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Bear gallbladder (Xiongdan) indications. It brightens the eyes, removes nebulae (corneal opacity), soothes the Liver, and reduces fever. It is indicated for epidemic febrile diseases with excessive heat transforming into jaundice; abdominal pain caused by roundworms; and heart pain. (Administered orally with water.) For infantile malnutrition (Gan syndrome). Summerheat pathogenic factors.

Chronic dysentery and hemorrhoids. (Applied topically.) Infantile convulsions and epilepsy. (Dissolved in bamboo sap [Zhuli] and administered in a dose equivalent to two beans; highly effective in resolving phlegm and saliva.) Various forms of Gan syndrome. Treatment for sores of the ears and nose.

Malignant sores. Xiongdan Wan (Bear Gallbladder Pill): Bear gallbladder (Xiongdan), Cinnabar (Zhusha), Musk (Shexiang), Rattlesnake gallbladder (Ranshedan), Dung beetle (Qianglang, stir-fried), Melon stalk (Gua di), each 5 qian. Pulverized into fine powder. Mixed with pig bile (Zhu dan zhi) and formed into pills the size of mung beans. First, bathe the child in a decoction made from peach and willow branches. Then, administer three pills orally with rice wash. Cover the child with green clothing; parasites will naturally be expelled. Treats the five types of Gan syndrome involving parasite expulsion.

Another prescription: Bear gallbladder (Xiongdan), Rhizoma Coptidis (Huanglian), Flower Bud of Chrysanthemum (Mimenghua), Radix Notopterygii (Qianghuo), each 1 liang 5 qian. Snake skin (She tui, roasted), Cortex Lycii (Digupi), Herba Epimedii (Xianlingpi), Equisetum ramosissimum (Muzei), Radix Gentianae (Longdancao), each 1 liang. Flos Inulae (Xuanfuhua), Chrysanthemum morifolium (Juhua), Herba Dianthi (Qumai), each 5 qian. Fructus Pruni (Ruiren, shell and skin removed, pulp taken), 3 qian. Lapis Haematites (Qilinjie), Fructus Viticis (Manjingzi), each 2 qian. Pulverized into fine powder. Take one ram liver (Jie yang gan), boil until half-dry, then bake dry. Add to the medicinal powder and grind together. The raw liver is de-membraned, pounded into a paste, and mixed with the powder. Formed into pills the size of wutong seeds. Each dose consists of 30 pills, taken after meals with rice wash. Treats sudden blindness and formation of nebulae.

Another prescription: One bear gallbladder (Xiongdan) and one cattle gallbladder (Niuhuang dan). Laminar Concha Haliotidis (Shijueming), Radix Rehmanniae Preparata (Dishengdi), Semen Plantaginis (Cheqianzi), Radix Leonuri (Chongweizi), Radix Gentianae (Longdancao), Radix Alismatis (Zexie), Radix Asari (Xixin), each 1 liang. Pulverized into fine powder. Honey-pilulated into pills the size of wutong seeds. Each dose consists of 40 pills, taken after meals with warm wine. Treats disorders caused by heat in the Liver and Gallbladder and severe exogenous pathogens.

Xiongdan Tianma Dan (Bear Gallbladder and Gastrodia Pill): Bear gallbladder (Xiongdan), Rhizoma Gastrodiae (Tianma), Radix Notopterygii (Qianghuo), Periostracum Cicadae (Chantui), Fructus Quisqualis (Shijunzi), Rhizoma Coptidis (Huanglian), each 1 liang. Rhizoma Aloe (Lvhui), Dried Toad Skin (Ganchan, fried with butter until yellow), each 5 qian. Pulverized into fine powder. Formed into pills the size of millet grains using glutinous rice flour. Each dose consists of 10 pills, taken with Schizonepeta tea (Jingjie tang). Treats wind-Gan syndrome characterized by emaciation, head shaking, eye rubbing, and tension of all meridians.

Xiongdan San (Bear Gallbladder Powder): Bear gallbladder (Xiongdan, finely ground), Semen Hyoscyami (Langdangzi, stir-fried until slightly black), Ash of Toad (Xiangma hui), Alum (Baifan), each 5 qian. Native sulfur (Sheng liuhuang), Musk (Shexiang), Realgar (Xionghuang), Rhizoma Aloe (Lvhui, all finely ground), each 1 fen. Pulverized into fine powder. Each dose is "one character" (yizi, approx. 1-2 grams), taken with Schizonepeta tea (Jingjie tang). Treats running-horse gan (fast-progressing necrotizing stomatitis).

Another prescription: Bear gallbladder (Xiongdan) 2 fen, Borneolum Syntheticum (Bingpian) 1 fen. Take one large field snail, open the operculum, insert the medicine. Allow the snail to liquefy into juice. Apply frequently to the affected area. Treats hard, painful hemorrhoids, prolapsed rectum with swelling that fails to retract.

Xiongdan Gao (Bear Gallbladder Ointment): Bear gallbladder (Xiongdan) 5 qian. Rattlesnake gallbladder (Ranshedan), Rhizoma Aloe (Lvhui), Calculus Bovis (Niuhuang), each 1 fen. Borneolum (Longnao), Musk (Shexiang), each 1 qian. Pulverized into fine powder. Mix with a small cup of water until uniform. Simmer slowly over a double boiler in a porcelain vessel until it becomes an ointment. Each dose is the size of a bean, dissolved and taken with mint tea (Bohe tang), and simultaneously applied topically. Treats acute Gan syndrome.

Another prescription: Bear gallbladder (Xiongdan) 1 qian, Nifen (likely Calomel or similar mercury compound) 1.2 qian, Realgar (Xionghuang), Musk (Shexiang), each 5 fen, Areca Seed (Binglang) "one character". Pulverized into fine powder. Take one pig gallbladder, extract the bile, mix with the medicine, and return the mixture to the gallbladder. Tie securely with cotton string. Smoke thoroughly with pine resin (Songming) using black smoke until completely blackened. Hang in a shaded place. For sores the size of a finger nail, use a pill the size of millet grain; for sores the size of a coin, use a pill the size of a mung bean. When the medicine dries, it falls off naturally. If needed, adjust with saliva to form a thin paste for application. Cover externally with thin birch bark and secure with old cloth strips. Do not use excessively. Treats all kinds of malignant sores.