Chinese Medicine; Zang or Yin Organs:

• Heart

• Lung

• Liver

• Spleen/Pancreas

• Kidney

• Pericardium

They produce, transform, regulate and store fundamental substances – Jing, Chi Shen, Blood, Fluids. They transform, store and do not drain.

Fu or Yang Organs:

• Small Intestine

• Large Intestine

• Gallbladder

• Stomach

• Urinary Bladder

• Triple Warmer

They receive, breakdown and absorb that part of food that will be transformed into nutrition. They drain and do not store.Yin organs are deeper inside the body and are considered more important than the Yang organs.

Six Extraordinary Organs.

• Bone marrow

• Brain

• Blood vessels

• Uterus

• Gallbladder

They resemble Yang organs in form but Yin organs in function. They ‘store Yin and do not disperse’.

Yin Organ Functions.

Heart – ‘The Sovereign Fire – The Emperor’.

Controls blood & blood vessels
Stores Shen
Opens into the tongue – ‘tongue is the mirror of heart’.
Manifests in the face.

Lung ‘the Lid of Yin Organs – A Tender Organ – The Prime Minister’.

Rules Chi.
Regulates water to ‘descend and liquify, circulate.
Rules the skin and body hair. Manifests in body hair.
Is the foundation of Chi.
The nose – the thoroughfare for respiration, the door of lung and the home of the vocal chords.

Spleen/Pancreas – ‘the Foundation of the Postnatal Existence – ‘The food granaries’.

Governs transformation and transportation
Governs blood
Rules muscles, flesh and four limbs
Opens into the mouth, distinguishes five tastes
Manifests in the lips
Holds the organs in place – raises Chi

Pericardium – ‘the Ministerial Fire – ‘The Messenger – A Civil servant’

Protects the heart

Liver – ‘Adjusts and Makes Smooth- Rules Flowing and Spreading – the General, makes plans.’

Stores blood, disharmony shows in the eyes and menstrual flow
Harmonizes emotions
Controls the bile secretion
Rules the tendons
Manifests in the nails
Opens into the eyes to distinguish ‘five colours’

Kidney – ‘Root of Life – the Mansion of Fire and Water, the Residence of Yin and Yang – Channel of Life and Death – The Minister of Health’.

Responsible for growth, development and reproduction
Stores Jing, the Essence
Rules water – sends mist upwards
Receives Chi – rules grasping of Chi – is the root of Chi
Opens into the ear – distinguishes five tones
Rules bone and produces marrow, which forms the brain, teeth are the surplus of bones
Manifests in the head hair – the surplus of blood

Chinese Medicine; Yang Organ Functions.

Gall Bladder – ‘the Judge, makes decisions with the Heart’.

Stores and discharges bile (the bitter yellow fluid produced by surplus liver Chi) into the small intestine
Rules decisions with the heart – GB disharmony and weakness can lead to indecision and timidity

Stomach – ‘the Sea of Food and Fluids – the food granary’

Receives and ripens (decomposes) food and fluids – pure go to Spleen, turbid to Small intestine.
With Spleen – aids digestion and absorption
SP/ST is a source of health
‘Spleen rules ascending – Stomach rules descending’

Large Intestine – ‘the Official of Transportation.’

Receives waste material from SI
Absorbs water and sends it to UB
Forms feces and eliminates them

Small Intestine – ‘the Treasurer– The receiving official’.

Separates the pure from the turbid – the clear go to SP, the turbid to LI and turbid fluid to Kid/UB
Receives and temporarily stores partially digested food

Urinary Bladder – ‘the District Official.’

It stores then excretes urine (formed in KID from the turbid fluids transmitted from LU/LI/SI
The functions of UB are assisted by KID Chi

San Jiao or Triple Warmer – ‘the officer of the bursting water dam –where the water channel arises – Has a name but not shape’

An insubstantiate organ, it coordinates all functions of water metabolism.
Upper Warmer – head and chest (HT/LU) – vapour – spreads Chi and blood
Middle Warmer – below the chest and above the navel – foam (SP/ST), decomposition and dissolution of substances
Lower Warmer – the abdominal area below the navel (KID/LI/SI/UB – excrete impure substances.

TCM; Extraordinary Organs’ Functions.

Brain – ‘The Sea of Marrow, upper part – DU 20, lower part – DU 16.

Thinking, memory and expansion of consciousness
Responsible for the fluidity of movement, sensitivity of eyes and ears
Jing – the Essence of Kidney produces marrow that forms the brain
He/Liv/Kid are closely related to mental and spiritual activities
Bones are ruled by the Kidneys to give the body structural support

Uterus – ‘Palace of the Child’

Presides over menstruation and gestation
Related to Kid/Liv/Sp/Chong/Ren – yin organs are involved in menstruation
Ren and Chong channels originate in the uterus
Chi and Blood of the twelve channels pass into the uterus through these two extra channels

Blood Vessels – ‘the Yang Organs of the Blood’

The means by which most blood is transported through the body
Blood vessels carry more blood and channels carry more Chi
Related to HE/Liv/SP

Fundamental Substances – Jing, Chi, Shen, Blood and Fluids are presented on their respective pages.

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