Ayurveda Tonuge Analysis

Tongue Analysis
By Dr Rama Prasad !
Collected from various sources Color of Tongue Body Firstly, let's start out with the color of your tongue. Please pick from one of the following: Just focus on the color of the tongue body, not the coating or shape, just the color of the tongue body. Pick one:=>pink tongue body=>slightly red body=>red body=>purple body=>Pale or White Tongue Body Congratulations, you're normal. : ) Next, it is common for a tongue to have a coating. Please pick the color of the tongue coating that applies to your tongue. Now in this question, we're only dealing with the color of the coating, not the color of the tongue, not the thickness of the coating, just the color of the coating. Pick one: The red tongue body can be due to one of two causes. It can be due to what we call heat which is generally some sort of infection or illness that gives you a fever. Or it can be due to a Yin deficiency in your body. Yin is body fluids and they keep the body cool in the same way that a radiator keeps your car's engine cool.
The tongue with the purple body suggests one of two things. Either there is some blood stagnation, or there is cold in the body. Blood stagnation is exactly what it sounds like. It is a circulatory disorder that can give rise to a variety of things such as pains that are sharp and fixed in location, chest pains, menstrual cramps, endometriosis, erectyle disfunction, benign or malignant tumors, fibrocystic tissue of the breast or uterus, etc. Physical trauma can cause blood stagnation too. Internal cold is also going to cause pain. Generally this kind of pain will cause you to double over in pain. Cold has a contracting quality to it that causes muscle spasms and sever pains. This tongue body indicates a Yang deficiency or blood deficiency. Yang deficiency is a lack of Yang or warmth in the body. This may be a hypothyroid condition or other metabolic deficiency. Symptoms include cold hands and feet, diarrhea, frequent urination, impotence, lack of libido, and fatigue.
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Tongue Analysis
By Dr Rama Prasad !
Blood deficiency may or may not be synonymous with "anemia". In either case, there can be a lack of red blood cells, neurotransmitters, and/or hormones to put this into more common terms. Symptoms associated with blood deficiency include dry eyes, dry and itchy skin, brittle nails, dizziness, insomnia, irregular periods or lack of periods, and tremors. A lack of tongue coating suggests a Yin deficiency. Now, this Yin deficiency diagnosis only applies to the tongue that is so void of coating as to appear as if it has a mirror finish. If your tongue has a thin coating then use the "back" button and click on "thin coating". Yin deficiency is a lack of fluids and/or cooling mechanisms in your body. The tongue coating tells us about the fluids in your digestion specifically, and should there be no coating, we can assume that not only is there a deficiency of fluids in your stomach and intestines but elsewhere as well. This may give rise to a constant gnawing hunger, heartburn, and constipation. Menopause can produce a transitory Yin deficiency as well in which case we might see
hot flashes, night sweats, irritability, and restlessness. This coating is the official normal tongue coating. However this coating, if it is starting to get thick can indicate cold dampness accumulating inside your body. Cold dampness is like saying the weather is cold and foggy inside your body. This can give rise to (or be caused by) any number of metabolic problems with symptoms such as fatigue, edema, inability to concentrate, or heavy dull aches in the body that are aggravated by damp weather or humidity. Next up, let's look at the thickness of the tongue coating. A thin coating is defined as a coating that is present on the tongue, but you can still see through it to the tongue body beneath. A thick coating is defined as a coating that is present on the tongue which you can not see through. A geographic coating is a coating where there are pieces missing as in the image below.
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Tongue Analysis
By Dr Rama Prasad !
A dirty white coating is the same as a light yellow coating. This indicates some low-grade heat in either your entire body such as a low grade fever or in your digestive system in particular. This could be something as meaningless as having just drunk some tea or coffee. Or it could indicate some stagnation in your digestion such as what happens when you eat to much. It could also indicate that your cold is becoming a flu or that you are developing a fever or that you like yellow colored candy. Yellow Tongue Coating This sign indicates internal heat which means that you have a fever, or else metabolic functions are operating in some other state of hyperactivity. A yellow coating could also indicate that you just had a cigarette or coffee or tea or you just had a big meal. This coating suggests Internal heat that is damaging the Yin or that you're taking a bismuth based antacid.
