黄帝问于伯高曰。脉度言经脉之长短。何以立之。伯高曰。先度其骨节之大小广狭长短。而脉度定矣。黄帝曰。愿
闻众人之度。人长七尺五寸者。其骨节之大小长短。各几何。伯高曰。头之大骨。围二尺六寸。胸围四尺五寸。腰围四
尺二寸。发所覆者。颅至项。尺二寸。发以下至颐。长一尺。君子终折。（甲乙经作参折盖君子发际常高于众人则发所覆
者不及尺二寸发以下至颐不止一尺矣故须参互而折数之）结喉以下。至缺盆中。长四寸。缺盆以下。至 KT 。长九寸。
过则肺大不满。则肺小。 KT 以下至天枢。长八寸。过则胃大不及。则胃小。天枢以下。至横骨。长六寸半。过则回
肠广长不满则狭短。横骨长六寸半。横骨上廉以下。以至内辅之上廉。长一尺八寸。内辅之上廉以下。至下廉。长三寸
半。内辅下廉。下至内踝。长一尺三寸。内踝以下至地。长三寸。膝 以下至跗属。长一尺六寸。跗属以下至地。长三
寸。故骨围大则太过。小则不及。角以下。至柱骨。长一尺。行腋中不见者。长四寸。腋以下至季胁。长一尺二寸。季
胁以下至髀枢。长六寸。髀枢以下至膝中。长一尺九寸。膝以下至外踝。长一尺六寸。外踝以下至京骨。长三寸。京骨
以下至地。长一寸。耳后当完骨者。广九寸耳前当耳门者。广一尺三寸。两颧之间。相去七寸。两乳之间。广九寸半。
两髀之间。广六寸半。足长一尺二寸。广四寸半。肩至肘。长一尺七寸。肘至腕。长一尺二寸半。腕至中指本节。长四
寸。本节至其末。长四寸半。项发以下至背骨。长二寸半。膂骨以下至尾 。二十一节。长三尺。上节长一寸四分分之
一。奇分在下。故上七节。至于膂骨。九寸八分分之七。（以文义推之上句当是一寸四分又十分分之一也下句当是九寸八
分又十分分之七也经文词简意晦数不吻合）此众人骨之度也。所以立经脉之长短也。是故视其经脉之在于身也。其见浮
而坚。其见明而大者。多血细而沉者。多气也。（以理推之当是其见浮而坚者多气明而大者多血细而沉者少气也第
原文义亦可通未敢擅改）
本论脉度也。却通篇只说骨度。而脉度仅于首尾见之。结末数语。忽然离开。与前文似断似续。使堆垛尽化烟云。
篇中句句皆实事。却句句皆虚境。读时须胸中牢记。目中注视。是为脉度立根。便觉字字皆立于空中。
黄帝向伯高问道：《脉度》篇中论述了经脉的长短，依据什么标准来确立这些长度呢？
伯高回答说：首先要测量人体骨节的大小、宽窄和长短，这样经脉的长度就确定下来了。
黄帝说：我希望听听普通人身体各部分的度量标准。身高七尺五寸的人，其骨节的大小和长短分别是多少呢？
伯高回答说：头部大骨（指头颅骨骼）的周长是二尺六寸。胸部的周长是四尺五寸。腰部的周长是四尺二寸。头发覆盖的部分，从颅顶到项部，长一尺二寸。头发以下到下巴颏，长一尺。对于形体端正的君子，需要综合折中计算。（《甲乙经》作“参折”，大概是因为君子的发际通常比常人高，所以头发覆盖的部分不足一尺二寸，而头发以下到下巴颏不止一尺，因此需要互相参照并折中计算数值）。
从结喉以下到缺盆穴（锁骨上窝中央），长四寸。从缺盆穴以下至天突穴（文中误作KT，实指天突或胸骨上窝区域，此处依文意译为胸骨上窝/天突区域），长九寸。超过这个长度说明肺脏偏大，不足则说明肺脏偏小。从天突穴以下至天枢穴（脐旁两寸），长八寸。超过这个长度说明胃脏偏大，不足则说明胃脏偏小。从天枢穴以下至横骨（耻骨联合上缘），长六寸半。超过这个长度说明回肠宽大且长，不足则说明回肠狭窄且短。
横骨长六寸半。从横骨上缘以下至大腿内侧辅骨（胫骨内髁）上缘，长一尺八寸。从大腿内侧辅骨上缘以下至下缘，长三寸半。从大腿内侧辅骨下缘以下至内踝，长一尺三寸。从内踝以下至地面，长三寸。从膝腘以下至足背连接处（跗属），长一尺六寸。从足背连接处以下至地面，长三寸。所以，如果骨骼围度太大，就是太过；太小，就是不及。
从肩角（肩峰端）以下至柱骨（第七颈椎棘突下），长一尺。在腋窝中行走看不见的部分（指臂丛神经血管束等深层结构路径，此处指体表不可见的臂部长度），长四寸。从腋下至季胁（第十二肋端），长一尺二寸。从季胁以下至髀枢（股骨大转子），长六寸。从髀枢以下至膝中，长一尺九寸。从膝以下至外踝，长一尺六寸。从外踝以下至京骨穴（第五跖骨粗隆），长三寸。从京骨穴以下至地面，长一寸。
耳后位于完骨（乳突）处的宽度为九寸。耳前位于耳门处的宽度为一尺三寸。两颧骨之间，相距七寸。两乳头之间，宽九寸半。两大腿之间（腹股沟区域），宽六寸半。脚长一尺二寸，宽四寸半。从肩部至肘部，长一尺七寸。从肘部至腕部，长一尺二寸半。从腕部至中指本节（掌指关节），长四寸。从中指本节至指尖，长四寸半。
从颈后发际以下至背脊骨（第一胸椎棘突下），长二寸半。脊柱（膂骨）以下至尾骶骨，共二十一节，总长三尺。上段椎体每节长一寸又四分之一分（注：原文有歧义，下文括号内解释认为应为一寸四分又十分之一分）。奇零的分位在下方，所以上七节（颈椎加第一节胸椎），直到脊柱骨（此处指代特定解剖标志点），长度为九寸又八分之七分（注：括号内解释认为应为九寸八分又十分之七分。经文词简意晦，数字不完全吻合）。
这就是普通人的骨骼度量标准，也是确立经脉长短的依据。因此，观察人体身上的经脉，那些显现出来浮露且坚硬的，是多气的表现；显现出来明亮且粗大的，是多血的表现；细小且沉隐的，是多气的表现。（按道理推断，应当是显现浮露且坚硬的为多气，明亮且粗大的为多血，细小且沉隐的为少气。但原文的意思也可以讲通，不敢擅自修改）。
本篇主要论述脉度，却通篇只说骨度，而脉度仅在开头和结尾提及。结尾的几句话，突然转折离开，与前文似断非断，使得堆砌的数据化为烟云消散。文中的每一句都是实事，却又句句蕴含虚境。阅读时必须牢记心中，注视眼中，这才是为脉度建立根基，便会觉得字字都立于空中。
