The production of Blood

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In a previous post we saw how the main function of Blood is to nourish and

moisten every part of the body and to provide an anchor for the Shen

(Spirit/ Mind) in the Heart and the Ethereal Soul in the Liver.

(Translation of the last two: If Heart Blood or Liver Blood is Deficient

the person can suffer from insomnia, feelings of fear before going to sleep,

sensations of floating or falling while drifting off to sleep, nervousness,

etc. Insomnia and nervousness can be caused by other things besides Blood

Deficiency.) The western concept of blood is not the same as the TCM concept

of Blood though they share some characteristics.

 

Today we look at the TCM model of how Blood is created. If you restrict

yourself to the Western definition of blood, you will be fighting this

explanation as you read. So please keep in mind the TCM functions of Blood

as you read this.

 

The 3 main Organs involved in the production of Blood are the Spleen, the

Kidneys, and the Heart. The Stomach is in charge of " rottening and

ripening " the food you eat, but it's the Spleen that extracts Qi and Essence

(Jing) from the food. The food you eat is not only the source of a lot of

the Qi you have, it's also the source of the Post-Heaven Jing (the Jing you

accumulate after birth as opposed to the Pre-Heaven Jing which comes from

the parents.

 

The Spleen extracts and transports the Essence from food. The Kidneys also

play a role. The Kidneys also contribute Essence and Original Qi which aid

in the formation of Blood. In addition, " the Kidneys store Essence which

produces Marrow: this, in turn, generates bone marrow which contributes to

making Blood. " (Maciocia, Foundations, p. 49. The Chinese recognized the

role of Marrow in making Blood in the Qing dynasty, independently of Western

medicine.

 

The Heart is where the Blood is " turned red " , the final step. (Please keep

in mind that the TCM concept of the Heart includes the Western anatomy and

physiology concept of the heart and more. All the Organs in TCM often

include the Western counterparts and more. This is why " Organ " and the

names of Organs are spelled with capital letters - to convey that there is a

difference.)

 

If anything goes wrong in either of these 3 main Organs, the quality of

Blood will not be what it should be. There will be Blood Deficiency. If

the Spleen is not up to par, the person will not get the nutrients, the Qi,

or the Essence which are needed to make Blood. People who go hungry because

of famine or starvation fad diets to lose weight are at risk for developing

Blood Deficiency because the building blocks simply are not present. Even

when there is plenty of good, nourishing food, if the Spleen is weak, the

building blocks will not get extracted and moved to where they need to be.

 

In addition, if the Kidneys are weak and lack Essence, the person is at risk

for developing Blood Deficiency. In addition certain hereditary blood

disorders are Jing disorders.

 

If the Heart is weak, the person can't manufacture Blood.

 

In addition to the production of Blood, TCM also looks at control of the

Blood. The 3 Organs which control the Blood are the Spleen, the Heart, and

the Liver. " Controlling " the Blood refers to keeping it moving and keeping

it where it's supposed to be.

 

The Heart's/ heart's role in moving the Blood/ blood is obvious. The Heart/

heart pumps Blood/ blood throughout the body. But there is more to the TCM

Heart and its movement of Blood than in the Western heart moving blood

model.

 

What actually moves the Blood, what actually enables the Heart to pump is

Qi. If Heart Qi is Deficient, the energy is not going to be there to pump

the Heart. Symptoms of Heart Qi Deficiency can include " palpitations,

shortness of breath on exertion, sweating, pallor, tiredness, listlessness. "

(Maciocia, Foundations, p. 202.) In addition there are some TCM pulse and

tongue signs. The TCM symptoms and signs of Heart Qi Deficiency can appear

BEFORE there are any Western test results which reveal physical damage to

the heart. In other words, physical destruction to the heart can be

prevented. The physical deterioration of the heart often appears long after

a TCM starts and goes without proper correction.

 

Spleen Qi Deficiency also can result in Heart Qi Deficiency because the

Spleen plays such a pivotal role in the extraction of Qi from food. If the

Spleen is weak, Qi tends to be weak all over the body. Nutritive Qi (Ying

Qi) is affected in particular when the Spleen is weak. This is the Qi that

nourishes the entire body, " is closely related to Blood and flow with it in

the blood vessels, as well as, of course, in the channels. " (Maciocia,

Foundations, p. 44) This also is the Qi which is affected by needles

inserted in acupoints. (Protective Qi (Wei Qi) is primarily under the

control of the Lungs.)