Internal heat damaging Yin is what we call it when a high fever or other source of heat causes dehydration. I've seen this coating in conjunction with a heavy smoker as well. That's another example of heat damaging the Yin, in this case, the Yin is the healthy fluids of the lungs. A bismuth based antacid can give rise a brown or even black tongue coating, not to mention some funny looking stools as well. Pepto-Bismol is an example of this kind of product. It does not indicate a pathology, its just a unique reaction to the bismuth in the medicine. A thick coating indicates an accumulation of dampness and phlegm. Dampness and phlegm means some sort of fluid metabolism problem giving rise to any one of a number of moist, oozing or sticky pathologies. It can be aggravated or even caused by dietary problems, in particular items that are difficult to digest including cold raw foods in excess, dairy, deep fried or otherwise fatty foods. In short, all the good stuff. This tongue suggests phlegm and dampness in the Middle Jiao. So,
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Tongue Analysis
By Dr Rama Prasad !
what's a Jiao and where's the middle one? Chinese medicine breaks up the abdomin and chest into three Jiaos or "burners" or "ovens" or "heaters". The upper Jiao is the cardiovascular system or the Lungs and Heart. The middle Jiao is the pancreas and stomach. For some strange reason, we call the pancreas the "spleen". Finally, the lower Jiao is all the organs below the belly button, give or take. Dampness and phlegm indicates a fluid metabolism problem giving rise to any one of a number of moist, oozing or sticky pathologies. The Middle Jiao is to say that the phlegm and dampness are limited in location to the digestive organs from which phlegm and dampness tend to arise. Key symptoms associated with this pathology include nausea, motion sickness, lack of appetite, intestinal gurgling, fatigue. A thick coating indicates an accumulation of dampness and phlegm. Dampness and phlegm means some sort of fluid metabolism problem giving rise to any one of a number of moist, oozing or sticky
pathologies. It can be aggravated or even caused by dietary problems, in particular items that are difficult to digest including cold raw foods in excess, dairy, deep fried or otherwise fatty foods. In short, all the good stuff. This coating suggests a stomach Yin deficiency. Stomach Yin is the fluids in your stomach and intestines. Should they become deficient, symptoms such as heartburn, constipation or chronic gnawing hunger can arise. Next step is to take a look at where your tongue coating is most concentrated, it'll tell us where your problem is likely to be most evident.=> Coating Distributed Evenly Over Entire Tongue Indicates systemic dampness or phlegm. Dampness is a wet pathology that arises from weak digestion or damp-producing diet. Dampness can manifest as any foggy feeling, like heaviness in the limbs or a headache that feels heavy. Dampness can clog up your
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Tongue Analysis
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acupuncture meridians giving rise to arthritis that is aggravated by damp weather. Dampness can accumulate and look like water in the body. Edema or water accumulations are good examples of dampness. Phlegm can arive after dampness has had time to get thicker and stickier. Phlegm comes in two forms. Substantial phlegm is the stuff that you cough up. Insubstantial phlegm can clog up your meridians and give rise to parasthesias or neuropathies, making parts of your body go numb or tingle and feel funny for no reason. Menier's disease is sometimes caused by phlegm with wind in the body. I've also seen thick tongue coatings evenly distributed as a result of anti-depresant drugs. I'm not sure if the tongue coating is causing the depression, as phlegm in the body can cause certain emotional problems, or if the drug itself causes the tongue coating to get thicker, but in any case, there is some relationship there. Next, we'll take a look to see if you have any cracks in your tongue body.=>no cracks=>central crack=>
Means that you have a normal tongue. There is no damage to your Yin. Yin is all of the substance of your body. There's substance and then there are all the functions. Yin is substance. Yang is function. In clinical terms, we tend to deal mostly with the fluid substance. Once the fluids are working correctly, they can give rise to denser things like organs and bones. Slight Teethmarks The tongue is a muscle, and when there is a deficiency of Qi energy in the body, this muscle can get flaccid, lose its ability to maintain its own shape and begin to take on the shape of its container, namely, the teeth in your mouth. Teethmarks can indicate that your digestion isn't strong enough to get all the Qi from your food that you need, or it may be simply that you didn't get enough sleep last night. The tongue is a muscle, and when there is a deficiency of Qi energy in the body, this muscle can get flaccid, lose its ability to maintain its
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Tongue Analysis
By Dr Rama Prasad !
own shape and begin to take on the shape of its container, namely, the teeth in your mouth. Teethmarks can indicate that your digestion isn't strong enough to get all the Qi from your food that you need, or it may be simply that you didn't get enough sleep last night. No spots? That's good news. There are no spots on your tongue. Had there been spots on your tongue, you'd be reading about them right now. If you think you've got them, but aren't really that sure, you can always click on the backwards button and make a different choice here. This test is a two way street. It's a taoism thing, I guess. Okay, so you're tongue is normal when it comes to spots. Next, we're going to look underneath your tongue at that big blue pair of veins. When you lift up your tongue, you may see a couple of veins. They should be a little blue or purple. If the length of this purple line doesn't pass the 50% mark of the length of your tongue, chose the first option below. If the blue veins beneath
your tongue extend past the 50% mark of the length of your tongue, chose the second option below. This indicates Heat or blood Stagnation in the lower Jiao. The "lower Jiao" suggest that the location of your heat or blood stagnation is in the organs or in the body below the belly button, give or take. Heat suggests that there is some sort of infection going on. It could also indicate a little gunk in your large intestine which isn't all that uncommon or even a problem for many people. It can indicate that your diet isn't that great, but I've also seen individuals with great dietary habits with some heat down yonder. If these dots are purple or brown instead of red, this would indicate some blood stagnation which suggests some circulatory issue that can give rise to sharp pain always in the exact same spot, most likely below the belly button. Spots on the Lateral Edges of the Tongue
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Tongue Analysis
By Dr Rama Prasad !
