Chapter contents

QI-DEFICIENCY TONGUES

The tongue-body colour reflects primarily the condition of Blood rather than Qi and therefore a mild deficiency of Qi may not manifest on the tongue at all. In long-standing cases of Qi deficiency the tongue may become slightly Pale.

Severe Spleen-Qi deficiency may manifest with a swelling on the sides of the tongue in the central section (Fig. 27.1). (See also Plate 27.1 on p. P25.) This swelling differs from a Liver swelling in that it is much wider and it is more in the central section of the tongue (Middle Burner).

Stomach-Qi deficiency manifests with a rootless coating or with lack of coating in the centre (with the tongue-body colour still normal).

YANG-DEFICIENCY TONGUES

In Yang deficiency the tongue is definitely Pale and it tends also to be slightly wet. In severe Yang deficiency, the tongue may also become Swollen but the swelling itself is due to the presence of Dampness or Phlegm rather than the Yang deficiency itself.

When the tongue is Pale, one cannot generally identify which is the main organ involved. For example, the tongue’s Paleness may be due to Spleen-Yang deficiency, Kidney-Yang deficiency, or both, and we cannot deduce from the tongue alone which is the case. The only guideline one can follow is that the more Pale and Swollen the tongue is, the more likely it is that the cause is Kidney-Yang deficiency.

BLOOD-DEFICIENCY TONGUES

In Blood deficiency the tongue is also Pale but tending to be slightly dry. In severe cases of Blood deficiency, the tongue should be Thin as well as Pale but, for the reasons explained above, this is seldom the case.

Liver-Blood deficiency is frequently indicated by a Pale colour on the sides in the Liver area. Although the tip corresponds to the Heart, the tip is never Pale on its own in Heart-Blood deficiency; in this condition, however, the tongue may become Pale in the chest area (see Fig. 23.8 p. 205).

YIN-DEFICIENCY TONGUES

The tongue coating is formed during the process of the Stomach’s digestion of food and, as we have seen above, the normal tongue should have a thin, white coating, which indicates a good state of Stomach-Qi. The normal coating is formed by the “turbid fluids” produced by the Stomach’s process of digestion and is therefore an expression of the normal state of Stomach fluids and therefore Qi and Yin.

If Stomach-Qi is weakened, the very first sign of this on the tongue will be a rootless coating in the centre; if Stomach-Qi gets weaker the coating will be rootless all over the tongue and if Stomach-Qi deficiency progresses to Stomach-Yin deficiency the tongue will lack a coating entirely. As the Stomach is the origin of fluids, a tongue without coating always indicates a deficiency of Stomach-Yin. Of course, a tongue without coating is also seen in deficiency of Yin of other organs but, whichever other organ is involved, it always indicates Stomach-Yin deficiency. For example, the tongue may lack a coating in the front indicating Lung-Yin deficiency but, because the coating is a reflection of Stomach-Qi and Stomach-Yin, we can say that in this case there is a deficiency of Yin of both the Lungs and Stomach. In terms of treatment this means that, whenever we see a tongue without coating, Stomach-Yin should always be nourished whatever other organ is involved.

It is most important to stress that Yin deficiency on the tongue is manifested by the lack of coating and not by the redness of the tongue body. Thus, if a tongue has a normal body colour and lacks coating we can say that it indicates Yin deficiency, whereas if it is Red and lacks a coating it indicates Yin deficiency with Empty-Heat. Therefore, the lack of coating by itself indicates Yin deficiency, whereas the lack of coating associated with the redness of the tongue body indicates Yin deficiency with Empty-Heat. In other words, although Empty-Heat arises from Yin deficiency, eventually, especially in the beginning stages, Yin deficiency may and does occur frequently without Empty-Heat, in which case the tongue lacks a coating but is not Red.

We can look upon Stomach-Yin deficiency as the beginning of a Yin deficiency that will eventually affect other organs. However, this does not mean that a Yin deficiency is always indicated by Stomach-Yin deficiency. For example, it is quite possible for someone to suffer from Lung-Yin deficiency without Stomach-Yin deficiency manifesting on the tongue coating. However, if the Yin deficiency manifests with a lack of coating, we can say that there is some underlying Stomach-Yin deficiency.

We can identify several stages of Yin deficiency according to the tongue coating and the body colour. As far as the Stomach is concerned, Stomach-Qi deficiency usually precedes Stomach-Yin deficiency and the very first and lightest sign of Stomach-Qi deficiency would be a rootless coating in the centre. At the other end of the scale, the most severe type of Yin deficiency (by this time with Empty-Heat) would be a tongue that is Red, completely without coating and possibly with cracks indicating both Stomach-Yin and Kidney-Yin deficiency. We can therefore say that the tongue coating or the absence of it reflects a progression from Qi deficiency to Yin deficiency usually starting with the Stomach and gradually affecting other organs.

The most common stages of this process that we can identify are as follows:

• Normal tongue with thin-white coating with root: indicates good Stomach-Qi.

• Rootless coating in the centre, normal body colour: indicates the beginning of Stomach-Qi deficiency (Fig. 27.2).

Fig. 27.2 Tongue with rootless coating in the centre

Only gold members can continue reading. Log In or Register to continue

Share this:

• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Related posts:

1. OBSERVATION OF THE GENITALIA
2. MENSTRUAL SYMPTOMS
3. DIAGNOSIS BY HEARING
4. MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL SYMPTOMS

Stay updated, free articles. Join our Telegram channel

Join