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Use one tael of saltpeter (Natrii Nitras) and one tael of alum (Alumen), grind them into powder, and put them into a small iron pot. Melt them over charcoal fire. Wait until the mixture turns dry and hard, forming a crust at the bottom of the pot. Then add one tael of mercury (Hydrargyrum). Cover this with a large bowl placed upside down over the pot. Seal the four sides of the bowl tightly with cotton strips dipped in salt water to prevent gas leakage. Protect half of the bowl with sand and ash. Place a weight (such as a steelyard counterpoise) on the bottom of the bowl. Put a little cotton wool at the bottom of the bowl. First use mild heat (Wen Huo), then strong heat (Wu Huo) for the duration of three incense sticks. Observe if the cotton wool becomes blackened and scorched; this indicates that the medicine has been successfully sublimated. Extinguish the fire and wait for it to cool. Uncover the bowl and scrape off the sublimated drug for use.

Chen Jiang Yao (Sublimated Mercury Preparation, 5 qian) Raw Pinellia Rhizome (Ban Xia, 3 qian) Toad Venom (Chan Su, 1 qian)
Grind each ingredient into powder separately, or mash glutinous rice until dissolved and mixed with the powder to form strips, for use without causing pain.

When the pus of an abscess or carbuncle is not yet ripe, do not lightly use needles or knives. Breaking the skin and causing bleeding may instead worsen swelling and pain, causing toxic factors to scatter and aggravate the condition. Only when the necrotic flesh around the lesion has completely rotted through should you use a copper hook to lift scissors and gently and slowly cut away the dead tissue. If pain is felt, absolutely do not cut. Wait until the necrotic tissue is fully mature before cutting again, until fresh red meat is visible. If this rule is violated, movement will cause pain and bleeding, making wound healing particularly difficult. Be cautious.

For external symptoms characterized by redness, swelling, and pain, moxibustion and fire needles are strictly contraindicated, as is drinking alcohol or fermented beverages. Otherwise, these actions will assist fire and disperse toxins, leading to abnormal and severe swelling and pain. This is especially true for carbuncles (Ding Chuang); violating this prohibition can lead to "Zou Huang" (toxic invasion of the heart/mind) and spreading swelling, which becomes untreatable.

All medicines used in surgery should ideally be prepared and used immediately so that their potency is sufficient and they can effectively eliminate disease. Old medicines stored for a long time lose their natural properties and rarely produce effective results; would this not harm patients? However, Sublimated Mercury (Jiang Yao) is better the older it is.

Coughing for several days, dry mouth and throat, fine granules growing under the tongue, slight lingering pain in the chest and diaphragm, sputum containing white pus with a fishy odor.

Wind-cold combined with phlegm-dampness wandering through the collaterals and knotting together forms Liuzhu (a diffuse swelling without a head, often occurring deep in the muscles of the limbs). Cases that are healing will heal; cases that recur will flare up again, persisting endlessly. Taking Yanghe Decoction (Yanghe Tang) frequently can be effective. If the skin color is red, hot-natured medicines must not be used. (Attached Formula:)
Prepared Rehmannia Root (Shu Di Huang, 1 liang) White Mustard Seed (Bai Jie Zi, 2 qian, ground) Deer Antler Glue (Lu Jiao Jiao, 3 qian) Cinnamon Twig (Rou Gui, 1 qian) Prepared Ginger (Pao Jiang, 5 fen) Ephedra Herb (Ma Huang, 5 fen)
Raw Licorice Root (Sheng Gan Cao, 1 qian; add Earthy Fritillary Bulb/Tu Bei Mu 5 qian for breast cancer/rumen) Aged Rice Wine (Chen Jiu, 1 cup)