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In ancient discussions of diseases, the method of taking images and drawing analogies was often employed to make the principles easy to understand. For instance, diarrhea caused by the dispersion of Qi in the Zang-Fu organs is referred to as "duck stool" (Ya Tang) or "wild duck stool" (Wu Tang), because wild ducks live in water and their excrement is often loose and scattered, thus metaphorically describing the pathological mechanism; the symptom of blurred vision at night and inability to see objects is called "sparrow eye" (Que Mu), because sparrows cannot see clearly at dusk and night, serving as an analogy; the symptom of Kidney Qi rushing upward is termed "running piglet" (Ben Tun), because a piglet is capable of running but cannot travel far, describing the sensation of rebellious Qi; the symptoms of hoarseness, dry throat, drowsiness yet inability to sleep soundly, caused by seasonal epidemic pathogens, are called "fox bewitchment" (Hu Huo), because foxes are characterized by suspicion and confusion, describing the patient's restless state of mind; difficulty in defecation, where one desires to pass stool but stops, is called "wild chicken hemorrhoid" (Ye Ji Zhi), illustrating the obstruction; "wild wolf fistula" (Ye Lang Lou) initially appears on the neck, with a swelling that has no head but has a root, starting above the Quepen area and extending to the ear, named for its sudden and fierce onset like a wild wolf, originating from emotional distress causing Qi to rise and fail to descend; "earthworm fistula" (Qi Cao Lou) initially appears below the neck, without head or tail, resembling a date pit-sized mass moving within the skin, named for its headless and tailless shape resembling the larva of a scarab beetle (Qi Cao).

The methods of treating disease invariably involve using cold to treat heat and heat to treat cold. Where there is free flow, there may be blockage; where there is blockage, there must be free flow. One tonifies the organ that overcomes the diseased organ and reduces the organ that is overcome by it. When Qi becomes balanced and pathogenic factors submit, the disease is cured. However, diseases vary in severity, and medicinal potency varies in strength. The sages formulated prescriptions and discussed medical principles by seeking the etiology to subdue the primary pathology. This is akin to fire among humans: it burns when encountering grass and flares up when encountering wood; it can be subdued by dampness and extinguished by water. Diseases of minor severity resemble this, but severe diseases are like the fire of divine dragons: they flare up when encountering dampness and burn fiercely when encountering water. In such cases, cold and heat repel each other, and heat and cold contradict each other, so they cannot be treated with conventional methods. Therefore, the Classics mention methods such as "treating heat with cold administration," "treating cold with heat administration," "treating blockage with blockage-inducing methods," and "treating free flow with free-flow-inducing methods." These can harmonize Qi and ensure cure. For example, treating heat conditions with wine infused with fermented soybean (Dou Chi) is a method of "using cold due to heat"; treating cold conditions with honey-fried Aconite Root (Wutou) is a method of "using heat due to cold." For chronic dysentery leading to intestinal slipping and incontinence, one must first remove the accumulation; for middle-jiao fullness and solid blockage, one must strongly tonify the lower jiao. The Classics state: "Cold accumulation congeals internally, causing chronic dysentery and loose stools that recur after remission for years; using hot purgatives disperses the knot and stops the dysentery." This is the method of "treating free flow via free flow." For diseases of lower deficiency and middle fullness, tonifying deficiency exacerbates the middle fullness, while promoting movement further depletes the lower jiao. Therefore, one should unblock the middle and strongly tonify the lower. This is the method of "treating blockage via blockage." (Ibid.)