小儿三岁以内。看虎口食指寅卯辰三关。以验其病。脉纹从寅关起。不至卯关者易已。若连
卯关者难愈。若寅侵卯。卯侵过辰者最剧。其脉纹见五色。如因惊必青。热则赤。风热泻利色紫。
当以类推之。又纹色显而有萦纡者。为有胃
气。易治。纹色细淡而直如刀刃者。乃正气之虚。难治。纹上另有一点如流珠者为宿食。纹傍另
有一条如丝缕者为风痰。纹斜向内者易已。斜向指甲者难愈。三岁后则以一指转侧辨其脉。五六
岁后脉六七至为平脉。浮为风。浮大而数为风热。沉细为寒。沉涩为伤食。伏结为物聚。微细为
疳积。为腹痛。浮而洪为有热。浮而迟为有寒。弦急为气不和。促结为虚惊。脉乱不治。此论脉
之大端也。
左腮属肝。右腮属肺。额上属心。鼻属脾。颐属肾。青主惊积不散。红主痰积惊热。黄者食
积癖。白主泄泻水谷。黑主肾气受伤。目内赤者心实热。淡红者心虚热。青者肝实热。淡青者
肝虚热。黄者脾实热。白而混者肺实热。目无精光者肾虚也。若目无大 者。五脏皆不满。儿多不育。
心主惊。实则叫哭。发热饮水而搐。虚则困卧而悸。心热则合面睡。或上窜切牙。心气实则
喜仰卧。肝主风。实则面青目直。叫哭壮热。项急顿闷。虚则切牙呵欠。肝热则手循衣领。及乱
捻物。壮热饮水喘闷。肝有风则目连札。得心热则发搐。或筋脉牵紧而直视。肝热则目赤。兼青
则发搐。风甚则身反张强直。脾主困。实则身热引饮。虚则吐泻生风。若面白腹痛。口中气冷。
不思饮食。或吐清水者。脾胃虚寒也。呵欠多睡者。脾气虚而欲发惊也。肺主喘。实则闷
乱气急喘促饮水。虚则哽气出息。肺热则手掐眉目鼻面。肺盛复感风寒。则胸满气急。喘嗽上气。
肺脏怯则唇白。若闷乱气粗。喘促哽气者。肺虚而邪实也。肾主嘘。皆胎禀虚怯。神气不足。目
无精光。面白颅解。此皆难育。虽育不寿。或目畏明下窜者。盖骨重则身缩也。切牙者。肾水虚
而不能制心火也。惟痘疮有实则黑陷证。乃邪火亢盛。非正气之实也。
小儿在三岁以内，通过观察虎口食指上的“寅、卯、辰”三关的脉纹，来验证病情。脉纹从寅关起始，但未延伸到卯关的，容易痊愈；如果脉纹连及卯关的，难以治愈；如果寅关的脉纹侵入卯关，甚至越过卯关到达辰关的，病情最为严重。脉纹呈现五色变化：因受惊则呈青色，有热则呈红色，风热导致的泻利则呈紫色，其余情况可据此类推。另外，若纹色显露且有蜿蜒曲折之态，说明胃气尚存，容易治疗；若纹色细淡且直硬如刀刃，则是正气虚弱，难以治疗。纹上另有一点像流动珍珠样的，是宿食停滞；纹旁另有一条像丝线一样的，是风痰阻滞；脉纹斜向内侧的，容易痊愈；斜向指甲方向的，难以治愈。三岁以后，则用一根手指左右转动来辨别脉象。五六岁以后的儿童，脉搏一息跳动六七次为正常平脉。脉浮主风邪，脉浮大而数主风热，脉沉细主寒邪，脉沉涩主伤食，脉伏结主体内有积聚之物，脉微细主疳积或腹痛，脉浮而洪主有热，脉浮而迟主有寒，脉弦急主气机不和，脉促结主虚惊，脉乱则属不治之症。这是论述诊脉的大致要点。
面部左侧腮部对应肝脏，右侧腮部对应肺脏，额头对应心脏，鼻子对应脾脏，下巴（颐）对应肾脏。面色青主惊风积滞不散，红主痰积和惊热，黄主食积癖块，白主泄泻水谷不化，黑主肾气受损。眼睛内部发红，是心实热；淡红是心虚热；发青是肝实热；淡青是肝虚热；发黄是脾实热；白而浑浊是肺实热；眼睛没有神采精光，是肾虚。如果眼睛缺乏神气，说明五脏精气都不充足，幼儿大多难以养活。
心主惊。心实证表现为叫喊哭泣，发热想喝水并伴有抽搐；心虚证表现为疲倦嗜卧且心悸。心热则喜欢脸朝下睡，或者向上窜动、咬牙。心气实则喜欢仰卧。肝主风。肝实证表现为面色青、眼睛直视、叫喊哭泣、高热、颈部僵硬、突然感到胸闷。肝虚证表现为咬牙、打哈欠。肝热则手抓衣领，胡乱捻弄物品，高热想喝水，气喘胸闷。肝有风邪则眼睛眨动频繁，若兼得心热则发生抽搐，或者筋脉牵拉紧绷而眼睛直视。肝热则眼睛发红，兼见青色则发生抽搐，风邪严重时身体反张强直。脾主困倦。脾实证表现为身体发热、想喝水；脾虚证表现为呕吐腹泻、生风。如果面色苍白、腹痛、口中气息冷、不想吃东西，或者吐出清水，这是脾胃虚寒。经常打哈欠、多睡，是脾气虚弱想要引发惊风。肺主喘。肺实证表现为胸闷烦躁、气急喘促、想喝水；肺虚证表现为叹气、呼气困难。肺热则手掐眉目鼻面部位。肺盛又感受风寒，则胸满气急，气喘咳嗽、气逆上冲。肺脏怯弱则嘴唇发白。如果胸闷烦躁、呼吸粗重、气喘急促、叹气，这是肺虚而邪气实。肾主嘘声，都是先天禀赋虚怯，神气不足，眼睛无神，面色苍白、囟门不合。这些情况都难以养活，即使养活也不长寿。或者眼睛怕光、眼球向下转的，是因为骨重所以身体蜷缩。咬牙，是肾水虚弱不能制约心火所致。只有痘疮出现黑色内陷的实证，那是邪火亢盛，并非正气充实。
In children under three years of age, the pulse pattern (Mai Wen) on the three sections—Yin, Mao, and Chen—of the index finger at the tiger's mouth is observed to diagnose the disease. If the pulse pattern starts from the Yin section but does not reach the Mao section, it is easy to cure. If it connects to the Mao section, it is difficult to heal. If the Yin section invades the Mao section, or if the Mao section extends past into the Chen section, the condition is most severe. The pulse patterns appear in five colors: blue indicates fright; red indicates heat; purple indicates diarrhea due to wind-heat. Other cases can be inferred by analogy. Furthermore, if the color of the pattern is distinct and winding, it indicates the presence of Stomach Qi (Wei Qi), making it easy to treat. If the pattern is thin, pale, and straight like a blade edge, it indicates deficiency of healthy Qi, making it difficult to treat. A single dot appearing separately on the pattern, resembling a flowing pearl, indicates retained food. A separate thread-like line beside the pattern indicates wind-phlegm. If the pattern slants inward, it is easy to cure; if it slants toward the fingernail, it is difficult to cure. After three years of age, the pulse is distinguished by turning one finger side to side. For children aged five to six, a normal pulse (Ping Mai) beats six to seven times per respiration. Floating (Fu) indicates wind; floating, large, and rapid indicates wind-heat; deep and fine indicates cold; deep and choppy indicates food retention; hidden and knotted indicates accumulation of masses; faint and fine indicates infantile malnutrition (Gan Ji) or abdominal pain; floating and surging indicates heat; floating and slow indicates cold; wiry and urgent indicates disharmony of Qi; hurried and intermittent indicates deficient fright; chaotic pulse indicates untreatable conditions. This discusses the general principles of pulse diagnosis.