This indicates either heat or blood stagnation in the Liver. This particular "Liver" doesn't necessarily mean that there's anything wrong with the organ that we call the liver. The TCM "Liver" is a little different. If the dots are red as in the picture you chose to get to this page would indicate Liver heat. This suggests that there's some dull pain beneath the ribs, perhaps associated with mood swings, irritability, red eyes, migraines, or perhaps you're just getting ready for your period. I'm not being funny on this one. Liver heat may be nothing but the body preparing to push out some blood. If the dots are purple or brown on one or both sides of the tongue, this indicates Liver blood stagnation. This can give rise to sharp, fixed pains in the abdomen. In women, this can also give rise to painful periods, endometriosis, tumors, fibrocystic tissue in the uterus or breasts. In men, this could give rise to either heart disease or erectyle disfunction. veins less than 50% Certain problems with blood circulation will cause these veins to
get longer and extend further up to the tip of the tongue. This doesn't seem to be the case with your tongue. veins more Certain problems with blood circulation will cause these veins to get longer and extend further up to the tip of the tongue. Blood circultion problems can manifest in any of the following conditions: cold hands and feet, chest pains, pains that are sharp in nature and fixed in location, headaches, tumors (both benign and malignant), masses, fibrocystic tissue, endometroisis. Blood stagation may also give rise to pathologies of the central nervous system, especially when the etilogical factor is a cerebralvascular accident. Imagine, you don't need a battery of tests to find out what part of your digestive tract is in stress. You can diagnosis the whole GI tract and corresponding organ integrity all in one easy view- just stick your tongue out.
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Tongue Analysis
By Dr Rama Prasad !
As a whole the tongue reflects the condition of the digestive system and the organs associated with blood, nutrient assimilation, and excretion. You can also see how 'hot' or how 'cold' your internal organs are. Therefore it has a high value as a diagnostic tool. Specific sections of the tongue mirror the condition of particular parts of the digestive system and the digestion related internal organs. Like each particular area of the body, the tongue can be used to evaluate one's overall condition. Zetsu Shin as it is called in Japanese, is one of the most important forms of diagnosis used in Chinese medicine. Two main aspects are considered in tongue diagnosis. First is the structure of the tongue. Is it wide or narrow, thick or thin, pointed or rounded? Such qualities convey information concerning the individual's basic constitution and overall strengths and weaknesses of body and mind. Width:
a wide tongue reflects an overall balanced physical and psychological disposition. a narrow tongue reflects a lack of physical adaptability with pronounced strengths and weaknesses. Mentally, thinking may be sharp but tend toward seeing a narrow view. a very wide tongue reflects a generally loose and expanded physical condition and a tendency toward more psychological concerns. Tip: a rounded tip reflects a flexible yet firm physical and mental condition. a pointed tip reflects a tight, perhaps even rigid physical condition and an aggressive or even offensive mentality. a very wide tip reflects an overall weakness of the physical body and a flaccid or even "spaced out" mental condition. a divided tip reflects a tendency toward physical and mental imbalances with the possibility of sharp fluctuations in thinking and mood.
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Tongue Analysis
By Dr Rama Prasad !
Thickness: a flat tongue reflects a balanced condition and the ability to flexibly adapt to circumstances. a thin tongue reflects a more mental orientation, with a tendency to be more gentle and easy going. a thick tongue reflects a more physical orientation, with the tendency to be assertive or even aggressive. In comparison to structure, the condition of the tongue is influenced more by daily lifestyle and provides information about an individual's current state of health. Qualities to look for include: Color: Dark red: indicates inflammation; lesions or ulceration; and sometimes a degeneration of the related organ. White: indicates stagnation of blood; fat and mucus deposits; or a weakness in the blood leading to such conditions as anaemia. Yellow: indicates a disorder of the liver and gallbladder, resulting in an excess secretion of bile; deposits of
animal fats, especially in the middle organs of the body; and possible inflammation. Blue or Purple: indicates stagnation of blood circulation and a serious weakening of the part of the digestive system that corresponds to the area of the tongue where the color appears. The color on the underside of the tongue can also be used to determine the internal condition. In general, the colors and their indications listed above are the same, with the following exceptions: Blue or Green: In excess, either of these color reflect disorders in the blood vessels and in blood quality and circulation. Purple: In excess, this color reflects disorders of the lymphatic and circulatory system. It indicates a weakening of the immune ability and of the blood vessels. Texture: a swollen or enlarged tongue: indicates a Jitsu, or full state.
