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The Se pulse (Se Mai, 涩脉) is fine and slow, with difficult forward and backward movement, short and scattered, or pausing once before resuming (from *Mai Jing*). The rhythm is irregular and uncoordinated (from *Su Wen*). It feels like scraping bamboo with a light knife (from *Mai Jue*). It resembles rain soaking into sand (from *Tong Zhen Zi*). It is like a sick silkworm eating leaves. Se indicates an excess of Yang Qi; when Qi is excessive, Blood becomes deficient, causing the pulse to be sluggish and obstructed, which is suitable for the Lung. *Mai Jue* states: "When seeking with fingers, it seems present; when lifting, it is completely absent." This is entirely unrelated to what *Mai Jing* says.

[Body Form Poem] Fine, slow, short, and obstructed, with difficult movement, scattered and occasionally pausing, faintly responding to the finger. Like rain soaking sand, easily scattered; like a sick silkworm eating leaves, slow and arduous.

[Similar Pulse Poem] Irregular and uncoordinated rhythm is named Se. Like scraping bamboo with a light knife, short and difficult. The Wei pulse is extremely soft and minute like the tip of a hair, making it hard to distinguish presence or absence between floating and deep palpation. Fine, slow, short, and scattered, with occasional pauses, is called Se. Extremely fine and soft, feeling as if cut off upon heavy pressure, is called Wei. Floating and soft-fine is called Ru; deep and soft-fine is called Ruo.

[Main Disease Poem] Se arises from Blood deficiency or Essence injury, or from regurgitation, collapse of Yang, or profuse sweating like rain. Cold-dampness entering the Ying level causes Blood Bi; in women, it indicates either pregnancy or amenorrhea. Se at the Cun position indicates Heart deficiency and chest pain; at the Guan position, observe Stomach deficiency and flank distension. Se at the Chi position is a sign of dual injury to Essence and Blood, indicating intestinal constipation, dysuria, or lower bleeding. Se primarily governs diseases of Blood deficiency and Essence injury. In women, if pregnant, it indicates fetal pathology; if not pregnant, it indicates stagnant blood. Du Guangting said: "Se appearing exclusively at the Chi position, resembling the Dai pulse, is a death pulse."

The Xu pulse (Xu Mai, 虚脉) is slow, large, and soft, powerless upon pressure, leaving the finger feeling hollow and empty (from *Mai Jing*). Cui Zixu said: "Large in form but weak in force, its deficiency is evident." *Mai Jue* states: "Seeking reveals insufficiency; lifting reveals excess." The above refers to the Fu pulse, not showing the characteristics of the Xu pulse. Yang Renzhai said: "Resembling willow catkins, scattered and slow." Shi Shi said: "Scattered, large, and soft; these are all San pulses, not Xu."

[Body Form and Similarity Poem] Lifting reveals slowness and largeness, pressing reveals looseness; the pulse shape has no boundary, resembling an empty grain sack. Do not confuse Kou and Xu; Kou is floating and large, hollow in the middle like a green onion. Xu is floating, large, and slow, powerless upon pressure. Kou is floating and large, hollow in the middle upon pressure; Kou indicates loss of Blood. Xu indicates Blood deficiency; Fu and San pulses appear in the Fu category.

[Main Disease Poem] A Xu pulse with body heat indicates Summerheat injury; spontaneous sweating, palpitations, and fright are common. For fever due to Yin deficiency, early treatment is required; nourish Ying and tonify Qi without delay. When Blood fails to nourish the Heart, the Cun position is Xu; at the Guan position, abdominal distension and difficulty digesting food occur. Bone-steaming, flaccidity, and numbness injuring Essence and Blood are located at the Shenmen positions on both sides. The Classics state: "Blood deficiency leads to a Xu pulse." It also states: "Qi arriving as weak and minute indicates insufficiency, with disease inside." It further states: "In chronic illness, a Xu pulse indicates death."