Guest guest Posted February 18, 2000 Report Share Posted February 18, 2000 My note: The part about organs in TCM being defined as functions is very, very important. This is one of those basics that makes learning TCM a lot easier if this is gotten straight in the beginning. In the West, the emphasis is on the actual physical location and structure of an organ. Where it's located, what color it is, how much it weighs, what is a normal size and shape, the types of cells that make it up, etc. In TCM the emphasis is on what it does within the TCM system and how well or how poorly it is doing it. Victoria -- --------- Forwarded Message --------- DATE: Thu, 27 Jan 2000 10:49:18 Dagmar Riley <dagmar-riley Letter-from-China _____ LETTER FROM CHINA January '00 (2) A newsletter on and modern China by Dagmar Riley ______ In this issue: WHY I HAD TO CHANGE PLANS THE 5 ELEMENTS ....East and West: 2 different ways of perceiving the same world BEIJING MEMOIRS OF MY CANADIAN FRIEND ROBIN ....the local cuisine and its surprises DISCLAIMER SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE information ______ Please feel free to FORWARD this newsletter to friends. ______ For the BACK ISSUE on " the Wood type: energy characteristics and personality " and other back issues of this series, please visit http://www.topica.com/lists/Letter-from-China or send an e-mail to gesund2000 ______ WHY I HAD TO CHANGE PLANS Last time I said that today we were going to look at the internal organs associated with the Wood Element(*Liver* and *Gallbladder*). But then a very interesting misunderstanding happened: In the correspondence with a reader who complained of many allergies I suggested that being prone to allergies often points to an impaired spleen. She answered that this time I was wrong: There was nothing wrong with her spleen, and the allergies were supposed to be linked with a problem in her uterus. Now where was the misunderstanding? The misunderstanding was that she was talking about the organs as they are defined in western anatomy, whereas I was talking about the organs as defined in Chinese Medicine. You might think: How can that be?? After all, a uterus problem is a uterus problem! Wrong! In Chinese medicine problems of the western uterus are diagnosed as several possible patterns: The Chinese Spleen is said to create blood and keep it in the blood vessels. An impaired Spleen may lose the above ability, resulting in bleeding from the uterus, excessive bleeding during menstruation, etc. But also Liver or Kidney disharmonies may produce symptoms of the western uterus. The different concept of internal organs is not based on scientific ignorance, as we shall see. To discover how and why the Chinese concept and the western concept of the internal organs are NOT the same, read on! One has to understand this difference to properly understand Chinese medicine. ______ THE 5 ELEMENTS: EAST AND WEST - 2 DIFFERENT WAYS OF PERCEIVING THE SAME WORLD One of the main differences between Chinese and Western medicine is, that internal organs in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) are not defined as physical matter but as functions. For example: In Chinese textbooks, the Liver is defined by its functions " maintaining the correct flowing and expanding movement of body substances (Qi, blood and bile) and emotions " , " storing blood " etc. No mention is made of the anatomy, the physical matter that western medicine calls " liver " . Why and how did this difference in perception develop? We don't know exactly why each of us and each culture perceives the same world as slightly different. A possible reason why the perception of organs in developed this particular way could be that the Chinese began or perform autopsies at a relatively late stage in the development of their medicine. But why then did the Chinese, after having started to examine the insides of dead bodies, still not place any importance on the anatomical structures, whereas the results of autopsies was valued as so important in Western medicine? The answer is simple: Anatomical knowledge did not improve their medical system, which was already so comprehensive and complete that modern Chinese doctors struggle to live up to it rather than being able to improve it. The Chinese internal organs and western internal organs are therefore two different concepts that should not and need not be mixed. Both concepts and both medical systems exist in their own right, both have their advantages and disadvantages. Let's have a patient that suffers from hypertension (high blood pressure) serve as an example to illustrate how both medical systems might diagnose and treat the same disease differently. Both ways achieve results: Western medicine classifies hypertension (high blood pressure) as a disease of the heart/circulation system. Popular forms of treatment are drugs that prevent the heart from beating fast, or drugs that act as vasodilators (widen the blood vessel). The concept of these treatments is clearly derived from the anatomical knowledge of the heart and the blood vessels, and the effects of these anatomical structures on blood pressure. A doctor of Chinese medicine treating that same patient will never examine the patient's blood pressure. Neither doctor nor patient will be conscious of the " High blood pressure " . Instead, the doctor will examine the patient's pulse, tongue, face colour, hair quality etc., ask about the patient's stool and inquire about eating and life habits. He may note any of the following symptoms: headaches, dizziness, red eyes, dry mouth, bad temper, sleeplessness, constipation, dark urine, red tongue, rapid " wiry pulse " . All symptoms, except sleeplessness, point to the diagnosis: liver fire flaring up. " Sleeplessness " points to a heart disharmony caused by liver fire (see the feeding/restricting relationship of the 5 Elements in the December 99 (2) and (3) issues.). The root cause of all complaints and main disharmony however is the " liver fire flaring up " . Our doctor of Chinese medicine will treat the patient by prescribing a decoction of both cooling herbs that pertain to the liver and herbs that harmonize the organs that are directly affected by the liver (in this case the heart). These herbal formulas will restrict the " liver fire " , but, as clinical examinations of hypertension patients being treated by Chinese herbal formulas have shown, they will also lower the blood pressure. The same goes for chronic uterus bleeding: The western doctor would consider a hormone therapy, the doctor of may diagnose Spleen Qi deficiency and prescribes herbal formulas to strengthen the spleen Qi. Results of scientific tests have shown that these formulas affected the patients' hormones. We have seen 2 very different approaches: The western approach based on our knowledge of anatomy, and the Chinese approach based on the knowledge of correlation between symptoms and functions (e.g. headaches [blocked Qi causing pain] and bad temper [blocked emotions], and the liver function of " maintaining the correct flowing and expanding movement of body substances (Qi, blood and bile)and emotions " . Additional Notes: I)It is important to note that it is extremely rare that all symptoms should point to the disharmony of a single organ. In most cases there is a majority of symptoms pointing to the disharmony of a certain organ (the " root cause " ), with a few symptoms pointing to the disharmony of the organs that are directly influenced by the " root cause " organ. Chinese herbal formulas, therefore, never only treat one organ. II)Note also that, with the Chinese definition of organs as functions, there is no separation of body and mind. One of the Liver functions, for example, are to harmonize the emotions. III)If one should examine the anatomical liver of a patient with the diagnosis " liver fire flaring up " , there will be nothing wrong with it. IV)If you are a hypertension patient and didn't recognize some of the above symptoms on yourself, be aware that there are other patterns of disharmony in hypertension patients, each of which shows different symptoms: Except " liver fire flaring up " , there is also the common pattern " Liver and Kidney Yin deficiency " . Well, next time we are ready to explore the CHINESE internal organs associated with Wood (*Liver* and *Gallbladder*). I think it was extremely important to discuss today's topic in order to prevent fundamental misunderstandings. As usual, don't forget to write with questions, suggestions or criticism! ______ *********************Ad 1******************************* ReliefStreetNews Free Daily Humor Email Reader comment: " Others I delete unread, yours I never miss! " To Subscribe reliefstreetnews- Or visit <http://www.phenomenix.com> *********************Ad 2******************************* Want to write better, improve your online image and increase your sales? Learn to proofread and edit, revise and write more effectively. If you write anything -- content for web pages, ezine articles, sales letters, ads, etc. -- read WriteBusiness Ezine. PLUS: Subscribe at our website and get a FREE mousepad! Visit http://www.writebusiness.com Now! *********************End Ad***************************** BEIJING MEMOIRS OF MY CANADIAN FRIEND ROBIN [i had the opportunity, over the past year, to visit China. My husband is a refrigeration mechanic who was sent to Beijing to build an ice rink in a shopping plaza so that you can skate and shop. Since I love to travel, I quit my job to follow him. This is the story as it unfolds.] Well, that sprinkling of snow turned out to be at least 2 inches. In Toronto that would not be a problem but the poor people on bicycles here were not happy! Now, because of the slush at the side of the roads, they had to use the centre of the road - along with the buses, taxis and cars. As well as the bikes, there are