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Tongue Analysis
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a shrivelled or witheredlooking tongue: indicates a Kyo, or empty state. Movement: the flexibility of the tongue also reflects the condition of the digestive system. Characteristics to look for include: a flexible, supple, smoothly moving tongue. a stiff, tense, or inflexible tongue. a loose or lolling tongue. a tongue with a pronounced slant to the left or right when it is extended. Pimples or projections of the tongue's surface indicate the discharge of fat, protein, and sugar. Where in the body this discharge is coming from can be determined by the specific area of the tongue on which it appears. You can find the correlation between the areas of the tongue and the digestive tract. The second major aspect considered in tongue diagnosis is the coating, or moss, as it is called in Chinese medicine, on the tongue's surface.
Qualities are again divided into antagonistic pairs, and include moist and dry, excessive and deficient, thick or thin. The color of the coating reveals a precise information concerning specific internal conditions.
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Tongue Analysis
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Tongue Diagnosis The tongue is the organ of taste and speech. Size, shape, contour, surface, margins, and color are the characteristics one can observe on the tongue. A pale tongue may indicate an anemic condition or lack of blood in the body. An yellowish tongue may suggest that excess bile present in the gallbladder or a possible liver disorder. A blue tongue is normally an indication of problems with the heart. Different areas of the tongue corresponds to different organs of the body. Hence by correlating the location of the blemishes on the tongue, the Ayurvedic practitioner can determine which organs of the body are out of balance. A whitish tongue indicates Kapha imbalance and mucus accumulation. A red or yellow green tongue indicated a Pitta imbalance. A vata imbalance is manifested by a black to brown coloration on the tongue. If the tongue is covered by a coating, it may indicate the presence of toxins in the stomach, small intestine or large intestine. If the posterior part of the tongue is
coated, it will indicate that toxins are present in the large intestine. If the middle of the tongue is coated, the toxins are present in the stomach and in the small intestine.
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Tongue Analysis
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Can Tongue Diagnosis Predict Colon Cancer? Scientists Embark on Groundbreaking U.S. Study By Michael Devitt, Managing Editor While many poets believe the eyes are the windows to the soul, many acupuncturists and doctors of Oriental medicine believe that the tongue provides a window to the inner workings of the body. For thousands of years, tongue diagnosis has played an indispensable role in the practice of traditional Chinese medicine. TCM practitioners rely on tongue diagnosis to differentiate one syndrome from another, and use variations in the tongue's color, texture, shape and coating to evaluate a patient's condition. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center are taking a scientific approach to the usefulness of tongue diagnosis. In what is believed to be the first study of its kind in the United States, the investigators have begun taking computerized images of patients' tongues to see if an examination can provide an early indication of colon cancer.
Yang Cai, PhD, a native of Suzhou, China and a systems scientist at Carnegie Mellon, is responsible for taking and analyzing the tongue images. He also has a vested interest in the subject, having lost a close friend to ovarian cancer and an aunt to brain cancer only four months after being diagnosed. Determined to learn more about the relationship between the appearance of the tongue and certain cancers, Dr. Cai talked to Chinese medical experts and collected volumes of medical literature. He found several studies dating as far back as the 1960s that showed a correlation between the characteristics of the tongue and health conditions such as fever, dehydration and assorted internal diseases. For example, one intriguing paper, published in the Chinese-language Journal of Oncology in 1987, examined the tongues of more than 12,000 patients and found "significant changes" in color, coating and texture in the tongues of cancerous patients compared to those without cancer. The results of Cai's informal investigation led him to Dr. Robert Schoen, director of colorectal and
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Tongue Analysis
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gastrointestinal cancer prevention and control research at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI). After initial discussions, Schoen warmed to the idea of tongue diagnosis and allowed Cai to add his research project to Schoen's ongoing study with the Early Detection Research Network. "I'm a big proponent of applying rigorous scientific methodology to things like traditional Chinese medicine," said Dr. Schoen. Like Cai, Schoen's work centers around the early detection of colorectal cancer. However, while the bulk of Schoen's research consists of collecting blood and tissue samples from people who have already undergone a colonoscopy or surgery, Cai studies only patients in the preparation stages of a colonoscopy, an examination of the large intestine. Patients about to receive a colonoscopy aren't allowed to eat for a minimum of six hours before undergoing the procedure. This benefits Cai in that it prohibits the patients from consuming something that would affect the color of the tongue. Using a digital camera, Cai
takes two photographs of each tongue, with a color calibration chart for confirmation. He then uses vision technology software to isolate the tongue's image from other features in the mouth, and documents the color, texture and shape to create a mathematical model of each tongue, which is stored in a computer database.
