The tongue is the very beginning of the digestive tract, which lumbers on for another 30 feet or so. During an examination, the overall tongue coating, shape, and color is taken into account. The image on the left shows the correlation between the organs and area of the tongue. Tongue diagnosis is used all the time by acupuncturists and practitioners trained in chinese medicine it is an important way to diagnose a patients health and sometimes can be crucial in deciding what to do first.
Pale tongue body indicates the quality of blood, reflecting blood andor qi deficiency or cold. However, the earliest known text devoted entirely to tongue diagnosis is ao shi shang. Chinese tongue diagnosis is an essential tool used by acupuncturists and traditional chinese medicine practitioners. Tongue assessment in traditional chinese medicine verywell health. Tongue diagnosis is a very traditional and effective method which has been used to diagnose diseases for over two thousand years. Tongue diagnosis requires a great deal of knowledge of tcm theory and experience with. The tongue can tell a great deal about the internal condition of the body. Selfdiagnosis using information on the internet leads to dangerous delays in treatment. Scalloped tongue or teeth marked tongue, is swollen tongue that feels surrounding the teeth of the lower. On this page, you can find information on some of the most common causes of tongue pain, as well as less common causes.
It can be a strong indicator of a persons overall harmony or disharmony. The result is a very red, dry, and often smooth tongue. Learn more about the symptoms, causes, risk factors, diagnosis, and. The tongue reflects the health of the internal organs and blood circulation. Tongue coat shows the effect of the organs, especially the stomach qi. Tongue exam stanford medicine 25 stanford medicine. The tongue in em an em practitioner can garner much more information from tongue observation, including signs about the livers health.
Glossitis, by causing swelling of the tongue, may also cause the tongue to. You may be suffering from a condition known as geographic tongue. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. According to traditional chinese medicine, scalloped tongue means that a deficiency of qi and yang in the body.
The tongue coating fur refers to a layer of moss over the tongue surface, which is produced by the stomach qi. Glossitis, by causing swelling of the tongue, may also cause the tongue to appear smooth. A flaccid tongue that is also pale usually indicates qi and blood deficiency. Your dentist can diagnose what the problem is and advise you about pain relief. Tongue diagnosis what your tongue says about your health. Qi pronounced chi and yang are responsible for the smooth and orderly traffic as well as holding the organ in good shape. If the color is pale and wet, it is yang deficiency. Observation of the tongue, also known as tongue diagnosis, is an important procedure in tcm examination. A flaccid tongue that is also dark red, dry, and has cracks usually indicates extreme heat injuring fluids. Green tongue body a green tongue body usually indicates.
In ayurveda, one of the primary investigative tools of practitioners for determining the state of ones health is tongue diagnosis or evaluation of the tongue the tongue is the beginning of the digestive tract, which lumbers on for another 30 feet or so. The tongue body proper is going to give you information more about the yin organs, the blood organs in particular. Blood stasis stops fluids from being transported around the body smoothly therefore encouraging the production of phlegm, while phlegm blocks the smooth flow of qi and blood leading to stasis. However, in cardiovascular chinese medicine, the tongue diagnosis is not an. With glossitis, the tiny projections called papillae normally found on the tongue are lost and the surface becomes smooth in patches or over the entire tongue. Looking, includes observation of spirit shen, body, head and face, sense organs, and digital venule examination in children. Tongue diagnosis is an important method in tcm to detect constitution like qi deficiency, yin deficiency, blood stasis, dampness, etc. Unusual movement interior wind all unusual movements of the tongue can be due to wind. The appearance and qualities of the tongue is a critical part of diagnosis in chinese. Your tongue can also tell a lot about your general health. For example, if there are red spots on the front third of the tongue, which is associated with. The patches can vary in size, and may occur on one area of the tongue before moving to another area after a few days, weeks or months. If the body color is normal, it is sp qi deficiency.
If a tongue is enlarged and flabby it indicates deficient qi. Giovanni maciocia discusses tongue diagnosis, including the. In tongue diagnosis, observation of the surface of the tongue is mainly focused on. Have the areas checked for thrush, a yeast infection. See your gp or dentist if you have persistent pain and you havent accidentally bitten or burnt your tongue.