three wheeled " bike-trucks " (tricycles with a little flat bed on the back) which also share the road - what a mess. However, with patience, people seemed to get where they were going. We were at a very interesting restaurant. We had decided to check out the local cuisine and went to a place that was recommended to us. After being shown to our table by a hostess wearing a cardboard duck hat we noticed that at the front of the room was what appeared to be supermarket shelves. In front of them were waiters, also in the hats, with an order pad and " shopping cart " . Curious, we went up to see what was going on. On the shelves were plates of raw food, chopped and diced meat and veggies, dumplings in their raw won ton shells, covered in plastic and waiting to be chosen. As we surveyed the selection we noticed that the waiters were taking the plates from the shelves, putting them into the carts and giving them to the chef to be prepared accordingly. In the centre was a meat (butcher) area with ducks, chickens and assorted meats ready to be cooked. On the right side of the area was a whole seafood selection, swimming around in tanks. Lobster, crab, eels, turtles and a wide selection of fish just waited to be sacrificed. Take your choice! Well, we selected a few of the items on the shelves (not the seafood however) and were seated back at our table to wait for our dinner. A most delightful young lady brought us tea and when we asked for some water also she brought us glasses of HOT water. Obviously we had a miscommunication. [Note: Traditionally, the Chinese don't drink cold drinks because it upsets digestion. Water is always drunk boiled because of hygiene reasons. Dagmar] Michael noticed a water dispenser that had a hot and cold tap so off he went with the waitress to get cold water. All of a sudden it dawned on her what we had asked for - with a giggle she said " Oh a cup of cold water " . She was delightful. Our food arrived and as usual we had ordered too much. However with chopsticks in hand we went at it. I am getting much better with them, since only a few mouthfuls fell before they reached my mouth. The food was excellent. By the end of the meal we had made quite a dent in the platters and we noticed that it wasn't only us who had ordered too much. Every table was presented with plastic take away containers and it was quite acceptable to take " doggy bags " home. Our waitress, by this time, was enjoying practising her English and so we had excellent service with many giggles. These people are wonderful. What a really interesting concept - much easier than trying to figure out menus. We enjoyed this experience very much and will return with a camera to take some photos. When Michael went to work yesterday he noticed many huge Canadian guys with earphones wandering around. Being ever curious, he waited to see what was going on. It was Chretien (the Canadian Prime Minister) who had been here for meetings, and was leaving that morning. A stretch limo waited outside and the roads were all blocked off. All of a sudden the security patrol was on alert - he was coming. Michael was right behind him as the press were taking photos -so if they appear in the Toronto newspapers look for a bearded face behind the P.M. and know it was Michael. Now I know where our tax $ are going. China World Hotel is very expensive. We had breakfast there the first day - $80.00 Cdn for 2 people! He and his entourage obviously travel in style. Well, Michael has returned from grocery shopping (it was too cold for me) and I must help in the preparing of breakfast. Watch for the next update. _____ DISCLAIMER The material in this newsletter is intended for informational purposes only. I do not prescribe and I do not diagnose. If you use the information in this newsletter without the approval of a health professional, you prescribe for yourself, which remains your constitutional right, but the author assumes no responsibility. _______ SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE The Letter from China is published every two weeks on Fridays. New rs will be forwarded the current issue. by sending a BLANK email to: Letter-from-China- by sending a BLANK email to: Letter-from-China- submit your own personal stories gesund2000 and write " article submission " in the subject line. comments, suggestions or criticism gesund2000 and write " comment " in the subject line. for back issues gesund2000 and write " back issues " in the subject line or visit http://www.topica.com/lists/Letter-from-China _______ Copyright ) 2000 by Dagmar Riley ____________ Faster, stronger and able to send millions of emails in one click: the new Topica site! http://www.topica.com/t/14 --------- End Forwarded Message --------- --== Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ ==-- Share what you know. Learn what you don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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