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The liver weighs four jin and four liang. It has two lobes on the left and four lobes on the right, attached to the ninth thoracic vertebra of the spine.
*Zhiyan* states: The liver (Gan) is the trunk; it belongs to Wood and symbolizes the branches and trunk of a tree.
Foot-Jueyin Liver Meridian: The liver is the official of the general, from which strategies and deliberations emerge. It governs the reception of blood, is called the Sea of Blood, and is the residence of the Hun (Ethereal Soul). Its luster manifests in the nails, and its nourishment fills the sinews. Its direction is East, its season corresponds to Spring, its color is Green, its pulse is Wiry (Xian) and long, its odor is fishy, and its sound is the shout. In the Seven Emotions, it corresponds to Anger; in the Six Qi, it corresponds to Wind; in the Five Flavors, it corresponds to Sour; in the Heavenly Stems, it corresponds to Yi; in the Earthly Branches, it corresponds to Mao; in the Eight Trigrams, it corresponds to Xun; and in the Five Elements, it belongs to Wood. Its mother organ is the Kidney Water, and its child organ is the Heart Fire. It controls Spleen Earth, and is controlled by Lung Metal. Its external manifestation is reflected in the genitalia, and it forms an interior-exterior relationship with the Gallbladder. Its meridian is characterized by little Qi and abundant Blood, with Qi and Blood pouring into it during the Chou hour (1:00 AM - 3:00 AM). When deficient, it manifests as sorrow; when excessive, it manifests as anger. Its healthy pulse is Wiry, and its pathological pulse is Choppy (Se). Death occurs on Geng or Xin days. Its associated domestic animal is the chicken, its grain is wheat, and in the heavens, it corresponds to the Planet Jupiter (Sui Xing).
Its clinical manifestations include: headache, loss of luster in complexion, excessive cleanliness, hearing loss, swelling of the cheeks, liver Qi rebellion causing greenish face, redness and swelling pain of the eyes, pain under both hypochondria radiating to the lower abdomen and chest, swelling of the hypochondrium, swelling of the lower abdomen in women, low back pain preventing bending and straightening, fullness and stiffness of the four limbs, hot vomiting and rebellious Qi, sudden itching of testicular hernia, cold feet, frequent spasms, urinary incontinence, difficult and dribbling urination, strangury and fox hernia, dizziness and convulsions, retraction of the genitals and tendon cramping, fearfulness, wheezing in the chest, and cursing. Blood stasis in the hypochondrium causes wheezing. Resentful anger rising upward without descending will damage the Liver. Excess patterns manifest as dreams of forests and large trees; deficiency patterns manifest as dreams of fine grass and moss. Anger damages the Liver, but Sorrow can overcome Anger; Wind damages the Sinews, but Dryness can overcome Wind; Sour damages the Sinews, but Pungent can overcome Sour. Sour flavor enters the sinews; for sinew diseases, one should not consume too much sour food. Consuming too much Pungent food leads to tendon cramping and dry nails.
The pathway of this meridian receives intersection with the Foot-Shaoyang Gallbladder Meridian. It originates at Dadun (LR1), located in the hair cluster on the tip of the big toe, runs along the medial aspect of the foot, passes through Xingjian (LR2) and Taichong (LR3), reaches Zhongfeng (LR4), one cun anterior to the medial malleolus; from Zhongfeng, it ascends past the ankle, crossing the Sanyinjiao (SP6) point of the Foot-Taiyin Spleen Meridian, passes through Ligou (LR5) and Zhongdu (LR6), ascends another cun, emerges posterior to the Foot-Taiyin Spleen Meridian, runs along the medial thigh to Xiguan and Ququan (LR8), continues upward along the medial thigh through Yinbao, Wuli, and Yinlian, arriving precisely at the boundary of Chongmen and Fushhe of the Foot-Taiyin Spleen Meridian, enters the pubic region of the Ren Mai (Conception Vessel), crosses midline, surrounds the external genitalia, reaches the lower abdomen and ascends, meeting the Qugu, Zhongji, and Guanyuan points of the Ren Mai, follows the Zhangmen point of this meridian to Qimen (LR14), flanks the stomach and connects to the Liver, descends passing the Riyue point of the Foot-Shaoyang Gallbladder Meridian, and links to the Gallbladder. From Qimen, it ascends through the diaphragm, running outside the Shidou point and inside the Dabao point of the Foot-Taiyin Spleen Meridian, spreading in the hypochondriac region. It ascends between Yunmen of the Hand-Taiyin Lung Meridian and Yuanye of the Foot-Shaoyang Gallbladder Meridian, outside the Yingjing point of the Foot-Yangming Stomach Meridian, runs behind the throat, ascends into the pharynx (Hangsang), again runs outside the Dicang, Yingjing, and Sibai points of the Foot-Yangming Stomach Meridian, connects to the eye system, ascends out of the forehead, runs inside the Linqi point of the Gallbladder Meridian, and meets the Du Mai (Governing Vessel) at Baihui (GV20) on the vertex; its branch descends from the eye system, running outside the Ren Mai and within this meridian, descending to the inner cheek, crossing and surrounding the interior of the lips and mouth; another branch diverges from the Liver connection at Qimen, pierces the diaphragm, runs outside the Shidou point of the Foot-Taiyin Spleen Meridian and inside this meridian, ascends to pour into the Lungs, descends to the Middle Jiao, flanks the Zhongwan point of the Ren Mai, and intersects with the Hand-Taiyin Lung Meridian, descending from Zhongfu, Yunmen, and Tianfu.