Ayurvedic tongue diagnosis made easy wake up world. Smooth tongue is a tongue that is unusually smooth. If the tongue is enlarged and hard, it is a sign of excess. A scalloped tongue results from a tongue that pushes against the teeth leaving marks on the sides of the tongue. This can indicate yin deficiency, qi deficiency andor blood deficiency. Tongue coating can give you an indication of how well your digestive system is working. If the tongue body is also moist, tender, and swollen, this can indicate yang cold. Do you see smooth patches or lesions on your tongue. These spots or patches are red in color, bordered by grayish white or yellowish lines. Geographic tongue pictures, causes, symptoms, pain and treatment shavit gavish february 5, 2011 mouth, teeth and oral health stand before the mirror and open your mouth. Bad breath, numbness or tingling, smooth tongue, sore tongue. Geographic tongue can continue for days, months or years. If a tongue does not stick straight out and wants to turn to one side when trying to stick out the tongue, it may be an indication of internalwind explained here. Its called geographic tongue because the patches have a maplike appearance.
Tongue diagnosis is one of the main diagnostic tools in traditional chinese medicine. Come and go or change very quickly in days, weeks, or months. The shape of the tongue can be medium, fat, thin, and tilted. The tongue shape reflects the status of the organs, qi, and blood, particularly. Click on the combination that matches your symptoms to find the conditions that may cause these problems.
Counterintuitive as it may seem, exercise may help. The lustre or moisture of the skin reflects the prosperity or decline of the qi vital energy and essence. It is therefore very useful and important during inspection for confirming diagnosis. In eastern medicine, qi is a life force present in everything. Tongue diagnosis is a practice long used in traditional chinese medicine a.
A purple tongue indicates that qi andor xue are not moving harmoniously and are stagnant. A child has fever for three days, with cough, conjunctivitis, kopliks spots on mouth, red vein on the back of ear and cold at root of ear, and maculopapular around ears, on face and neck and body. Peeling fur corresponds to weak stomach qi or stomach yin insufficiency. Your tongue plays a unique role in understanding your bodys constitution. Aug 12, 20 tongue diagnosis is an important method in tcm to detect constitution like qi deficiency, yin deficiency, blood stasis, dampness, etc. There are a few less obvious causes that may need treating. Various parts of the tongue correspond to different bodily organs, such as kidneys, spleen and lungs, and a tcm doctor can determine their state of health and any pathological changes by observing the condition of the body muscular tissue, known as tongue proper, and the coating of the tongue. The majority off a persons qi comes from the foods they choose to eat. It includes observing the tongue and any coating it may have. Many people with geographic tongue have no symptoms. Seasons of the year in summer, there may be more dampness present in the tongue coating, leaving.
The appearance and qualities of the tongue is a critical part of diagnosis in chinese medicine tcm. If in addition to being enlarged and flabby, the tongue has scalloped or tooth marked edges, then it indicates dampness due to deficient qi or stagnation of fluids. In ayurveda, one of the primary investigative tools of practitioners for determining the state of ones health is tongue diagnosis or evaluation of the tongue. Tongue diagnosis, yin and yang in tongue, swollen tongue. The four examinations, part 2 tongue diagnosis in chinese. The tongue should move easily and its surface should be smooth and soft. In this video i have mentioned how to do ayurvedic tongue diagnosis.
The four examinations, part 2 tongue diagnosis in chinese medicine share this with your. In this article i am going to share with you knowledge about tongue diagnosis. Tongue diagnosis in tcm acupuncture clinic of tom ingegno. Tongue body color pale tongue a tongue less red than normal, indicating qi and blood deficiency or presence of deficiencycold pale red tongu. Webmd symptom checker helps you find the most common symptom combinations and medical conditions related to smooth tongue. Finally, the tongue tip and sides of the tongue are also important tools for self diagnosis. It can present strong visual indicators of a persons overall harmony or disharmony. On the other hand, a pale tongue could mean that there is not enough heat in the body, or that there is a deficiency of qi or blood. It also induces the smooth flow of the essential substances, prevents.
