Zang-Fu Pattern Differentiation Flashcards

Large Intestine Damp-Heat is differentiated from Food Stagnation in the Intestines primarily by:

Answer: Diarrhea or dysentery with burning, foul odor, and fever versus distension with undigested food in stools and no fever

Large Intestine Damp-Heat features burning diarrhea or dysentery with fever, whereas Food Stagnation presents with distension, foul belching, and undigested food without systemic heat.

Small Intestine Deficient Cold is most accurately identified by:

Answer: Abdominal pain relieved by warmth and pressure, borborygmi, loose stools, and abundant clear urine with a pale tongue

Small Intestine Deficient Cold shows pain relieved by warmth and pressure (indicating cold and deficiency), borborygmi, and clear urine as the organ fails to separate the pure from the turbid.

The combined pattern of Spleen and Kidney Yang Deficiency is most associated with:

Answer: Dawn diarrhea, cold limbs, lumbar coldness, poor appetite, edema of the lower limbs, and a pale tongue

Spleen and Kidney Yang Deficiency presents with dawn diarrhea (Kidney fails to warm Spleen), combined digestive and cold signs, and edema from Yang's failure to transform fluids.

Lung and Kidney Yin Deficiency together presents with which characteristic combination?

Answer: Dry cough, blood-streaked sputum, night sweats, dizziness, tinnitus, and low back weakness

Lung and Kidney Yin Deficiency combines Lung signs (dry cough, blood-streaked sputum) with Kidney signs (dizziness, tinnitus, low back weakness) and shared signs like night sweats.

Liver invading the Stomach (Liver-Stomach Disharmony) is best characterized by:

Answer: Epigastric and hypochondrial distending pain, belching, hiccup, sour regurgitation, nausea, and a wiry pulse

When constrained Liver Qi overacts on the Stomach, Qi moves in the wrong direction causing belching, nausea, sour regurgitation, and pain in both the epigastrium and hypochondrium.

Liver and Gallbladder Damp-Heat differs from Spleen Damp-Heat primarily in that it features:

Answer: Jaundice, hypochondrial pain, bitter taste, and genital symptoms such as itching or yellow discharge

Liver-Gallbladder Damp-Heat targets the Liver channel (genitals, hypochondrium) and Gallbladder (bile = jaundice, bitter taste), distinguishing it from Spleen Damp-Heat's digestive and limb focus.

Heart and Spleen Deficiency (combined Blood Deficiency of Heart and Spleen) most characteristically presents with:

Answer: Palpitations, insomnia, poor memory, fatigue, poor appetite, loose stools, pale tongue, and thin weak pulse

Heart and Spleen Deficiency features both Heart Blood Deficiency signs (palpitations, insomnia, poor memory) and Spleen Qi Deficiency signs (fatigue, poor appetite, loose stools) with a pale tongue and thin weak pulse.