 

In addition, there is something else that the Spleen and its Qi does in

relation to Blood. Spleen Qi holds the Blood in the vessels. Without

proper Spleen Qi (Spleen Not Controlling Blood), all kinds of abnormal

bleeding will result - easy bruising, purpura, blood spots under the skin,

blood in the urine or stools, nose bleeds, hemorrhages throughout the body,

and prolonged menstrual periods. (Abnormal bleeding caused by Spleen Qi

Deficiency is Deficiency bleeding. When abnormal bleeding is caused by Heat

in the Blood, this is Excess bleeding.

 

The Liver stores the Blood. When people are at rest, Blood collects in the

Liver. When a person is active, the Liver sends Blood out to nourish the

muscles and other parts of the body. The Liver plays a major role in Blood

volume. If someone is having dehydration problems, suspect and rule in or

rule out Liver problems. This is not the only thing that can cause

dehydration problems, but this one that you particularly want to consider in

cases where there is mixed dehydration and edema. This is also one that you

want to consider very carefully if a person who has to drink a lot of water

before having a blood test if the person wants the lab tech to be able to

find a vein. (The Heart also plays a big role in this.) And you

automatically want to consider Liver Qi Stagnation problems in the case of

PMS.

 

There is a reciprocal relationship between Blood and Qi. If Qi is Stagnant

and goes uncorrected, Blood Stasis will develop. In cases of Blood Stasis,

Qi Stagnation also can develop. " If the qi moves, the blood moves. If the

qi stops, the blood stops. " (Bob Flaws, Curing PMS Naturally with Chinese

Medicine, p. 34.)

 

Qi generates Blood. " If Qi is deficient, Blood will eventually also be

deficient. " Qi moves Blood. " When Qi moves, Blood follows, " and " If Qi

stagnates, Blood congeals. " Qi holds the Blood. " Qi is the commander of

Blood. " Blood nourishes Qi. The Blood not only nourishes Qi, it provides a

base which keeps Qi from " floating " and " giving rise to Empty Heat. " " Blood

is the mother of Qi. " (Maciocia, Foundations, p. 52)

 

The Heart has the major role in sending out Blood to all parts of the body,

but the Liver also plays a role in making sure the Blood is available when

needed. " When lying down, the Blood regenerates itself in the Liver, hence

the importance of having adequate rest (especially lying down), in cases of

deficient Liver-Blood. " (Maciocia, Foundations, pp. 50-51.) This is why it

is so critical in some cases of illness that the person gets bed rest lying

down. Otherwise the Liver cannot regenerate the Blood. Sometimes it is

very unwise for a person to keep pushing him/herself and relying on OTC

remedies that control symptoms instead of going home and going to bed.

(This also can be very bad for the Spleen and the Kidneys. A lot of cases

of mono and Spleen and Kidney Yang Deficiency are due to pushing on when one

should have gone to bed. In addition there frequently is Blood Deficiency

complicating these cases. This is also why in cases of mono the person may

have trouble resting (at first) and awaken frequently from sleep troubled by

weird dreams. It's that anchoring of Shen and the Ethereal Soul thing.)

Liver Blood also has the function of moistening the eyes and the sinews.

Suspect and rule in or out Liver Blood Deficiency in cases of chronic dry

eyes. Also suspect and rule in or rule out Liver Blood Deficiency in cases

where people lack flexibility of joints.

 

Bob Flaws uses an analogy of a car to explain how the Heart, the Spleen, and

the Liver act in controlling Blood. The Heart and the Spleen provide the

gas (the oomph so to speak), but it's the Liver Qi that provides the

permission to move. A car stopped at a red light has the gas and power to

move (the Heart and Spleen), but it doesn't move because the light is red

(the Liver). " It is the liver qi which allows that blood to flow freely or

not. " (Flaws, PMS, p.35.)

 

The Liver also has control over blood vessels.

 

The 3 main functions of the Blood is that it nourishes, it moistens, and it

anchors (Shen, Ethereal Soul, Qi). First Blood is sent to the viscera and

bowels. Next it goes into the channels and the vessels. From there it

nourishes the rest of the body. What is left over after doing all these

things goes to the uterus where it collects. (Flaws, PMS, p. 34.) One of

the things to suspect when women stop to menstruate before the proper age is

Liver Blood Deficiency.

 

I want to caution those new to TCM that just because Western blood tests are

normal, this does not mean that Blood as defined by TCM is normal. Anemia

can be a manifestation of Blood Deficiency, but Blood Deficiency does not

always mean anemia. Any time the Blood fails to properly nourish and

moisten and fails to provide an anchor for Shen, the Ethereal Soul, and Qi,

this is Blood Deficiency as defined by TCM.

 

Victoria

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Thank You Victoria for the Excellent Review.

I needed it.

Al Conliffe

 

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