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All lessons   Module 7: Treatment   Lesson 6

Module 7   Lesson 6   Xin, Fei, Shen

Treatment plans: Heart, Lungs and Kidneys

How do you turn a Heart, Lung or Kidney pattern into a point selection you can defend point by point?

After this lesson you know the fixed building blocks for each organ (Yuan, Luo, Xi-Cleft, Back-Shu, Front-Mu), you can build an example point selection with a reason for each point for the main Heart, Lung and Kidney patterns, and you know where moxa belongs and where it does not.

layer Heart 心 Lungs 肺 Kidneys 肾 1 Organ base Yuan, Back-Shu, Front-Mu HT-7, BL-15, CV-14 chest: PC-6, CV-17 LU-9, BL-13, LU-1 descend: LU-7 KI-3, BL-23, GB-25 root: CV-4 2 What is lacking tonify, Bu Qi, Yang: HT-5, CV-6 Blood, Yin: HT-7, SP-6 Qi: ST-36, CV-6 Yin: KI-6, BL-43 Yang: GV-4, moxa Yin: KI-6, SP-6 3 What is excess drain, Xie Fire: HT-8, HT-9 Phlegm: PC-5, ST-40 Heat: LU-5, LU-10 Phlegm: LU-5, ST-40 Water: CV-9, ST-28 Empty-Heat: KI-2 the principle picks the layers Deficiency layers 1 and 2: base, top up Excess layer 3: drain Mixed picture all three, in proportion
Schematic. Point categories from ch. 51 (pp. 845 to 859); the choice per layer is textbook knowledge and differs between practitioners. In the book, HT-7 is HE-7, CV-14 is REN-14, PC-6 is P-6, KI-3 is KID-3 and GV-4 is DU-4.

Know by heart

  • Three layers. Organ base, what is lacking, what is in excess; the principle picks which layers take part. mnemonic: base, top up, drain.
  • The organ base. Heart HT-7, BL-15, CV-14 (chest: PC-6, CV-17); Lungs LU-9, BL-13, LU-1 (LU-7 makes the Qi descend); Kidneys KI-3, BL-23, GB-25 (CV-4 as the root). mnemonic: Yuan on the hand or foot, Shu on the back, Mu on the front.
  • Heart. Qi and Yang: HT-5, PC-6, BL-15, CV-17, CV-6, with moxa for Yang. Blood (13): HT-7, CV-14, BL-15, BL-20, SP-6, ST-36. Yin: HT-7, HT-6, KI-6, SP-6. Fire (15): HT-8, HT-7, CV-15, SP-6. Phlegm: PC-5, ST-40, CV-12. Stasis: PC-6, PC-4, CV-17, BL-17.
  • Lungs. Qi (16): LU-9, LU-7, ST-36, BL-13, CV-6. Yin: LU-9, LU-7 with KI-6, BL-43. Heat and Phlegm-Heat: LU-5, LU-10, LU-1, LI-11, with ST-40 for Phlegm. mnemonic: LU-9 fills, LU-5 and LU-10 douse.
  • Kidneys. Yang (12): BL-23, GV-4, KI-3, KI-7, CV-4 with moxa. Yin (11): KI-3, KI-6, SP-6, CV-4, without moxa; add KI-2 with Empty-Heat. Not receiving Qi: KI-3, KI-7, BL-23, CV-17, LU-7 with KI-6. Not firm: BL-23, KI-3, CV-4, CV-6.
  • Two rules. Moxa in Yang deficiency and Cold, not in Empty-Heat. Ying-Spring clears Heat: HT-8, LU-10, KI-2. mnemonic: the spring douses the fire.
  • Red flag. Chest pain, breathlessness at rest, coughing up blood, oedema with breathlessness, blood in the urine: see a doctor first.

The rest of this lesson is reference.

Treatment plans: Heart, Lungs and Kidneys: How do you turn a Heart, Lung or Kidney pattern into a point selection you can defend point by point?
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Three practice questions from this lesson

Which three points form the organ base of the Lungs?
  1. LU-5, LU-10, LI-11
  2. LU-9, BL-13, LU-1
  3. LU-7, LI-4, BL-12

Answer: LU-9, BL-13, LU-1. Yuan, Back-Shu and Front-Mu. LU-7, LI-4 and BL-12 are the Exterior (Wind, lesson 8); LU-5, LU-10 and LI-11 clear Heat.

The Front-Mu point of the Kidneys is ...
  1. BL-23
  2. KI-3
  3. GB-25
  4. CV-4

Answer: GB-25. GB-25. BL-23 is the Back-Shu point, KI-3 the Yuan point; CV-4 is the Front-Mu point of the Small Intestine and is used here as the root.

Why is HT-8 in the point selection for Heart-Fire?
  1. It is the Yuan point and nourishes Heart-Blood
  2. It is the Ying-Spring point and clears Heat
  3. It is the Xi-Cleft point and nourishes Heart-Yin

Answer: It is the Ying-Spring point and clears Heat. Ying-Spring points clear Heat (textbook knowledge, after Nan Jing 68). HT-8, LU-10 and KI-2 are the Ying-Spring points of this lesson. HT-6 is the Xi-Cleft point, HT-7 the Yuan point; they nourish and calm.

The rest of this lesson

In the course you get the step-by-step explanation, 17 case-based practice questions, 22 spaced-repetition flashcards, the pitfalls and the bridge to physiology with evidence grades. This lesson belongs to module 7: Treatment.

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