The left cheek corresponds to the Liver; the right cheek corresponds to the Lungs; the forehead corresponds to the Heart; the nose corresponds to the Spleen; the chin (Yi) corresponds to the Kidneys. Blue complexion indicates unresolved fright and accumulation; red indicates phlegm accumulation and fright-heat; yellow indicates food accumulation and癖 mass (Pi); white indicates diarrhea with undigested food; black indicates injury to Kidney Qi. Redness inside the eyes indicates excess heat in the Heart; pale red indicates deficient heat in the Heart; blue indicates excess heat in the Liver; pale blue indicates deficient heat in the Liver; yellow indicates excess heat in the Spleen; white and turbid indicates excess heat in the Lungs; lack of luster in the eyes indicates Kidney deficiency. If the eyes lack spirit entirely, it means the Five Zang organs are all insufficient, and the child will likely not survive.
The Heart governs fright. In Heart excess, there is crying and wailing, fever, thirst for water, and convulsions. In Heart deficiency, there is lethargy, sleepiness, and palpitations. Heart heat causes sleeping face-down, upward staring, and teeth grinding. Excess Heart Qi leads to a preference for lying on the back. The Liver governs wind. In Liver excess, there is bluish complexion, fixed gaze, crying, high fever, neck stiffness, and sudden chest oppression. In Liver deficiency, there is teeth grinding and yawning. Liver heat causes grasping at clothing collars, random fidgeting, high fever, thirst, wheezing, and chest oppression. Wind in the Liver causes frequent blinking; combined with Heart heat, it causes convulsions, tight tendons and vessels, and fixed gaze. Liver heat causes red eyes; combined with blue, it causes convulsions. Severe wind causes opisthotonos and rigidity. The Spleen governs stagnation/lethargy. In Spleen excess, there is body heat and thirst. In Spleen deficiency, there is vomiting, diarrhea, and generation of wind. Pale complexion, abdominal pain, cold breath, anorexia, or vomiting clear fluid indicate Cold-Deficiency of the Spleen and Stomach. Frequent yawning and excessive sleep indicate Spleen Qi deficiency predisposing to fright. The Lungs govern panting. In Lung excess, there is chest distress, irritability, rapid breathing, thirst. In Lung deficiency, there is sighing and difficulty exhaling. Lung heat causes scratching at eyebrows, eyes, nose, and face. If Lung Qi is abundant and complicated by wind-cold, there is chest fullness, rapid breathing, cough, and rebellious Qi. Weakness of the Lungs manifests as white lips. Chest distress, coarse breathing, rapid panting, and sighing indicate Lung deficiency with pathogenic excess. The Kidneys govern sighing sounds; these are all due to congenital deficiency and weakness, insufficient Shen Qi, lack of luster in the eyes, pale complexion, and open fontanelles. These conditions are difficult to nurture; even if nurtured, life span is short. Eyes fearing light and rolling downward indicate heavy bones causing the body to curl up. Teeth grinding indicates Kidney Water deficiency failing to control Heart Fire. Only in smallpox does a black sunken appearance occur as an excess syndrome, which is due to hyperactive pathogenic fire, not an abundance of healthy Qi.