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The body feels heavy and the pulse is slow, indicating an excess of dampness; treatment should focus on eliminating dampness.
Body heat, a large pulse, mental restlessness, intermittent swelling that appears and disappears followed by fever, indicates heat in the Heart channel.
Various pains, dizziness, and tremors with a wiry pulse indicate wind pathogen; treatment should focus on dispelling wind.
Qi stagnation, Qi obstruction, dryness, and loss of body fluids with a choppy pulse indicate Qi stagnation and blood deficiency; treatment should drain stagnant Qi and tonify blood.
Cold excess manifests as a floating pulse, inability to eat, abnormal urination and defecation, aversion to cold, and a tight, thin pulse; treatment should drain cold and water retention.

Danxi discussed how Ministerial Fire (Xiang Huo) can trigger various diseases, and sores and ulcers are no exception.
For details, see the section on "Fire Patterns".

Danxi stated: Among the six Yang channels and six Yin channels, some have abundant Qi and little Blood, some have abundant Blood and little Qi, and some have both abundant Qi and Blood. They cannot be generalized.
Specifically, the Shaoyang channel has abundant Qi and little Blood.
Therefore, one should anticipate difficulty in muscle regeneration, and drugs that drive out toxins are difficult to use lightly.
My uncle, Duo Lu, suffered from mental fatigue. At nearly fifty years old, he developed a red and swollen lump like a chestnut on the lateral aspect of his left upper arm.
I said: Do not underestimate this condition. First, administer a concentrated decoction of Renshen (Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma). It is best if he drinks several sheng (a unit of volume), and stop after a few doses.
Ten days later, during a storm strong enough to uproot trees, a red line appeared above the sore, encircling the back and reaching the right hypochondrium.
I said: Use a large dose of Renshen Tang (Ginseng Decoction) added with Xiong (Ligusticum Chuanxiong Rhizome) and Zhu (Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma) tonics. He recovered peacefully after two months.
Brother Li was thirty years old, had recently suffered from worry and grief, indulged in sexual activity, and overworked himself. He developed a red and swollen lump like a chestnut on the lateral aspect of his left thigh.
One physician administered Erchen Tang (Two-Aged Decoction) or Chengqi Tang (likely referring to a purgative formula like Dachengqi Tang given the context of purging) for two doses to induce purgation.
Another physician advised using detoxifying drugs and purgatives.
Upon examination, I found his pulse to be large and excess/solid. He eventually died.
Someone asked: What about gangrene of the buttocks?
I said: The buttock is located posterior to the lower abdomen and inferiorly, representing Yin within Yin.
The pathway is distant and the location remote. Although the Taiyang channel has abundant Qi and Blood, the circulation rarely reaches here sufficiently.
When such sores occur after middle age, preventive tonification is necessary.
If there is no foundation of tonification, disaster often strikes after the sore forms a scab, or even after half a year.
This is due to incompetent physicians failing to examine properly, leading to errors. Be cautious and take warning!
*Bingji Jiyao* states: Luoli (scrofula) refers to tubercular nodules.
They may appear behind the ear, in front of the ear, below the ear extending to the jaw and chin, or below the neck extending to the supraclavicular fossa; all are called Luoli.
They may also appear in the chest and its sides, or in the bilateral hypochondrium, called Machdao (horse knife/chain scrofula).
These conditions are governed by the Hand-Shaoyang and Foot-Shaoyang channels.

Commentary: By prescribing medication according to specific channels, one avoids violating contraindications and causing adverse reversals.
However, the Hand-Shaoyang Sanjiao channel, Foot-Shaoyin Kidney channel, Hand-Taiyin Lung channel, Foot-Shaoyin Kidney channel, Hand-Taiyin Spleen channel... [Note: The original text lists channels with abundant Qi and little Blood, abundant Blood and little Qi, and abundant Qi and Blood in a complex manner].
Generally, the Hand-Shaoyang Sanjiao, Foot-Shaoyin Kidney, Hand-Taiyin Lung, etc., have abundant Qi and little Blood;
The Hand-Jueyin Pericardium, Foot-Taiyang Bladder, Foot-Yangming Stomach, etc., have abundant Blood and little Qi;
The Hand-Yangming Large Intestine and Foot-Yangming Stomach have abundant Qi and abundant Blood.
Thus, treatment cannot be generalized.
Moreover, the aforementioned cases were not caused by rich food, Dan Du (red skin disease), or fire-heat transformations, but by deficiency-fatigue and Qi depression.
Treatment should only focus on tonifying the form and Qi, regulating the meridians, and the sores will dissipate naturally.
There is no need for sweating or purging methods.
Those who fail to carefully distinguish the pulse, symptoms, and meridian involvement, and instead use purgatives first, violate disease and meridian contraindications, leading to such errors.

Danxi further stated: When swelling and pain first appear, if combined with pulse and symptom analysis showing deficiency, one should immediately provide tonics for Qi and Blood. If Qi and Blood are preserved, ultimate safety can be guaranteed.
Using routine heat-clearing, toxin-draining, or Qi-moving drugs would cause a "deficiency upon deficiency" disaster, which is as clear as looking at one's palm.
Furthermore, fire-heat diseases vary in severity, known as Monarch Fire and Ministerial Fire.
Sores and ulcers manifest as carbuncles, furuncles, or boils, varying in severity and depth. Some affect only one channel, others two. Treatment should target only the involved one or two channels and must not interfere with other channels.
Prescribing as Dongyuan did is correct.
Especially when complicated by wind, dampness, phlegm, Qi, Blood, or Yin deficiency patterns, the root causes differ, and treatment must seek the principles discussed earlier.
Although the above discussion is brief, it differs vastly from secular surgical texts that merely illustrate human figures and sore shapes without distinguishing meridians.