See detailed information below for a list of 15 causes of smooth tongue, symptom checker, including diseases and drug side effect causes. Tongue diagnosis in chinese medicine by giovanni maciocia. If youve overindulged in food and alcohol recently, your tongue may have a white, yellow or brown coating. Normal coat is thin white smooth and evenly distributed and slightly moist. Geographic tongue is a condition where irregular smooth, red patches that have a white or lightcoloured border occur on the tongue. Now, when youre dealing with a pathogenic invasion, the tongue coat tells you about the penetration of the pathogen. Coated or furry tongue, red strawberry tongue, smooth tongue, sore tongue. Because burning and all of the tongue symptoms of vitamin deficiencies potentially have other causes, you should always seek the advice of a physician when new or troubling health issues arise. A boggy tongue reflects a digestive fire that has been turned off.
Tongue diagnosis is an important method of tcm to detect blood stasis. Tongue assessment in traditional chinese medicine tcm. Every gesture, word and attribute provides clues to a persons health and wellbeing. Apr 25, 20 when a practitioner of tcm looks at a patients tongue heshe is looking at many things such as the tongue body, shape, movement, coating as well as the yin and yang organs reflected on the tongue. How to use traditional chinese medicine to do a tongue. Frequent changes in the location, size and shape of lesions.
A diagnosis of stomach fire leading to early blood. A tender tongue that appears smooth, delicate, and is possibly swollen. Dec 18, 2018 because burning and all of the tongue symptoms of vitamin deficiencies potentially have other causes, you should always seek the advice of a physician when new or troubling health issues arise. Depending on the cause, your gp may also be able to help. Inspection and tongue study methods in tcm shen nong. Discomfort, pain or burning sensation in some cases, most often related to eating spicy or acidic foods.
Self diagnosis using information on the internet leads to dangerous delays in treatment. Since we cannot see much beyond the mouth without some invasive diagnostics, a quick look at the tongue can tell much about the health. Doctors give trusted, helpful answers on causes, diagnosis, symptoms, treatment, and more. Tongue diagnosis is an important part of the chinese medical assessment. Tongue diagnosis is a very traditional and effective method, which has been. Geographic tongue source demandstudios geographic tongue is a peculiar syndrome that is marked by the appearance of lesions or patchy spots on the tongue. Oriental tongue diagnosis edited by desire dubounet introduction the tongue has many relationships and connections in the body, both to the meridians and the internal organs.
Tongue diagnosis in tcm is comprehensive and much information can be gathered from it such as the degree of the pathogenic factor and the state of. Geographic tongue is a condition that gets its name from a maplike appearance on the upper surface and sides of your tongue. Normal tongue shape is neither too thick nor too thin. Smooth tongue, soreness or burning inside of mouth, taste of acid in mouth, taste words when they are heard. Every gesture, word and attribute provides clues to a persons health and well being. With glossitis, the tiny projections called papillae normally found on the tongue are lost and the surface. Our tongue is an essential organ that we need to speak, eat, and taste food. Proximalwater finger, waterearth kapha, kidney yang, kidney yin.
Since we cannot see much beyond the mouth without some invasive diagnostics, a quick look at the. Changes in the tongue color usually reflect chronic illness. Observation of the tongue, also known as tongue diagnosis, is an important. Tongue diagnosis by cathy wong chinese medicine practitioners believe the appearance of your tongue can reveal a lot about your health. Find the sore spot close to the junction where the two bones meets and.
In a wider sense, glossitis can mean inflammation of the tongue generally. It is widely used point on the liver channel to help keep energy flowing smoothly. B12 deficiency will also make the tongue sore and beefyred in color. Jan 17, 2017 in this video i have mentioned how to do ayurvedic tongue diagnosis. For an example on the tongue chart above, see the last tongue on the bottom row entitled blood deficiency. If youve overindulged in food and alcohol recently, your tongue may have a. Tongue diagnosis by a chinese medical practitioner includes examining aspects of the overall tongue coat, shape and color and then breaking these factors down to their exact location on the tongue. Dark red, bruised spots or patches, blood stasis with heat. If you have a sore or painful tongue, there may be an underlying problem that needs treating. What are the symptoms of qi deficiency, and how is it treated. Here are some of the more common things you may see on your tongue and what they mean.
