How does Chinese medicine achieve accurate diagnosis and treatment?

There are four methods to diagnose diseases in TCM, namely, hope, smell, inquiry and pulse, which are referred to as "four diagnoses" for short. The human body is an organic whole, and local lesions can affect the whole body; Visceral lesions can be reflected from all aspects of the five senses and limbs. Therefore, by observing, smelling, asking and touching the symptoms of various aspects of the disease, we can understand the etiology, nature and internal relations of the disease, thus providing basis for further syndrome differentiation and treatment.

Visiting refers to the doctor observing the changes of the patient's whole body and local appearance and morphology with his eyes. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has realized through a large number of medical practices that the exterior of the human body, especially the face, tongue quality and tongue coating, are closely related to internal organs. If there are lesions in the five internal organs, they will inevitably be reflected on the body surface. Therefore, we can understand the internal diseases of the body through examination. When the doctor first came into contact with the patient, he saw that the patient was seriously ill, but if the patient's spirit is good, it means that the patient's vital qi is still very strong and the treatment effect is bound to be better; On the other hand, it seems that the condition is not too serious, but the spirit has been sluggish, indicating that the healthy qi is declining and the treatment effect may not be as good as the former. Different colors of the face can reflect the pathological changes of different viscera. Blue, red, yellow, white and black correspond to the five internal organs of liver, heart, spleen, lung and kidney. If you have a blue face, it may be a liver lesion; Yellowing may be a lesion of the spleen and stomach. You can also see the change of illness from the appearance of people. Obese people are prone to symptoms of insufficient yang and excessive phlegm; Thin people are prone to symptoms of insufficient yin and blood and strong yang.

The most distinctive feature of Chinese medicine is "tongue diagnosis", which includes looking at tongue coating and tongue quality. Tongue refers to the body of the tongue; Tongue coating is the covering of the tongue surface. You can know the rise and fall of healthy qi by looking at the quality of the tongue, and the depth of evil qi by looking at the coating of the tongue; Normal people have a thin layer of white coating on their tongues, which is called tongue coating. If foreign pathogens invade the human body and affect the digestive function of the spleen and stomach, moss will thicken. The smooth surface of the tongue is like a mirror because the vital qi is too weak. The reason why tongue coating can reflect diseases is that it is closely related to the internal organs through "stomach qi", which is the functional state of the spleen and stomach, and its physiological and pathological state has a very important influence on the activities of other organs. The observation of tongue image in traditional Chinese medicine includes the observation of tongue quality color, tongue coating color and thickness, and tongue body shape. Clinically, because the tongue picture can accurately reflect the physiological and pathological conditions of the body, some people think that the tongue picture is a mirror of the physiological and pathological conditions of the human body. Collection and arrangement of medical education network

Smell diagnosis means that doctors listen to the patient's language with their ears and smell the patient's body or excrement and secretions with their noses. These are also valuable for determining the state of the disease.

Consultation is very important in the clinic of traditional Chinese medicine. The time, cause, course of disease, what diseases have been suffered in the past, the painful parts of patients, living habits, eating habits and other diseases-related conditions can only be understood by asking patients or their families. In order to emphasize the importance of "consultation" and summarize the main contents of "consultation", ancient doctors also compiled a song of "Ten Questions": "One question about cold and heat, two questions about sweat and heat, three questions about head and body, four questions about defecation, five questions about diet, six questions about chest obstruction, seven questions about deafness, eight questions about thirst, nine questions about old diseases and ten questions about causes, and then take medicine to change machines. Women especially ask about menstruation, and they can see late amenorrhea and collapse. Add a word to tell pediatrics that smallpox and measles are all tested. " This shows that it is very important for Chinese medicine practitioners to seek medical advice.

The "cutting" of pulse diagnosis is to touch the patient's body with your hands. The doctor touches or presses a certain part of the patient with his fingers to understand the changes of the condition, including pulse-cutting and pulse-pressing. Massage is a way for doctors to press the chest and abdomen of patients and touch other parts of patients. Pulse diagnosis is also called "pulse-taking". Vena of the whole body is a closed pipeline system in the human body, extending in all directions and covering the whole body like a net. Driven by heart qi, blood circulates throughout the body through veins. Therefore, as long as any part of the human body is diseased, it will affect the changes of qi and blood, and it will be manifested in the pulse condition. This is why Chinese medicine can diagnose diseases by taking the pulse.

There are two methods of pulse diagnosis in traditional Chinese medicine: one is called full-time diagnosis, which means touching the arteries in specific parts of the whole body; The other is also commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine, that is, the cunkou pulse method. The "Cunkou" is located in the superficial part of the posterior wrist flexor artery. If your fingers lightly touch your skin, you will feel the pulse beating, just like a piece of wood floating on the water. This is called a floating pulse. Look at this pulse. It's usually a mild exogenous disease. If you feel the pulse beating after pressing again, this is called sinking pulse, which is usually a pathological change of internal organs. The pulse rate of normal adults is generally about 70 times per minute, and it is not morbid to be a little slower and faster. If the adult's pulse exceeds 90 times per minute, this is "pulse counting" and must be considered as "heat syndrome"; Pulse is less than 60 times per minute, which belongs to "late pulse" and should be considered as "cold syndrome" Pulsating pulse can identify the location of the disease, and later pulse can identify the nature of the disease. The difference between the deficiency and the excess of a disease can be distinguished from whether the pulse condition is strong or not. For example, the pulse of positive syndrome is strong and the pulse of deficiency syndrome is weak. Because the disease is often a complicated process, the pulse condition is also diverse. Through long-term clinical practice, traditional Chinese medicine has summed up rich pulse theory. There are as many as 28 common pulse conditions, and there are also strange pulse conditions that can only be seen when the condition is dangerous.

Look, smell, ask and feel have their own unique functions in the process of observing diseases and making diagnosis, and they cannot replace each other. Some people say that Chinese medicine only looks at tongue coating and pulse-taking, which is not comprehensive, because it separates the four diagnoses of Chinese medicine. Of course, tongue diagnosis and pulse diagnosis have a prominent position in TCM diagnostics. The four diagnostic methods in traditional Chinese medicine are a unified whole, and they must be combined in clinic, which is called "four diagnostic methods combined reference". In addition, because the manifestations of diseases are very complex, the nature and manifestations of diseases are often different, which requires doctors to rely on experience to judge, distinguish between true and false, and recognize the essence of diseases.