【Light Red Tongue】
Light Red Tongue: The tongue body is light red and moist.
Diagnostic Significance: Normal tongue, or the initial tongue quality in cases of external pathogens (such as colds, summer heat diseases, etc.).
【Pale White Tongue】
Pale White Tongue: The tongue color is lighter than normal, predominantly white with less red, indicating a pale tongue.
Diagnostic Significance: Primarily indicates deficiency syndromes (Qi deficiency, Blood deficiency, Yang deficiency) and cold syndromes.
Causes: Often due to insufficient Qi and Blood, inadequate nourishment of the meridians, or excess cold leading to Yang deficiency, resulting in reduced blood circulation.
The most commonly seen pale white tongue is moist, plump, and tender, caused by Yang deficiency and water retention. If the pale tongue is thin and shiny, it indicates a deficiency of both Qi and Blood.
【Pale Purple Tongue】
Pale Purple Tongue: The tongue is pale with a bluish-purple hue, often transitioning from a pale white tongue, and is moist.
Diagnostic Significance: A pale purple tongue indicates Yang deficiency and Qi deficiency, with Qi stagnation and Blood stasis.
Causes: Often due to internal cold excess, where Yang Qi is restrained, leading to stagnant blood flow, or due to Yang Qi deficiency causing poor circulation and blood stasis.
【Red Tongue】
Red Tongue: Displays a bright red color, deeper than light red.
Diagnostic Significance: Clinically indicates heat syndromes (Yin deficiency syndrome, fluid deficiency syndrome). Patients with this tongue type often present with flushed faces, red eyes, a preference for cold drinks, chest pain with yellow phlegm, abdominal pain, constipation, red urine, hot palms and soles, and night sweats.
Causes: A red tongue is commonly seen in cases of Yin deficiency with internal heat, often associated with Spleen and Stomach heat deficiency, or Heart fire rising.
【Crimson Tongue】
Crimson Tongue: A further deepening of the red tongue is referred to as a “crimson tongue.”
Diagnostic Significance: Indicates excessive heat and blood stasis. This tongue appearance is a more severe stage in the progression of warm diseases. Patients with this tongue type often experience body heat and restlessness.
Causes: The gradual increase of pathogenic heat penetrates the Ying and Blood levels, leading to surging Qi and Blood, depleting Yin, and causing blood stagnation. The tongue body becomes engorged, changing from red to crimson, resulting in a crimson tongue. When a crimson tongue appears, it is essential to differentiate whether it is due to an externally contracted heat disease or an internally generated heat due to deficiency.