer: Full above, empty below. Cun is the Upper Burner, chi the Lower. Strong above and empty below fits Yang rising on an empty root, or Heat above and Cold below.
The rest of this lesson
In the course you get the step-by-step explanation with illustrated tongues and animated pulse models, 17 case-based practice questions, 19 spaced-repetition flashcards, the pitfalls, the bridge to physiology and the visual trainer. This lesson belongs to module 2: Pulse.