Huangdi asked Bo Gao, "The *Mai Du* (Pulse Length) chapter discusses the lengths of the meridians. How are these standards established?" Bo Gao replied, "First, measure the size, width, and length of the bone joints, and then the lengths of the meridians can be determined." Huangdi said, "I wish to hear about the measurements of ordinary people. For a person who is seven chi five cun tall, what are the sizes and lengths of their bone joints?" Bo Gao said, "The circumference of the large bones of the head is two chi six cun. The circumference of the chest is four chi five cun. The circumference of the waist is four chi two cun. From the top of the skull covered by hair to the nape of the neck, the length is one chi two cun. From below the hairline to the chin, the length is one chi. For gentlemen (whose hairline is typically higher), a comprehensive calculation is required. (*Jia Yi Jing* reads 'can zhe', likely because gentlemen's hairlines are higher than average, so the hair-covered part is less than one chi two cun, and the part from below the hairline to the chin is more than one chi, requiring mutual reference for calculation). From the Adam's apple to the center of Quepen (Sudocentral fossa, CV15 area), the length is four cun. From Quepen to Jiwei (CV15, below the xiphoid process), the length is nine cun. If this exceeds the standard, the Lung is large; if it falls short, the Lung is small. From Jiwei to Tianshu (ST25, two cun lateral to the umbilicus), the length is eight cun. If this exceeds the standard, the Stomach is large; if it falls short, the Stomach is small. From Tianshu to Henggu (pubic symphysis upper margin), the length is six chi half cun. If this exceeds the standard, the transverse intestine (small intestine) is wide and long; if it falls short, it is narrow and short. The length of Henggu is six chi half cun. From the upper border of Henggu to the upper border of the inner auxiliary bone (medial epicondyle of femur), the length is one chi eight cun. From the upper border of the inner auxiliary bone to its lower border (lower edge of medial tibial condyle), the length is three chi half cun. From the lower border of the inner auxiliary bone to the medial malleolus, the length is one chi three cun. From the medial malleolus to the ground, the length is three cun. From the knee to the tarsal connection (foot dorsum attachment), the length is one chi six cun. From the tarsal connection to the ground, the length is three cun. Therefore, if the bone circumference is large, it is excessive; if small, it is insufficient. From the armpit (Jiquan area) to the Zhu Gu (C7 spinous process), the length is one chi. The portion running through the axilla that is not visible, the length is four cun. From the armpit to the costal margin (12th rib end), the length is one chi two cun. From the costal margin to the Bi Shu (greater trochanter of femur), the length is six cun. From Bi Shu to the middle of the knee, the length is one chi nine cun. From the knee to the lateral malleolus, the length is one chi six cun. From the lateral malleolus to Jinggu (BL64, prominence of fifth metatarsal bone), the length is three cun. From Jinggu to the ground, the length is one cun. The width behind the ear at Wanggu (mastoid process) is nine cun. The width in front of the ear at Ermen (TE21) is one chi three cun. The distance between the two cheekbones is seven cun. The width between the two nipples is nine chi half cun. The width between the two thighs is six chi half cun. The foot is one chi two cun long and four chi half cun wide. From the shoulder to the elbow, the length is one chi seven cun. From the elbow to the wrist, the length is one chi two chi half cun. From the wrist to the proximal phalanx joint of the middle finger, the length is four cun. From this joint to the fingertip, the length is four chi half cun. From the hairline at the nape to the back bone (Dazhui GV14 area), the length is two chi half cun. From the spinal column (Lu Gu) to the tailbone, there are twenty-one segments, totaling three chi in length. The upper segment measures one and one-quarter cun per segment, with the remaining fraction attributed to the lower segments. Thus, the upper seven segments, up to the spinal column, total nine and seven-tenths cun. (Based on textual logic, the upper sentence should be one and one-quarter cun plus one-tenth, and the lower sentence should be nine and seven-tenths cun. The text is concise and obscure, and the numbers do not perfectly align). These are the bone measurements of ordinary people, which serve as the basis for establishing the lengths of the meridians. Therefore, when observing the meridians in the body: those that appear floating and firm have abundant Qi; those that appear bright and large have abundant Blood; those that are fine and deep have abundant Qi. (Logically, it should be interpreted that floating and firm indicates abundant Qi, bright and large indicates abundant Blood, and fine and deep indicates deficient Qi. However, the original text's meaning is also plausible, so I dare not arbitrarily change it).
This chapter primarily discusses *Mai Du* (Pulse Length), yet the entire text only describes *Gu Du* (Bone Length), with *Mai Du* mentioned only at the beginning and end. The concluding remarks take a sudden turn, appearing disconnected yet continuous with the preceding text, transforming the piled-up data into ephemeral clouds. Every sentence in the passage deals with concrete facts, yet simultaneously evokes an abstract realm. One must keep these firmly in mind and focus intently while reading; this establishes the foundation for understanding *Mai Du*, making every word seem to float in the air.