Traditional Medicine in Asia

The five zang organs: these are
substantial in morphology, and function to
store the “essence of life”. They include “liver,
heart, spleen, lung, kidney”.
The six fu organs: these are hollow in
morphology, and their function is to
transport and transform foodstuff. They
consist of the “small intestine, large
intestine, gall bladder, stomach, bladder
and sanjiao (triple energizer: a collective
term for the three portions of the body
cavity)”
“Extraordinary organs”: these are
hollow in morphology, and their function
is to store the “essence of life”. They are
the “brain, marrow, bone, vessels, gall
bladder and uterus”.
Each of the zang organs is linked to a
fu organ. The function of one organ in TCM
may include the functional activities of
several anatomically defined organs in
Western medicine. For example, the
“kidney” in Chinese medicine is not just the
organ that excretes urine; it stores the
“essence of life”, controls reproduction,
growth and development and is closely
related to the “brain, marrow and bones”.
Thus, in TCM the concept of “kidney”
includes most of the functions of the urinary
system, some functions of the endocrine
system, and something similar to those of
the pituitary-adenocortical-gonadal axis. 10
Material basis of the vital
activities of the human body
Qi: The major premise of TCM is that all
living things, including human beings, have
a life force within them. This essential vital
biological energy, which is invisible, is
known in Chinese philosophy as qi
(pronounced: chee; often also written as
‘chi’). Qi circulates regularly along the
meridians in the body. Disruption in this
flow is believed to be responsible for
diseases. When qi gathers, the physical
An overview of traditional Chinese medicine
body is formed; when qi dissipates, the
body “dies”. 11 Qi has variously been
translated as “energy”, “vital energy”, or
“life force”; however, it is almost impossible
to capture the exact concept fully in one
English word or phrase; therefore we have
decided to use its original Chinese word:
Qi.
The sources of qi can be divided into
the inborn and the acquired. The inborn qi
is the innate vital essence stored in the
“kidney” which was inherited from the
parents at the moment of conception, and
augmented postnatally which is a
combination of the essence absorbed by
the “spleen” from food and fresh air which
is inhaled by the “lung”. The two sources
of qi are gathered in the chest and form
zhengqi (genuine qi), which circulates
through the body’s organs and tissues.
Since qi is invisible, it can only be perceived
through its actions. For instance, the
deficiency of the “kidney qi” means the
deficiency of energy required for the
functioning of the “kidney” (namely, the
hypofunction of the “kidney”). Generally
speaking, qi has five functions: it i) Serves
as the energy source of body activities, ii)
Warms and nourishes the body,
iii) Defends the body surface against
invasion by any pathogenic factor, iv)Is the
vehicle of transportation inside the body,
and v) Maintains the normal positions of
body organs. 12, 13 Blood: The concept of
blood in TCM is not the same as it is in
Western medicine. In TCM, the blood is a
vital nutrient substance in the body. It is
formed from the combination of essence
of food, which is derived via digestion and
absorption by the spleen and the stomach,
and fluids containing nutrients. The kidney
also contributes to the formation of blood
as it is the kidney-stored essence that
produces bone marrow. After being
formed, blood circulates in the vessels
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