Blood

[Guest guest]

The TCM definition of Blood is different from the western anatomical

definition of blood. Like so much in TCM, Blood is defined by function. The

3 functions of Blood are nourishment, moistening, and providing the material

foundation for the spirit or mind.

 

Nourishment: " Blood nourishes the body. Along with qi, the blood goes to

every part of the body. When the blood is insufficient, function decreases

and tissues atrophies or shrinks. " Blood Deficiency can be a cause of

weakness accompanied by atrophy.

 

Moistening: " Blood moistehns the body tissues. This includes the skin,

eyes, and ligaments and tendons or what are simply called the sinews of the

body in Chinese medicine. Thus blood insufficiency can cause drying out and

consequent stiffening of various body tissues throughout the body. " One of

the possible signs of Blood Deficiency is the person's skin will look

wrinkled prune-like - like someone who has lost a lot of weight too quickly.

Blood Deficiency also can be the Root of stiffness and people have trouble

moving parts of their body.

 

Material foundation for the spirit or mind (Shen): " In Chinese medicine,

the mind and body are not two separate things. The spirit is nothing other

than a great accumulation of qi. The blood (yin) supplies the material

support and nourishment for the spirit (yang) so that it accumulates,

becomes bright (i.e., conscious and clever), and stays rooted in the body.

If the blood becomes insufficient, the mind can " float, " causing problems

like insomnia, agitation, and unrest. " Also suspect and rule in or rule out

Blood Deficiency in cases where memory is poor.

 

Information taken from Curing PMS Naturally with by Bob

Flaws, p. 15.

 

One of the hardest things for Westerners who have any kind of background at

all in basic anatomy and physiology - even high school biology - is to

suspend that model or map of the body long enough to learn the TCM

physiology. Most Westerners are trapped in an either/ or approach. As

Flaws so correctly points out in many of his books, there is no one and only

map of the U.S. There are road maps, there are topographical maps showing

the lay of the land and altitude, there are maps showing average rainfall,

etc. None of these maps are the one, true map of the U.S., and each is

equally valid depending on what is needed at the time. (p. 8-9) The same

thing applies to TCM physiology and Western anatomy. Try to suspend the

Western anatomy map of the body until you learn the TCM map.

 

In TCM Blood is created by the Spleen, Kidneys, and Heart. The Spleen sends

up " the finest essence of food and liquids extracted in the process of

digestion. If the spleen does not send up this finest essence of food and

liquids there will be insufficient supplies for the heart to transform these

into blood. " (Remember, the TCM definition of Blood is different from that

of Western anatomical blood.) " In addition, the kidneys must send up some

essence to also participate in the creation of blood. One can think of this

as somewhat similar to adding some sourdough starter in order to make a new

batch of sourdough bread. " " The heart is the place where the blood is

'turned red' or finally created. " (p. 33)

 

If a person is Blood Deficient, always ask why? More than likely, it will

be because of Spleen Deficiency problems. But in some cases of Blood

Deficiency the Spleen may be ok. What is happening is that the Kidneys are

failing to supply the Essence (Jing) needed. Or, there are problems in the

Heart system.

 

Once the Blood is created, 3 Organs control it. These are the Heart, the

Spleen, and the Liver. It is the Heart Qi which " stirs or pushes the blood.

If the heart qi does not move the blood, the blood cannot move on its own.

Thus it is said: If the qi moves, the blood moves. If the qi stops, the

blood stops. " (p. 34)

 

" In actual fact, the heart gets its qi primarily from the spleen. So a

sufficiency of spleen qi is necessary for there to be enough heart qi to

move the blood. In addition, the spleen qi restrains and contains the blood

within its channels and vessels. If the spleen qi is too weak, it may allow

the blood to seep out prematurely or it may not cut off menstruation when it

should. " (p. 34) (Spleen Failing to Control Blood.)

