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Huangdi asked: If a woman suffers from heat disease while nursing an infant, and her pulse is suspended and small, what is the prognosis? Qibo replied: If the hands and feet are warm, she will survive; if they are cold, she will die.

Huangdi further asked: If a nursing woman contracts wind-heat, presenting with wheezing, rhonchi in the throat, and shoulder-lifting breathing (breathing with raised shoulders), what would her pulse be like? Qibo replied: In cases of wheezing, rhonchi, and shoulder-lifting breathing, the pulse should be excess and large. If the pulse is slow and relaxed, she will survive; if it is rapid and tense, she will die.

In heat diseases, the pulse should typically be洪大 (hóng dà, surging and large). If it is instead small and weak, this indicates deficiency of healthy qi and excess of pathogenic factors, constituting a adverse syndrome that is difficult to treat. "Nursing" refers to a woman who has recently given birth and is currently breastfeeding. Following recent childbirth and during lactation, internal blood and qi are deficient. Although suffering from heat disease, the pulse is very small and weak; hence, the inquiry regarding prognosis. Qibo stated that if the hands and feet are warm, it indicates that the spleen and stomach's yang qi is still able to circulate and distribute throughout the body, allowing pathogens to gradually resolve, leading to survival. If the hands and feet are cold, it indicates that healthy qi is deficient and pathogens are obstructed, leading to cold extremities (Jue Ni, 厥逆), resulting in death.

Contracting wind-heat affecting the upper yang aspect causes lung qi to become rebellious and full, resulting in wheezing and rhonchi. Shoulder-lifting breathing refers to急促喘促 (jí cù chuǎn cù,急促 shortness of breath) with audible sounds and raising of the shoulders. When pathogens are excessive in the upper jiao, the pulse must be excess and large. If the pulse is harmonious and reflects stomach qi, clearing the pathogenic heat leads to survival. If the pulse is rapid and strong without any harmonious quality, it represents the appearance of the Zang-Fu true pulse (Zhen Zang Mai, 真脏脉), indicating that the root yuan qi has collapsed, leading to death.

The *Lingshu · Lun Ji Zhen Chi Pian* states: If an infant is ill and their head hair stands upright and reversed, death is certain. It also states: If blue vessels appear between the ears, there will be pulling pain.

Infants are tender like sprouts. If illness persists for a long time and the head hair becomes erect and reversed, this signifies exhaustion of blood and cessation of vital energy, similar to how grass and trees wither when the earth lacks vitality; thus, death is certain. The area behind the ear is where the Shaoyang meridian travels. Shaoyang internally connects to the Liver meridian. The appearance of blue vessels here indicates internal stirring of Liver Wind (Gan Feng, 肝风), which inevitably causes spasms and pulling pain in the sinews. In severe cases, it may manifest as convulsions (Jing Jue, 惊厥); one must examine the cause and treat accordingly.

In the *Lingshu · Shui Zhang Pian*, Huangdi asked: How can one distinguish between Water Swelling (Shui Zhang, 水胀), Skin Swelling (Fu Zhang, 肤胀), Drum-like Swelling (Gu Zhang, 鼓胀), Intestinal Masses (Chang Qin, 肠覃), Stone Fibroids (Shi Xia, 石瘕), and Stone Water (Shui Shui, 石水)? Qibo replied: At the onset of water swelling, there is slight swelling above the eye sockets (Mu Ke, 目窃), resembling the state after just waking up. There is pulsation in the neck vessels, occasional coughing, coldness in the inner thighs, edema of the lower legs, and subsequently abdominal enlargement, indicating that water retention has formed. Pressing the abdomen with the hand causes it to rise immediately upon release, resembling a bag wrapped around water; this is its characteristic sign.

The eye socket refers to the eyelid. Just as humans have slightly swollen eyelids upon waking, the initial stage of water disease presents similarly. The neck vessel refers to the Renying (ST9, 人迎) stomach pulse located beside the throat. Water accumulation in the stomach causes lung qi to rebel, resulting in neck vessel pulsation and occasional coughing. Water overflowing into the Sanjiao (Triple Burner, 三焦) prevents yang qi from circulating uniformly, causing coldness in the inner thighs and edema in the lower legs, followed by abdominal enlargement, indicating that water retention has formed. Pressing the abdomen causes it to rebound immediately upon release, resembling a sac containing water; this is the clinical manifestation of the Water Swelling syndrome.