The Spleen () is one of the
zàng organs stipulated by
traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of acti ...
(TCM). It is a functionally defined entity and not equivalent to the anatomical organ of the same name.
In the context of the zang-fu concept
As a zàng, the Spleen is considered to be a
yin
Yin may refer to:
*the dark force in the yin and yang from traditional Chinese philosophy and medicine
*Yīn (surname) (), a Chinese surname
*Yǐn (surname) (), a Chinese surname
*Shang dynasty, also known as the Yin dynasty
**Yinxu or Yin, the S ...
organ. Its associated yang organ is the
Stomach
The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The stomach has a dilated structure and functions as a vital organ in the digestive system. The stomach i ...
. Both Spleen and Stomach are attributed to the
Earth element.
Regarding its stipulated functions, the Spleen
*governs "transportation and absorption" (, ), i.e. the extraction of jīng weī (, lit. "essence bits", usually translated with ''food essence'', sometimes also called jīng qì
''essence qi'' – and water – from food and drink, and the successive distribution of it to the other zàng organs.
**the jīng weī constitutes a large part of the body's acquired
qì (the other part coming from breathing, by facilitation of the Lung zàng). In this spirit, the Spleen is also called "root of the postnatal" (, ) – as opposed to the congenital qì, which is stored by the Kidney zàng. The Spleen absorbs jīng weī from the food after it has been preprocessed by the Stomach and the Small Intestine, and then distributes it to the whole body, especially upwards to the Lung and Heart, where jīng weī is transformed into qì and xuě (blood). Thus, TCM also describes the Spleen as the source of "production and mutual transformation" (, ) of qì and xuě.
**the Spleen distributes the water extracted from the food and distributes it to the whole of the body, especially to the Lung and Kidney zàng, and thus assists the body's water metabolism.
*"contains" (, ) the blood inside the vessels (this is also one of the functions of qì)
*governs muscles and limbs
*opens into the lips (and mouth)
*houses the ''
yì'' (, "thinking")
*governs pondering (, )
Its associated body fluid is saliva.
The Spleen's function (i.e., the Spleen-qì) is said to be strongest between 9 and 11am.
When the Spleen is functioning well, digestion will be good, the muscles will be strong and circulation will be efficient. Dysfunction of the Spleen typically presents as diarrhea, malnutrition, edema, weak/atrophic muscles, greasy taste in the mouth, or excessive bleeding.
[Cultural China 2007] The Spleen is especially weakened by the
Pathogenic Factor ''Dampness''.
Notes
References
* (2006-07-18)
"" ', retrieved 2010-12-18
*Cultural China (2007)
''Kaleidoscope → Health'', retrieved 2010-12-21
Further reading
*
*
Traditional Chinese medicine
Spleen (anatomy)
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