 

The Liver stores the Blood and regulates how much is in circulation at any

time. " It is the liver qi which performs this funciton. If the liver qi

spreads freely, then the blood moves. If the liver qi becomes depressed and

stagnant, then the blood will also eventually become depressed and static. "

When a person is at rest, Blood collects in the Liver. When the person is

active, Blood is sent out into circulation. (pp. 34-35.) If there is not

enough Blood for the Liver to send out, a variety of problems can result

depending on the individual. Menstruation may cease or be delayed, the

person may be unusually stiff in the morning after arising and fail to

" unstiffen " , there may be insomnia characterized by difficulty falling

asleep but remaining asleep once asleep, strange dreams or sensations of

" floating " or falling while drifting off to sleep, etc. Memory also may

suffer. If Liver Blood is Deficient, then the Liver cannot send the

necessary Blood to the Heart.

 

Victoria

 

 

_______________

MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos:

http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx

[Guest guest]

Thanks for all of the great info, Victoria. I've been diagnosed with

stagnant blood, among other things. How does that fit into all of this?

 

Debbie

deb

http://www.bodyhealthcenter.com

 

 

> The TCM definition of Blood is different from the western anatomical

> definition of blood. Like so much in TCM, Blood is defined by function.

The

> 3 functions of Blood are nourishment, moistening, and providing the

material

> foundation for the spirit or mind.

>

> Nourishment: " Blood nourishes the body. Along with qi, the blood goes to

> every part of the body. When the blood is insufficient, function

decreases

> and tissues atrophies or shrinks. " Blood Deficiency can be a cause of

> weakness accompanied by atrophy.

>

> Moistening: " Blood moistehns the body tissues. This includes the skin,

> eyes, and ligaments and tendons or what are simply called the sinews of

the

> body in Chinese medicine. Thus blood insufficiency can cause drying out

and

> consequent stiffening of various body tissues throughout the body. " One

of

> the possible signs of Blood Deficiency is the person's skin will look

> wrinkled prune-like - like someone who has lost a lot of weight too

quickly.

> Blood Deficiency also can be the Root of stiffness and people have

trouble

> moving parts of their body.

>

> Material foundation for the spirit or mind (Shen): " In Chinese medicine,

> the mind and body are not two separate things. The spirit is nothing

other

> than a great accumulation of qi. The blood (yin) supplies the material

> support and nourishment for the spirit (yang) so that it accumulates,

> becomes bright (i.e., conscious and clever), and stays rooted in the body.

> If the blood becomes insufficient, the mind can " float, " causing problems

> like insomnia, agitation, and unrest. " Also suspect and rule in or rule

out

> Blood Deficiency in cases where memory is poor.

>

> Information taken from Curing PMS Naturally with by Bob

> Flaws, p. 15.

>

> One of the hardest things for Westerners who have any kind of background

at

> all in basic anatomy and physiology - even high school biology - is to

> suspend that model or map of the body long enough to learn the TCM

> physiology. Most Westerners are trapped in an either/ or approach. As

> Flaws so correctly points out in many of his books, there is no one and

only

> map of the U.S. There are road maps, there are topographical maps showing

> the lay of the land and altitude, there are maps showing average rainfall,

> etc. None of these maps are the one, true map of the U.S., and each is

> equally valid depending on what is needed at the time. (p. 8-9) The same

> thing applies to TCM physiology and Western anatomy. Try to suspend the

> Western anatomy map of the body until you learn the TCM map.

>

> In TCM Blood is created by the Spleen, Kidneys, and Heart. The Spleen

sends

> up " the finest essence of food and liquids extracted in the process of

> digestion. If the spleen does not send up this finest essence of food and

> liquids there will be insufficient supplies for the heart to transform

these

> into blood. " (Remember, the TCM definition of Blood is different from

that

> of Western anatomical blood.) " In addition, the kidneys must send up some

> essence to also participate in the creation of blood. One can think of

this

> as somewhat similar to adding some sourdough starter in order to make a

new

> batch of sourdough bread. " " The heart is the place where the blood is

> 'turned red' or finally created. " (p. 33)

>

> If a person is Blood Deficient, always ask why? More than likely, it will

> be because of Spleen Deficiency problems. But in some cases of Blood

> Deficiency the Spleen may be ok. What is happening is that the Kidneys

are

> failing to supply the Essence (Jing) needed. Or, there are problems in

the

> Heart system.