To date, Cai has personally photographed more than 30 tongues, and has provided a camera and instructions on tongue imaging to Xingming Lin, a traditional Chinese medical doctor who oversees a cancer unit at Anhui Medical School in Hefei, China. In addition, Schoen has offered to share diagnostic information to determine whether the patients Cai photographed are diagnosed as normal, precancerous or cancerous. While Schoen admits to some skepticism, he believes that Cai's research has merit. If tongue screening proves accurate, it would give providers an inexpensive, noninvasive alternative to a traditional colonoscopy.
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Tongue Analysis
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"From a clinical standpoint, it's not really much of a burden to the patients to stick out their tongue and have a picture taken," Schoen explained. "If one could see some characteristics of the tongue correlated to the presence of adenomatous polyps that have the potential to transform into cancer, that would be great. Then you could just go around and take pictures of people's tongues. That's a lot simpler than doing colonoscopies." Schoen noted that the tongue plays an important role in the diagnosis of Western-trained physicians as well. The color of the tongue, for instance, could indicate nutritional deficiencies, or conditions ranging from anemia to scarlet fever. An enlarged or inflamed tongue, meanwhile, could be a sign of infection elsewhere in the body. "The tongue is one of the first parts of the GI tract that's visible," Schoen said. Dr. Ronald Herberman, UPCI's director, is responsible for overseeing the work of Cai and Schoen. If tongue diagnosis proves useful, Herberman feels it could be used as part of a routine cancer screening at the institute.
"There may be valuable insights to come from the traditional Chinese experience," offered Herberman. "I can't dismiss out of hand what's been going on for hundreds of years because many of the drugs that actually are used in the United States and Europe started out as folk medicines." For Dr. Cai, the goal of his project is not to replace the conventional means of detecting colorectal cancer simply by looking at the tongue, but rather as an alternative screening method that can accurately and effectively produce an early warning sign. That sign may be as simple as having a patient see a physician for a more complete evaluation, but it may make a significant difference in terms of cancer treatment, intervention, and a positive outcome of care. For more information on the tongue diagnosis research project, contact Dr. Cai at ycai@cmu.edu.
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Tongue Analysis
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TONGUE DIAGNOSIS 1 Tongue diagnosis dates to the Shang Dynasty which began c.1600 B.C. and ended c.1000. Throughout the time since it has evolved into a very important tool of diagnosis. The tongue is considered to be an exterior part of the body because it's in almost contact with the air the exterior. This is certainly different from the American view but extremely productive. An acupuncturist or herbalist will, in the mind!s eye, overlay a tongue with several different maps. Each map is shaped by the diagnostic model or system which it represents. The diagram on the left represents the internal organs. The center diagram represents the body as having three parts - upper burner, middle burner, and lower burner. The diagram on the right represents the body as having two parts interior and exterior.
moist with a thin clear or white coat. Thin is defined as a coat through which the tongue body can be seen. Some signs of imbalance or pathology are red body, yellow coat, thick coat like mozzarella cheese, very dry body or cracks in the coat or body itself. Chinese medicine update: tongue diagnosis in Chinese medicine Save a personal copy of this article and quickly find it again with In last month's issue of The Townsend Letter, I described the role of pulse diagnosis in standard professional Chinese medicine. This month I would like to discuss tongue diagnosis or, more properly, tongue examination (she zhen) in Chinese medicine. While practitioners of acupuncture and Chinese medicine take into consideration the patient's disease diagnosis, they mainly base their treatment on the patient's individualized Chinese medical pattern or zheng. A pattern is a named and recognized standard group of signs and symptoms, and there are more than 300 such patterns in professional Chinese medicine. Each pattern is defined by a group of general signs and
The practitioner examines the general and local shape, and the color of both the tongue body and coat. A healthy tongue will be pink (like a kitten or puppy!s tongue) and
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Tongue Analysis
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symptoms, tongue signs, and pulse signs. Therefore, one can say that tongue examination comprises one third of the Chinese medical process of pattern discrimination. In terms of the four examinations (si zhen) of Chinese medicine, tongue examination is a special subcategory of visual inspection (wang zhen). The history of tongue diagnosis in Chinese medicine Descriptions of diagnostically significant pathological changes in the tongue and its fur in the Chinese medical literature date back to the Nei Jing (Inner Classic), the "Bible" of Chinese medicine which was compiled in the late Han dynasty (circa 200 A.D. or C.E.). Throughout the succeeding dynasties, famous Chinese doctors added more and more tongue observations to the Chinese medical literature. However, the first surviving Chinese medical text to deal exclusively with tongue examination dates from 1341 during the Yuan or Mongol dynasty. This book was written by Du Qing-bi and was based, in part, on an earlier book by a Master Ao which has not survived. This book contained 36 color illustrations of the tongue and its fur corresponding to various
patterns of disharmony and their pulses. Since that time, numerous such books have been published with an ever-increasing number of illustrations until today, when we have books full of color photographs of tongues, sets of colored slides of tongues, and even sets of colored plastic tongue models to help students and practitioners learn this important diagnostic art. For instance, in 1906, Liang De-yan wrote She Jian Bian Zheng (Pattern Discrimination by Examining the Tongue). This book describes 148 tongue types and their pattern indications. Today, tongue examination is taught at all colleges of Chinese medicine in the People's Republic of China and is the frequent subject of articles published in Chinese medical journals. The relationship of the tongue to the interior of the body In Chinese medicine, it is believed that every part of the body contains a "holographic" image of the entire rest of the body. This holographic image is sometimes referred to in English as a homunculus or little man. Therefore, there is a "map" of the entire body on the ear, hand, foot, face, eye, and even the lateral edge of the first metacarpal bone.
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Sites on these maps reflect pathological changes in the corresponding body parts and, at least in some cases, stimulation of these sites can be used to treat those corresponding body parts. Anyone familiar with foot reflexology will understand this concept. Unlike the nose, hands, and feet, the tongue is an internal organ which can be seen from the outside of the body. Therefore, in Chinese medicine, the tongue is believed to be a hologram or homunculus of the organs located in the cavity of the torso. This means that Chinese medical practitioners believe that certain areas of the tongue correspond to specific viscera and bowels. Pathological changes in a given area of the tongue are thus believed to indicate pathological changes in the corresponding viscus or bowel. The accompanying diagrams show these correspondences.
Tongue body and fur Chinese medical practitioners look at two main things when they look at the tongue. These two things are 1) the tongue body, and 2) the tongue fur. Inspection of the tongue body is also divided into two: inspection of the tongue shape and inspection of the tongue color. Inspection of the tongue fur is divided into inspection of the thickness of the fur and consistency and inspection of its color and moisture. According to Chinese medical textbooks, the normal tongue color is pale red similar to a skinned chicken. The normal tongue body or shape is neither too thick nor too thin and is not cracked or crevassed. The normal tongue fur is thin in thickness and white in color, thus appearing almost transparent. Further, the sublingual veins are not dark, tortuous, and distended. Such a tongue indicates that qi and blood are sufficient and flowing freely, that yin and yang are in relative balance, and that, in particular, the stomach is functioning harmoniously. In terms of deviations from this norm, a tongue which is thicker than normal indicates a yin repletion due to nonmovement and nontransportation of water fluids,
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while a tongue which is thinner than normal indicates an insufficiency of righteous yin, including qi and blood. A tongue which is paler than normal indicates a blood vacuity. A tongue which is redder than normal indicates heat. A tongue which is blue indicates cold, while a tongue which is purple and dark indicates blood stasis. Static speckles or spots, brownish papillae, also indicate blood stasis in the organ corresponding to their location on the tongue as do static macules, black and blue spots on the tongue. Another indication of blood stasis, this time primarily in the chest, are distended, dark, tortuous sublingual veins. If the tip of the tongue is red, this means heat specifically in the heart, but, if it is the sides of the tongue that are red, this indicates heat in the liver-gallbladder. Cracks and crevasses on the surface of the tongue can mean either of two things. If the tongue is not red, crevasses and cracks in the tongue mean longstanding spleen vacuity. If the tongue is red, then they mean chronic and enduring yin vacuity. And finally, if the tongue quivers excessively when presented, this indicates stirring of internal wind. The tongue fur is believed to be a reflection of the stomach qi or
stomach function. If the tongue fur is thin and white, this means that the stomach is functioning normally. It is dispersing and downbearing food properly and it is not too hot. If the fur becomes thicker than normal, this means that the stomach is not dispersing the food properly but that the food is backing up in the stomach and intestines. If the fur is thicker than normal and dry, it shows that there is also damage to the stomach and intestinal fluids. If the fur turns yellow, it indicates pathological heat. If it further turns brown or black, then this pathological heat is even worse. If the tongue fur is glossy and slimy, it indicates an accumulation of dampness and turbidity, but if it is patchy and geographic, this means that, although there is damp heat, the heat is damaging yin fluids. So this is a more complicated pattern of disharmony. While the color and shape of the tongue only change slowly over the course of hours or even days, the tongue fur can change within a single hour. Inspecting the tongue In China, when the practitioner wants to see the patient's tongue, they say, "Kan kan she tai," "Let me
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see your tongue and fur." Typically, the patient is sitting upright in a room well lit with natural light. The patient should then stick out his or her tongue moderately far. Like so much else in Chinese medicine, the patient should neither stick their tongue out too far, which distorts both its shape and color, or too little, which makes the tongue impossible to assess. The practitioner should look at the tongue in short, repeated bouts so that the tongue does not change color or shape due to the strain of holding it in an unusual place. Instead the practitioner asks the patient to stick out their tongue, writes down an impression, and then tells the patient to relax and close their mouth again. This procedure is repeated several times until the practitioner feels confident he or she has a good picture of the patient's tongue body shape and color and its fur's thickness, color, and moisture. This procedure can be done relatively quickly and easily, does not require any special equipment, and is painless and nonthreatening to most patients. If there is no natural light, then the practitioner must make allowance for the color of the light. For instance, incandescent light makes the fur look yellowish when it's not,
and fluorescent light makes the tongue look bluish or purple when it's not.
