Handbook of TCM Patterns & Treatments

449 Pages·2008·1.12 MB·English

by  Bob Flaws

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title: A Compendium of TCM Patterns &
Treatments
author: Flaws, Bob.; Finney, Daniel.
publisher: Blue Poppy Press
isbn10 | asin:
print isbn13: 9780936185705
ebook isbn13: 9780585138381
language: English
subject Medicine, Chinese.
publication date: 1996
lcc: R601.F574 1996eb
ddc: 610/.951
subject: Medicine, Chinese.
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Page iii
A Compendium of TCM Patterns & Treatments
Bob Flaws
Daniel Finney
Blue Poppy Press
Boulder, CO

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Published by:
BLUE POPPY PRESS, INC.
1775 LINDEN AVE.
BOULDER, CO 80304
First Edition, January, 1996
ISBN 0-936185-70-8
LC 95-83250
COPYRIGHT 1996 © BLUE POPPY PRESS
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
transcribed in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording,
or any other means, or translated into any language without the prior written permission of the publisher.
The information in this book is given in good faith. However, the authors and the publishers cannot be
held responsible for any error or omission. Nor can they be held in any way responsible for treatment
given on the basis of information contained in this book.
The publishers make this information available to readers for scholarly and research purposes only.The
publishers do not advocate nor endorse self-medication by laypersons. Chinese medicine is a professional
medicine. Laypersons interested in availing themselves of the treatments described in this book should
seek out a qualified professional practitioner of Chinese medicine.
COMP Designation: Original work using a standard translational terminology for Chinese medical technical terms
Printed at Johnson Printing in Boulder, CO on acid free, recycled, elementally chlorine-free paper
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

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Page v
Preface
As a student in an American school of TCM, when moving from the
classroom to the student clinic, it quickly became apparent to me that
Western patients seldom fit the exact mold of a single pattern as described
in introductory English language textbooks on TCM. Furthermore, Western
patients commonly present a myriad of signs and symptoms that can leave
the student overwhelmed when trying to discriminate just one or even a two
part pattern. Many times when I first started in student clinic, I would use
liver depression, qi stagnation and spleen qi vacuity as a security blanket in
complex cases instead of really trying to decipher what was truly going on.
And at that time I really did not find a single English language book that
could guide me in making more complex pattern discriminations.
Happily, after helping Bob Flaws work on this book for several months and
also using it in the classroom and student clinic, it has become much easier
for me to recognize which patterns and pattern combinations are the most
prevalent in Western clinical practice. In addition, this book has helped
make complicated cases clearer. For example, it is not uncommon to see
liver depression, qi stagnation with depressive heat, spleen qi vacuity, blood
vacuity, and blood stasis coupled with damp heat in the lower burner
causing or at least accompanying kidney yang vacuity. This complex
pattern is not discussed as such in any other English language texts, but
does present in Western clinical practice on a regular basis. If one only sees
and therefore only treats the elements of liver depression, qi stagnation and
spleen qi vacuity, either the patient will only get partially better or will only
get better for a short while and then relapse.
Western patients seeking treatment from acupuncturists and practitioners of
Traditional Chinese Medicine tend to be what in China are referred to as
knotty, difficult to treat patients. The others have either been successfully
treated by other practitioners or have gotten better because their condition
was self-limiting. We, on the other hand, are typically care providers of last
resource, and as Bob is fond of saying, we have to be better Chinese doctors
than the typical doctor in China. Therefore, it is our hope that this book will
help both students and practitioners to gain greater clarity and accuracy in
their in clinical application of TCM pattern discrimination.
The technical terminology used throughout this book for all TCM terms and
concepts is based on Nigel Wiseman's Glossary of Chinese Medical Terms
and Acupuncture Points, Paradigm Publications, Brookline, MA, 1990. In
terms of acupuncture nomenclature, we

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Page vi
have also used Wiseman's Glossary except that we have abbreviated the
channel identifications as follows: Lu for Lung, LI for Large Intestine, St
for Stomach, Sp for Spleen, Ht for Heart, SI for Small Intestine, Bl for
Bladder, Ki for Kidney, Per for Pericardium, TB for Triple Burner, GB for
Gallbladder, Liv for Liver, CV for Conception Vessel, and GV for
Governing Vessel.
DANIEL FINNEY
BOULDER, CO
NOVEMBER 27, 1995

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Page vii
Contents
Preface v
Introduction 1
1
Viscera & Bowel Pattern Discrimination 9
9
Liver & Gallbladder Patterns
9
Liver Depression, Qi Stagnation
10
Liver Qi Counterflowing Upward
11
Liver Qi Invading the Stomach
12
Liver Depression, Spleen Vacuity
14
Liver Depression, Transformative Heat
16
Liver/Stomach Depressive Heat & Counterflow
17
Liver Wind Stirring Internally
Insufficiency of Liver Blood 19
20
Liver Blood Insufficiency Engendering Wind
21
Replete Fire in the Liver Channel
22
Liver Fire Attacking the Lungs
23
Liver Fire Attacking the Stomach
24
Liver Yang Vacuity
25
Hyperactivity of Liver Yang
27
Liver Blood, Kidney Yin Vacuity
28
Liver Blood, Kidney Yang Vacuity
29
Cold Stagnating in the Liver Vessels
30
Damp Heat Accumulating in the Liver & Gallbladder
31
Gallbladder Qi Vacuity
32
Hyperactivity of Gallbladder Fire
34
Heart & Small Intestine Patterns
34
Heart Qi Vacuity
35
Insufficiency of Heart Blood
36
Heart/Liver Blood Vacuity
37
Heart Blood & Yin Vacuity Inability to Lie Down
39
Heart/Spleen Dual Vacuity
40
Heart/Gallbladder Qi Vacuity
41
Heart Yang Vacuity
42
Heart Blood Stasis
43
Phlegm Obstructing the Portal of the Heart
44
Phlegm Fire Harassing the Heart
46
Heart Yang Effulgence, Yin & Blood Vacuity