>

> Once the Blood is created, 3 Organs control it. These are the Heart, the

> Spleen, and the Liver. It is the Heart Qi which " stirs or pushes the

blood.

> If the heart qi does not move the blood, the blood cannot move on its

own.

> Thus it is said: If the qi moves, the blood moves. If the qi stops,

the

> blood stops. " (p. 34)

>

> " In actual fact, the heart gets its qi primarily from the spleen. So a

> sufficiency of spleen qi is necessary for there to be enough heart qi to

> move the blood. In addition, the spleen qi restrains and contains the

blood

> within its channels and vessels. If the spleen qi is too weak, it may

allow

> the blood to seep out prematurely or it may not cut off menstruation when

it

> should. " (p. 34) (Spleen Failing to Control Blood.)

>

> The Liver stores the Blood and regulates how much is in circulation at any

> time. " It is the liver qi which performs this funciton. If the liver qi

> spreads freely, then the blood moves. If the liver qi becomes depressed

and

> stagnant, then the blood will also eventually become depressed and

static. "

> When a person is at rest, Blood collects in the Liver. When the person is

> active, Blood is sent out into circulation. (pp. 34-35.) If there is not

> enough Blood for the Liver to send out, a variety of problems can result

> depending on the individual. Menstruation may cease or be delayed, the

> person may be unusually stiff in the morning after arising and fail to

> " unstiffen " , there may be insomnia characterized by difficulty falling

> asleep but remaining asleep once asleep, strange dreams or sensations of

> " floating " or falling while drifting off to sleep, etc. Memory also may

> suffer. If Liver Blood is Deficient, then the Liver cannot send the

> necessary Blood to the Heart.

>

> Victoria

>

>

> _______________

> MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos:

> http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx

>

>

>

> Post message: Chinese Traditional Medicine

> Subscribe: Chinese Traditional Medicine-

> Un: Chinese Traditional Medicine-

> List owner: Chinese Traditional Medicine-owner

>

> Shortcut URL to this page:

> /community/Chinese Traditional Medicine

>

>

[Guest guest]

>Thanks for all of the great info, Victoria. I've been diagnosed with

>stagnant blood, among other things. How does that fit into all of this?

 

I'll be getting to that. Among other things, in some cases if the Blood

Stasis remains untreated for some time, it can result in weak Protective Qi

and the person being susceptible to weather changes. These are generalized

cases of Blood Stasis where the Blood is failing to properly nourish and

moisten the the muscle and skin. The Protective Qi can't circulate like it

should. (There also can be increased susceptibility to infection. A

classic example of this caused not necessarily by Blood Stasis but the

effects of a dry environment on the nasal passages is that the person is

susceptible to catching colds and the flu. Heating systems or air

conditioning can result in this excessive drying for some people.

Pernicious Evils like Dryness, Heat, Cold, etc. can be human-caused.)

 

Blood Stasis - in addition to Qi Stagnation and Phlegm - if left untreated

can be one of the Roots of growths, lumps, tumors etc. The difference

between the growths of Qi Stagnation and Blood Stasis is that the former wax

and wane in severity and change positions (like the lumps that appear in

some women's breasts each much prior to menstruation and then disappear with

the period) whereas those of Blood Stasis stay in the same spot and tend to

be harder. In some localized cases of Blood Stasis, the skin not only may

be dry but there also may be a fatty growth or lumps felt under the skin.

This is an area that needs to be concentrated on.

 

There are similar differences between pain caused by the two. The pain of

Qi Stagnation tends to wax and wane in severity and move around. It tends to

be somewhat " diffuse " and hard to pinpoint at times. That of Blood Stasis

tends to stay in one spot and be " boring " in nature.

 

One of the main signs of Blood Stasis is a purplish discoloration of the

tongue body. In cases of Heat and Blood Stasis, the color will be a

reddish-purple. In cases of Cold and Blood Stasis, the color will be a

bluish-purple.

 

Victoria

 

 

_______________

MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos:

http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx