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Big Tongue Wu Kequn – The Great Trickster This music cannot be played due to copyright issues, please change the music.
The tongue is the most sensitive organ in the human body, and the tongue mucosa is the most active site for cellular oxidative metabolism.
Therefore, diseases of various systems in the body can be most sensitively reflected on the tongue, hence the saying, “Changes in the tongue often accompany systemic disorders.”
Among these, changes in tongue quality can most reflect diseases, and tongue color reflects the inherent color of the organs.
Changes in tongue quality and color are related to the circulation and balance of Qi and blood. Modern medicine believes this is related to blood flow velocity, blood viscosity, vascular contraction and relaxation, and blood volume.
The spleen opens to the mouth, “the tongue is the external manifestation of the spleen and stomach,” and “the tongue coating is where the stomach Qi is vaporized,” thus the tongue coating reflects the pathology of the spleen and stomach most promptly.
In modern medical terms, the thickness or shedding of the tongue coating depends on the condition of the tongue papillae. Atrophy of the tongue papillae leads to shedding of the tongue coating, while excessive differentiation of keratinized epithelial cells on the tongue papillae results in a thickened tongue coating.
Different constitutions can also affect the tongue.
1. Normal Tongue
A healthy tongue is “light red with a thin white coating.” It is spirited and flexible. When sticking out the tongue, there is a slight gap between the tongue and the corners of the mouth; even if the mouth is open for several minutes, the tongue does not easily dry out. The sublingual veins appear light purple, indicating smooth blood circulation and good physical condition.
2. Blood Deficiency
Weak Qi and blood; the overall tongue is pale white with no blood color; the tongue coating is thin; the sublingual vessels are not prominent.
3. Yin Deficiency
The tongue body is bright red or a crimson tongue; little coating, no coating, or shiny shedding; little moisture or cracks.
4. Yang Deficiency
The tongue body is enlarged, pale white, or has tooth marks.
5. Blood Stasis
Black stasis points or spots on the sides and tip of the tongue, the entire tongue body appears dark, purple, or a bluish-purple tongue; sublingual veins are varicose.
Note: The liver governs the smooth flow of Qi and stores blood, regulating emotions. Emotional distress or invasion by external pathogens can lead to prolonged stagnation of liver Qi, resulting in depression or irritability, chest and rib distension, and wandering pain; Qi leads blood, and prolonged liver Qi stagnation will inevitably cause blood stasis.
6. Qi Deficiency with Blood Stasis
Pale white tongue or dark tongue body, thin white coating; stasis spots or points may be seen on the edges and tip; or sublingual veins are engorged.
7. Phlegm-Dampness
Thick, greasy, slippery coating, or feeling of phlegm obstructing the throat, often accompanied by an enlarged tongue and tooth-marked tongue.
Note: The phlegm-damp constitution often arises from various external or internal factors leading to dysfunction of the organs’ Qi transformation, imbalance of Qi, blood, and body fluids, accumulation of water and dampness, formation of phlegm, and retention of phlegm-dampness, which in turn affects organ function.
8. Spleen Deficiency with Excess Dampness
The tongue is enlarged, with tooth marks on the edges, the tongue coating is thick and greasy, or there is slightly yellow phlegm at the root of the tongue.
Note: Tooth-marked tongue is often caused by the tongue body being enlarged and pressed by the teeth, thus tooth-marked tongue is often seen with an enlarged tongue, mostly belonging to spleen deficiency, indicating a deficiency syndrome. If the tongue body is moist and the coating is white, it indicates spleen deficiency with cold-dampness. If accompanied by yellow greasy coating, it often indicates damp-heat phlegm obstruction.
There is a saying in TCM: “Preventive treatment of disease”; do not wait until you are sick to see a doctor, but pay attention to self-diagnosis and maintenance when you are healthy. Experts suggest we should learn to observe ourselves twice daily.
The first observation is to check your tongue coating every morning to see if it is normal. A normal tongue coating is: tongue color light red and moist, tongue coating thin white and even, and the coating is moderately dry and wet, which is essentially a light red tongue with a thin white coating. The second observation is to check the stool; normal stool is banana-shaped, while dryness and diarrhea indicate an imbalance in the entire digestive system.
— — The above knowledge is for the dissemination of TCM knowledge only and is not for treatment purposes. If you belong to a certain constitution, you will inevitably have corresponding symptoms, but it does not mean that having these symptoms categorically classifies you into that constitution; other characteristics must also be considered.For more related content, click the link to view in detail →
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