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Hot New Articles by Topic Chinese tongue examination is much, much easier to master than Chinese pulse examination. The basics of this art can be learned in a single day or less. Therefore, many students of Chinese medicine place more emphasis on the tongue than the pulse during the early years of their practice, effectively using the tongue to teach themselves the pulse over time. Because the tongue is inspected visually, interrater reliability is quite good. It is relatively easy to agree whether there are teeth-marks on the edges of the tongue or cracks down its middle. Likewise, it is relatively easy to agree on color, thickness and color of tongue fur, and the moistness of the tongue. An example of the use of tongue examination in clinical practice The patient was a 36 year-old female who was seen for the common cold. She had had a sore throat, fever, chills, nasal congestion, profuse phlegm, and cough for four days. In addition, she was fatigued and had lost her appetite. When the woman had first come down with the cold, she had gone to her local health food store
where she had purchased Yin Qiao Wan (Lonicera & Forsythia Pills), a common Chinese ready-made medicine for a wind heat external contraction pattern of the common cold. However, she had taken only the dosage of these pills recommended on the package (which is typically too little) and, even then, had missed a number of doses. Because she had not gotten better as expected, she came in for a professional examination. Beside the forgoing signs and symptoms, the patient's pulse was fine, bowstring, and slightly rapid and her tongue was enlarged with teethmarks on its edges, normal in color, but was covered with thicker than normal fur. This fur was white on one side of the body and yellow on the other. In this case, the pulse is really not very revelatory on its own. It could indicate a number of different patterns. However, the tongue was very accurate in its indications. Based on the enlargement of the tongue with teeth-marks on its edges, I knew that there was a chronic spleen qi vacuity. This had led to a righteous qi vacuity and, thus, the body's susceptibility to external invasion and its inability to throw off the evil qi. Because the
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spleen qi moves and transforms water fluids in the body, the swollen tongue indicated that water fluids had accumulated, thus making a lot of dampness and phlegm. Although "the spleen is the root of phlegm engenderment, the lungs are the place where phlegm is stored." Such spleen vacuity was confirmed by the fatigue and lack of appetite. The tongue fur which was white on one side and yellow on the other showed that the evil qi was half inside and half outside. This is called a shao yang aspect disease. It means that there was still evil qi lodged in the exterior of the body but that some of this evil qi had made it to the interior. This then explained why the Yin Qiao Wan had not adequately dealt with the condition and was certainly inappropriate now. Yin Qiao Wan, as an exterior-resolving formula, only clears wind heat evils from the exterior of the body. Now this patient needed a shao yang aspect harmonizing formula (shao yang fen he fang). This is an entirely different category of Chinese herbal formula. When administered a modification of Xiao Chai Hu Tang (Minor Bupleurum Decoction), the classic shao yang aspect harmonizing
formula, the woman's appetite immediately returned, her fever went down, her chills abated, and her energy began to return. In terms of tongue examination, the yellow fur on one half of her tongue disappeared and the entire coating turned white. By the second day, her cough had stopped and she was only producing a slightly abnormal amount of mucus. By the third day, she was back to work, feeling relatively normal, and her tongue fur was thin and white. This shows both how tongue examination is used in Chinese medicine and how clinically important its findings can be. In this particular case, the half white and half yellow tongue fur is a clear and definite indication of the stage and pattern of this disease. It showed that the Chinese herbs the woman was currently taking on her own were not the right ones and pointed unequivocally to the right formula which, when prescribed, did the job expected of it.
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BENEFITS OF TONGUE DIAGNOSIS * Tongue diagnosis is a vital diagnostic Ayurvedic tool for assessing the current health of a patient and providing a basis for prognosis * It also informs about the underlying challenges of the patient?s constitution. * The tongue gives very accurate information about the state of Prana and blood, progression and regression of disease, degree of heat and cold and the depth or penetration of a pathogenic imbalance. * 80 percent accuracy before any blood tests, hair analyses, or urinalysis results come back form labs. In the ancient texts it says "the tongue is the sprout of the heart" and that "the tongue is external indication for the spleen and stomach". Tongue diagnosis is a vital instrument used in Ayurvedic Medicine both for assessing the current health of a patient and providing a basis for prognosis. It also informs the practitioner about the underlying challenges of the
patient's constitution. The tongue gives very accurate information about the state of Prana and blood, progression and regression of disease, degree of heat and cold and the depth or penetration of a pathogenic imbalance. This course is taught by Walter 'Shantree' Kacera bringing to the practitioner a very important and flexible resource for those wishing to integrate tongue diagnosis into their private practice. For the student, it is a very valuable and important aid. The work is designed for both the beginner and practitioner in mind, and comes with fundamentals supported by slide presentations of sample clinical indicators. By using tongue diagnostic, you will be able to discern your own health and those of your patient's problems with 80 percent accuracy before any blood tests, hair analyses, or urinalysis results come back form labs. The most valuable benefits of tongue diagnosis is to work on a preventative level, which can be achieved with the knowledge of one's constitution. The results from tongue diagnosis can direct the natural health practitioner's attention to the major
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body systems to accurately pinpoint the health imbalances.
