TONGUE DIAGNOSIS

- " It is axiomatic in Chinese medicine that any part of the body may carry in it traces of events occurring throughout the whole body." - Prof. Song Tian Bin, Tongue Atlas





I. Conditions for Tongue Diagnosis



1. Proper Lighting



2. Proper extension of the tongue



3. Length of Time tongue is extended- 15-20 seconds maximum



4. Presence of stains from highly colored foods or sweets

5. Certain spicy foods can create instant heat; coffee can make the tongue yellow



6. Smoking makes the tongue yellow



7. Antibiotics will either thicken the coat or cause peeling



8. There are congenital factors



II. Aspects of Diagnosis



A. Tongue body versus tongue coating

TONGUE BODY reflects the state ( hypo or hyper function) of Zheng (True) Qi. The Zang-Fu which principally affect the Tongue include:





Heart- The tongue is the sprout of the Heart. Heart governs blood. The tongue is full of blood. The HEART is fire and fire ascends.

When the Qi of the Heart is damaged, the ZHEN HUO (True Fire)

ascends and is manifest on the tongue. Shen which is stored in the Heart Blood also manifests on the tongue.

Spleen- The Spleen/Stomach attaches to the bottom of the tongue.

The fluids that fill the tongue and separate the five tastes are controlled by the digestive fire of the Middle Jiao. The center of

the tongue is ruled by the Spleen/Stomach. This energy also determines the coating. ( See below...)





Kidney- The Kidney connects to the root of the tongue. The Kidney

energy is the root of ZHENG (True) QI. The Kidney is the root of the body's FIRE AND WATER







TONGUE BODY

1.Color-



A healthy tongue body is pink, especially at the tip if the Ming Men fire is still vibrant. When the tongue loses the Zheng Qi, it begins to turn pale. If fluids become deficient, the tongue will begin to dry out.

Heat will make the tongue turn red:



a. Heat Excess will be a bright red, and the tongue will have Shen and moisture. It often produces a coat which will be yellow.





b. Deficiency Heat the red color is deeper, more scarlet. The tongue body is usually diminished due to damage to Yin fluids. There is no coating. It may have begun to lose its lustre.



c. Stagnation of Qi or Blood will make the tongue body purple, reflecting venous congestion. Maciocia says it must indicate Blood Stasis, Other sources disagree .The more stagnation accumulates, the darker the color. Thus “ black”= Blood stagnation

Bluish purple is Stagnation Cold, Reddish purple is stagnation Heat.



d. Severe Heat or Cold may turn the tongue black

2. Shape-



The shape reflects the overall condition of the body fluids. If the tongue is swollen, it reflects the hypo-functionality of Spleen Yang. If the tongue is shrunken it reflects damage to the Yin fluids



3. Moisture-



This reflects the strength of SPLEEN YANG, and the condition

and transport of body fluids

4. Motility-



When the ZHENG (True) QI is healthy the tongue moves smoothly in and out. When the Spleen/Stomach Qi is deficient, the tongue

is weak. When Interior (Liver) Wind is stirring, the tongue will be stiff

and its movements erratic.







5. Spirit (Shen)-



The overall evaluation of the other components reflects very directly on the overall strength of the ZHENG QI. This might as well be the QI of the tongue, as well.





TONGUE COATING

Reflects the condition of the STOMACH (WEI) QI

and the relative degree of accumulation of PATHOGENS. When there is a

tongue coating, two important diagnostic factors must exist:



1. There must be an EXCESS (Accumulation) of Pathogen

2. The Pathogen must be INTERIOR.



The relative presence or lack of tongue coating indicates the relative fullness or emptiness of the Stomach Qi. It also reflects the progression of disease and the prognosis.



a) A coating that is getting thinner indicates

recovery from a disease.

b) A coating that is getting thicker indicates

that the disease is going deeper.

c) A coating can be YOUNG OR OLD (Rooted)

1. Thickness-



Thickness indicates the relative strength or extent of the Pathogen

and the relative weakness of the ZHENG (True) QI. The change from thick to thin indicates an improved prognosis; the increasing thickness indicates that the disease has penetrated deeper.



2. Color-



a) YELLOW=HEAT



b) WHITE=COLD

.-The brighter and cleaner the color, the more acute the pathogen.



3. Texture



- Pathogenic heat mingling with Yin accumulations will dry out the coating and produce anomalies. Over time, Heat causes the coating to curdle and stick to the surface.





4. Distribution-



Location of the coating corresponds to certain Zang-Fu,

most noticeably according to the three jiaos.





5. Root-



When Stomach Qi is exhausted, the Coating loses its root.

The Chinese call this ZHEN (Real) TAI or JIA (False) TAI







III. Correspondences-



Upper Jiao- HEART AND LUNG-





The front of tongue; the very tip reflects the relationship between

Ming Men and the Heart Fire; If it healthy, the tip will be slightly red.

The Lung QI dominates the Upper Jiao and controls Body Fluids; damage to

these functions will reflect in cracks on the anterior one-third of the tongue body.

Middle Jiao- STOMACH/SPLEEN.

Connects to the bottom of the tongue.

Pathology manifests in the middle. Stomach heat resulting from spleen weakness

will create a central crack, that in some cases can extend all the way to the tip depending on the extent of the weakness.

Lower Jiao- LARGE INTESTINE/KIDNEY

The organs of the lower jiao are ruled

by the Kidney. The Kidney attaches to the root of the tongue. Congestion and

toxic accumulation in the lower jiao is most likely to take place in the Large

Intestine.

Sides of Tongue- LIVER AND GALL BLADDER


This information comes from David Cohen's Traditonal Chinese Theory Notes.