NCCAOM TCM Diagnostic Principles 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In TCM, a wiry (Xian) pulse is classically associated with which organ system or condition?
- Spleen Qi deficiency
- Liver/Gallbladder or pain (Correct answer)
- Heart Blood stasis
- Kidney Yang deficiency
Correct answer: Liver/Gallbladder or pain
A wiry pulse feels taut like a guitar string and is associated with Liver/Gallbladder disorders, pain, or emotional stress.
Question 2: Which of the following tongue body characteristics indicates Yin deficiency?
- Swollen and pale tongue
- Thin, red, and dry tongue with little or no coating (Correct answer)
- Purple tongue with petechiae
- Thick white coating with moist tongue
Correct answer: Thin, red, and dry tongue with little or no coating
A thin, red, and dry tongue with scanty coating reflects insufficient Yin fluids failing to nourish the tongue body.
Question 3: In TCM Five-Element theory, which emotion is associated with the Metal element?
- Anger
- Joy
- Grief/Sadness (Correct answer)
- Fear
Correct answer: Grief/Sadness
Grief and sadness are the emotions associated with the Metal element and the Lung/Large Intestine organ pair.
Question 4: A patient reports that their pain is fixed in location, stabbing in nature, and worse at night. The TCM diagnosis is most likely:
- Qi stagnation
- Blood stasis (Correct answer)
- Cold obstruction
- Dampness accumulation
Correct answer: Blood stasis
Fixed, stabbing pain that worsens at night is a hallmark presentation of Blood stasis in TCM diagnosis.
Question 5: Which TCM diagnostic principle describes the relationship between the Kidney and Liver in terms of Yin nourishment?
- Wood insulting Metal
- Liver and Kidney sharing the same source (Correct answer)
- Water overacting on Earth
- Fire failing to generate Earth
Correct answer: Liver and Kidney sharing the same source
The concept that 'Liver and Kidney share the same source' (tong yuan) describes how Kidney Yin nourishes Liver Yin and Blood.
Question 6: In TCM, a 'flooding' or 'surging' (Hong) pulse is most associated with:
- Kidney Yin deficiency
- Exterior invasion
- Excessive Heat in the Qi level (Correct answer)
- Blood stasis
Correct answer: Excessive Heat in the Qi level
A flooding/surging pulse is large, forceful, and associated with intense interior Heat at the Qi stage of the four-level system.
Question 7: Which of the following best describes the TCM concept of 'Zheng Qi' (Upright Qi)?
- The pathogenic factor that causes disease
- The body's overall defensive and restorative capacity (Correct answer)
- The Qi that circulates in the Du Mai
- The essence stored in the Kidneys
Correct answer: The body's overall defensive and restorative capacity
Zheng Qi is the body's righteous or correct Qi encompassing all physiological functions that resist and recover from pathogenic factors.
NCCAOM TCM Diagnostic Principles 3
In TCM, a wiry (Xian) pulse is classically associated with which organ system or condition?