Tongue Diagnosis 2 Tongue diagnosis is a method of observing the changes of the tongue body and the tongue coating to analyze and diagnose disease. It is one of the main methods of diagnostic observation in T.C.M. According to T.C.M. theory, the tongue is nourished by Qi and blood. The heart opens on the tongue. Tongue is the sprout of the heart and the heart is the supreme monarch of all organs. All disharmony of Zang and Fu organs influences not only the heart, but also the tongue by pushing the flow of the qi and blood into the body!s blood circulation. The tongue is also closely related to the function of the spleen and the stomach and is considered the outside representation of the stomach and spleen. The Tongue coating has a special relation to the stomach qi. The spleen and stomach affects the acquired source of the body which in turn affects the qi or blood functions of the other organs. The tongue links the Zang and Fu directly and indirectly through meridians and collaterals. The body meridians flow upward into the tongue. Examples are the meridians of three yin of the foot,
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three yang of the foot, Tai yang meridians of the hand and Shao yang meridians of the hand. All meridian qi and blood flows up to the tongue. So the tongue is a natural mirror of the human body reflecting the body!s internal status. The tongue basically reflects the condition and disease of Zang and Fu organs, qi, blood and the constitution of a person. Zang and Fu organs have their representative areas on the tongue surface. Generally speaking the tip of the tongue belongs to the heart and lung. The middle belongs to the spleen and stomach. The root belongs to the kidneys and the sides belong to the liver and gallbladder. It also can be explained as the tip associated with the upper Jiao, the middle part associated with the middle Jiao and the root associated with the lower Jiao. The normal tongue is soft and reddish, neither dry nor too wet and fits perfectly within the mouth while moving freely. Its coating is a thin white moist distributed evenly over the tongue. Usually observing the tongue body includes observing the vitality of the
tongue body; the tongue colors could be pale, red, crimson, purple or blue. Other observation factors are the tongue shape and size that would include puffiness, swollen, thin and skinny, spots, cracks, teeth marks, bleeding, carbuncle, ulcers and blisters. The tongue movement such as stiffness, atrphy, trembling, deviation, wagging and numbness and the veins under the tongue are also factors used in the observation procedures of tongue diagnosis Observing the tongue coating includes the reading of the tongue coating color. The color can be represented in the colors of white, yellow, gray, blue and either dark or pale. Other factors to observe in regards to the tongue coating is the thickness, moisture, does it seem rotten, greasy, patchy, peeling or no coating at all. Another ongoing factor is to notice change in the coating either a increase or decrease of the tongue coating over time In a clinic setting the tongue body and tongue coating have their own diagnosis patterns yet they are commonly combined when used for diagnosis. Observation of the tongue body is for the determination of condition of the Zang and Fu
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organ conditions. Observation of the tongue coating helps determine the disease nature, location, and conditions of the stomach Qi. The clinical significances of tongue diagnosis Judge the overall human body of constitutions exuberance and decline of genuine Qi Tongue body bright reddish with normal tongue appearance show Qi and blood exuberance. The light pale tongue body (tongue not nourished) is signs of deficiency of Qi and blood. A tongue with thick or thin moist coating indicate stomach exuberance. A tongue with no coating shows stomach function not good. Determine depth and severity of pathogen and disease Thin tongue coating suggests disease is in the initial stage while thick coating suggests disease is much more advanced. The deep red crimson tongue shows major deficiency of Ying or blood levels. A tongue body with deep red means a severe condition. Distinguish nature of disease and pathogen.
Yellow tongue coating is due to heat. White coating with moist is due to cold. Thick greasy coating is due to phlegm or food accumulation and thick yellow coating due to heat and damp. Tongue deviated to one side suggests wind. Spots on the tongue show blood stasis. Predict progress of disease When tongue coating turns from white to yellow, then yellow to dark, or moist turning to dryness it shows the pathogen going inside from superficial to interior, from cold to heat condition, and disease from mild to severe. If the change from thick to thin or dryness to moist it is a sign the pathogen is regressing, body fluids regenerating and disease improving.
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Ayurveda Tonuge Analysis

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Tongue Analysis

body systems to accurately pinpoint the health imbalances.

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