胃者腑也,又名水谷之海,与脾为表里,为人类之根本。胃气壮则五脏六腑皆壮,足阳
明是其经也。胃气绝,五日死。实则肿胀便难,肢节疼痛,不下食,呕吐不已。虚则肠鸣胀
满,汗出滑泄。寒则腹中痛,不能食冷物。热则面赤如醉人,四肢不收,夜不安眠,语狂目
乱,便硬者是也。痛甚则腹胁胀满,吐呕不入食。当心上下不通,恶闻食臭,嫌人语,振寒
喜伸欠。胃中热则唇黑,热甚则登高而歌,弃衣而走,颠狂不定,汗出额上,衄不止。虚则
四肢肿满,胸中短气,谷不化而消也。胃中风则溏泄不已,胃不足则多饥不消食,病患胃不
平,且中病渴者不能治。胃脉坚而长,其色黄赤,病折腰,其脉软而散。病食痹,关上脉浮
大者虚也,浮而短涩者实也;浮而微滑者亦虚,浮而迟者寒也,浮而数者热也。虚实寒热生
死之证,察其脉理,即成神妙也。
大肠者,肺之腑也,为传送之司,号监仓之官。肺病久则传入大肠,手阳明是其经也。
寒则泄,热则结,绝则利下不止而死。热极则便血。又风中大肠则下血。又实热则胀满,大
便不通。虚寒则滑泄不定。大肠乍虚乍实,乍来乍去,寒则溏,热则垢,有积物则发热栗而
寒,其发渴如疟状,积冷痹痛,不能久立,痛已则泄,积物是也。虚则喜满咳喘咽中如核妨
矣。
The Stomach is a Fu-organ, also known as the "Sea of Water and Grain," exteriorly-interiorly related to the Spleen, serving as the root of human life. When Stomach Qi is robust, all Zang and Fu organs are robust; the Foot-Yangming Meridian is its channel. If Stomach Qi ceases, death occurs within five days. Excess patterns manifest as abdominal distension and swelling, difficulty in defecation, pain in limbs and joints, inability to eat, and incessant vomiting. Deficiency patterns manifest as borborygmus, abdominal fullness, sweating with slippery incontinence. Cold patterns manifest as abdominal pain and inability to consume cold foods. Heat patterns manifest as a red face resembling intoxication, flaccidity of the four limbs, restless sleep at night, delirious speech, chaotic vision, and hard stools. Severe pain leads to abdominal and hypochondriac distension, and vomiting that prevents food intake. Obstruction of Qi flow above and below the epigastrium, aversion to the smell of food, dislike of people speaking, chills with trembling, and a desire to stretch and yawn. Heat in the Stomach causes black lips; extreme heat leads to climbing high and singing, discarding clothes and running, erratic mania, sweating on the forehead, and unceasing epistaxis. Deficiency leads to edema and fullness of the four limbs, shortness of breath in the chest, and emaciation due to undigested food. Wind invading the Stomach causes incessant loose stools; insufficiency of the Stomach leads to frequent hunger without digestion of food. If a patient has disharmonious Stomach Qi accompanied by thirst, it is incurable. A Stomach pulse that is firm and long, with a yellow-red complexion, indicates disease in the waist resembling a break; a soft and scattered pulse indicates food stagnation Bi-syndrome. A floating and large pulse at the Guan position indicates deficiency; a floating, short, and choppy pulse indicates excess; a floating and slightly slippery pulse also indicates deficiency; a floating and slow pulse indicates Cold; a floating and rapid pulse indicates Heat. By examining the pulse principles, the patterns of excess/deficiency, Cold/Heat, and life/death prognosis can be discerned with divine efficacy.
The Large Intestine is the Fu-organ of the Lung, responsible for transmission, titled the "Official of Surveillance." Long-standing Lung disease transmits to the Large Intestine; the Hand-Yangming Meridian is its channel. Cold causes diarrhea; Heat causes constipation and binding; cessation of Qi leads to incessant purging and death. Extreme Heat causes bloody stool. Wind invading the Large Intestine also causes lower bleeding. Excess-Heat manifests as distension and fullness with obstruction of defecation. Deficiency-Cold manifests as indefinite slippery incontinence. The Large Intestine alternates between deficiency and excess, with symptoms coming and going. Cold causes loose stools; Heat causes foul discharge. Accumulated pathogenic factors cause fever with shivering and aversion to cold, thirst resembling malaria-like attacks, accumulation of Cold causing Bi-pain, inability to stand for long periods, and diarrhea after pain subsides; these indicate accumulated matter. Deficiency manifests as a preference for fullness, coughing and wheezing, and a sensation of a foreign body like a pit obstructing the throat.