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1. The treatment principles for male and female departments are generally the same, differing only in the management of regulating menstruation, metrorrhagia (abnormal uterine bleeding), and leukorrhea; furthermore, they differ regarding procreation, antenatal care, postpartum recovery, as well as diseases of the anterior yin and breast diseases.
[Note] Various diseases in women are essentially no different from those in men, hence their treatment principles are the same. The aspects that differ from men are solely the regulation of menstruation, amenorrhea, turbid leukorrhea, metrorrhagia, zheng jia (abdominal masses), procreation, various diseases during pregnancy and after childbirth, as well as breast diseases and various syndromes of the anterior yin. Therefore, a separate department for women is established to classify and treat them in detail. Practitioners of this specialty must first study books on formulas, pulse diagnosis, and clinical methods, and then read this text, naturally achieving a thorough understanding.

2. Innate Tian Gui (menstrual essence) originates from parents, while acquired Jing Xue (essence and blood) is generated from water and grain (dietary nutrients). When a girl reaches fourteen years old (two sevens), Tian Gui arrives, the Ren Mai (Conception Vessel) becomes unobstructed, the Chong Mai (Penetrating Vessel) becomes abundant, and menstruation flows regularly.
[Note] Innate Tian Gui refers to the moving Qi between the kidneys, which is inherited from parents and serves as the beginning of life; acquired Jing Xue refers to what is transformed from dietary water and grain, obtained after physical formation, serving to sustain life. The classics state: At age seven, a girl's Kidney Qi becomes prosperous, referring to the prosperity of the moving Qi between the kidneys. At age fourteen, Tian Gui arrives, referring to the moving Qi within the innate Gui Water reaching the uterus of the woman. The Chong Mai is known as the Sea of Blood, and the Ren Mai governs the fetus. Both the Chong and Ren vessels originate from the Bao Zhong (uterus); therefore, when the Ren Mai is unobstructed and the Tai Chong Mai is abundant, menstruation occurs at regular intervals, enabling conception.

3. The causes of infertility often involve injury to the Ren and Chong vessels, accompanied by irregular menstruation, leukorrhea, menstrual spotting, or metrorrhagia; it may also be due to accumulated blood, cold or heat in the uterus, or phlegm-fluid retention and fatty membrane pathology affecting the uterus.
[Note] The cause of infertility in women lies in the injury to the Ren and Chong vessels. The classics state: At age fourteen, Tian Gui arrives, the Ren Mai is unobstructed, the Tai Chong Mai is abundant, menstruation occurs at regular intervals, thus enabling conception. If pathogenic factors from the Three Causes (internal, external, and neither internal nor external) injure the Chong and Ren vessels, diseases such as irregular menstruation, red and white leukorrhea, menstrual spotting, and metrorrhagia arise. Or it may be due to old blood accumulating in the uterus, preventing new blood from conceiving; or due to uterine cold or heat, preventing the reception of essence for conception; or due to obesity with excessive phlegm, where fatty membranes obstruct the uterus leading to infertility. All these cases require careful examination of the etiology and treatment according to the syndrome, thereby enabling conception.