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Module 2   Lesson 5   Shen

The Kidneys

Why does an acupuncturist name the same organ for tinnitus, grey hair, getting up at night to pass urine and a weak lower back?

After this lesson you can name the eight functions of the Kidneys, explain why Kidney-Yin and Kidney-Yang are the root of all Yin and Yang, and link the functions to patterns 11, 12 and 14 from module 1, lesson 7.

Kidneys 腎 shèn the root; functions ch. 10 p. 157 Kidney-Yin Kidney-Yang Water and Fire; Ming Men between 1 Jing: growth, reproduction 2 Marrow: brain, bones 3 govern Water 4 receive Qi 5 open into the ears 6 manifest in the head hair 7 two lower orifices 8 house the Will-Power (Zhi) Bladder Fu partner; stores Water element; winter Cold climate fear emotion; Qi descends bones, teeth tissue groaning, putrid sound and odour black, salty colour and taste thick saliva fluid: tuo
Functions after Maciocia ch. 10 (functions from p. 157); correspondences after ch. 5 pp. 98 to 103 and ch. 10, other correspondences p. 165. Schematic; order and grouping of the functions: check on p. 157.

Know by heart

  • Eight functions. Store Essence (Jing) and govern birth, growth, reproduction and development; produce Marrow, fill the Brain, control the bones; govern Water; control the reception of Qi; open into the ears; manifest in the head hair; control the two lower orifices; house the Will-Power (Zhi). mnemonic: root, marrow, water, breath; ear, hair, gate, will.
  • Yin and Yang. Kidney-Yin is the basis of all Yin, Kidney-Yang of all Yang; each is rooted in the other. The Kidneys are the root of Pre-Heaven Qi, and ch. 37 has no separate Excess heading: the Kidneys fall ill through deficiency. mnemonic: Water and Fire under one roof.
  • Jing in cycles (Su Wen 1). Women in cycles of seven years (14 menstruation, 49 end), men in cycles of eight (16 the Jing overflows, 64 teeth and hair gone). mnemonic: up to seven times seven and eight times eight.
  • Water and breath. Kidney-Yang warms and separates: the pure upwards, the turbid to the Bladder; the Lungs make Qi descend, the Kidneys hold it. mnemonic: the Lungs are the master of Qi, the Kidneys its root.
  • Correspondences. Fu Bladder; Water; Cold; winter; black, salty, groaning, putrid; thick saliva (tuo); fear; bones and teeth.
  • Three patterns from module 1, lesson 7. Kidney-Yin deficiency (11), Kidney-Yang deficiency (12), Heart and Kidneys not harmonised (14); recognise: Kidney-Essence deficiency. mnemonic: dry and warm, cold and wet, Fire without Water.

The rest of this lesson is reference.

Kidneys: Why does an acupuncturist name the same organ for tinnitus, grey hair, getting up at night to pass urine and a weak lower back?
The chart as an image, to save or share

Three practice questions from this lesson

Which function fails in breathlessness that is worse mainly on breathing in?
  1. Receiving Qi
  2. Producing Marrow
  3. Governing Water

Answer: Receiving Qi. The Lungs make Qi descend, the Kidneys hold it; if that fails, the in-breath does not land (step 6).

Where do the Kidneys open according to Ling Shu 17, and where according to Su Wen 4?
  1. Into the nose; into the skin and body hair
  2. Into the ears; into the two lower orifices
  3. Into the eyes; into the nails and sinews

Answer: Into the ears; into the two lower orifices. Above, the ears; below, the urethra and anus (step 7). Eyes, nails and sinews are the Liver; nose, skin and body hair the Lungs.

Su Wen 1: when does menstruation begin in women, and when does fertility end?
  1. At 16 and 64
  2. At 14 and 49
  3. At 12 and 50

Answer: At 14 and 49. In cycles of seven years: at 14 the Tian Gui arrives, at 49 it is exhausted. 16 and 64 belong to men.

The rest of this lesson

In the course you get the step-by-step explanation, 15 case-based practice questions, 21 spaced-repetition flashcards, the pitfalls and the bridge to physiology with evidence grades. This lesson belongs to module 2: Organs.

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