In tongue diagnosis, observation of the surface of the tongue is mainly focused on the shape, fur, and body of the tongue. Oct 10, 2017 in eastern medicine, qi is a life force present in everything. When a practitioner of tcm looks at a patients tongue heshe is looking at many things such as the tongue body, shape, movement, coating as well as the yin and yang organs reflected on the tongue. This typically results in a pale, wet, coated, and even swollen tongue depending on what the body type is. A pale thin tongue body usually indicates qi and blood deficiency. The telltale signs of geographic tongue are irregular, smooth, red patches on parts of the tongue. Tongue diagnosis, yin and yang in tongue, swollen tongue, tcm. Webmd symptom checker helps you find the most common symptom combinations and medical conditions related to white patches on tongue. The tongue is totally peeled without coating and with many cracks, both signs of chronic yin deficiency. Ou shi yan she fa master ou methods of examining tongue. Tongue diagnosis of traditional chinese medicine for rheumatoid. The most common cause of a smooth tongue is the use of dentures.
Pale tongue, dry, thick, smooth tongue yang deficiency w fluids not moving fluids to the tongue crimson tongue w yellow greasy coat heat in the ying division w some kind of hot phlegm mirror tongue yin exhaustion. In fact, im surprised when acupuncturists dont use it. It is especially important in confirming the tcm diagnosis. The following medical conditions are some of the possible causes of. Tongue diagnosis of traditional chinese medicine for. Glossitis can mean soreness of the tongue, or more usually inflammation with depapillation of the dorsal surface of the tongue loss of the lingual papillae, leaving a smooth and erythematous reddened surface, sometimes specifically termed atrophic glossitis.
It would be prudent to see your doctor and discuss if you may be depressed. For example, pale coloring in the tongue is thought to indicate an issue with the pancreas andor digestive function, while purple coloring is said to arise from blockages in the flow of qi. Heat spots commonly observable in the liver and heart areas indicate. A pale tongue body indicates deficient xue, qi, or yang or excess cold. Tongue diagnosis, yin and yang in tongue, swollen tongue, tcm theory, channels in tongue, byung choi. Cun near wrist crease left wrist pulse diagnosis is for qi or blood ht.
According to the principles of tcm, analyzing the appearance of an individuals tongue can provide a greater understanding of his or her overall health. There was generalized redness over his tongue, with patches of papillary. Tongue the tongue is one of the major pillars of diagnosis, the other main one being the pulse. You might appear pallid, tire easily, feel breathless or easily experience cold limbs. The tongue body refers to the muscular tissue of the tongue. A sore or painful tongue is usually caused by something obvious and visible. Geographic tongue pictures, causes, symptoms, pain and.
A smooth, welldemarcated patch without papillae on the posterior portion of the tongue was discovered incidentally while the oropharynx of a 65yearold woman was being examined. Nutritional deficiencies include iron, folate and vitamin b12 deficiency. Whole books are dedicated to tongue diagnosis in chinese medicine and it is an important diagnostic tool. In traditional chinese medicine using the tongue in order to clearly see the health of the body is very common. The small bumps or papillae that you can normally see on the tongue disappear in the patches. Finally, the tongue tip and sides of the tongue are also important tools for selfdiagnosis. Difficulty swallowing, drainage or pus, smooth tongue, swollen tonsils. For instance, when you first get sick, the coat doesnt change. When heat has consumed and damaged body fluids, they can not rise to nourish the tongue. Smooth, red, irregularly shaped patches lesions on the top or side of your tongue. A normal tongue sign is proper size, soft in quality, free in motion, pale red in. The tongue body is a fleshy mass and has color, texture, and shape independent from the apparent qualities ofthe tongue coating. If your tongue becomes unusually enlarged medical name is macroglossia it may develop a wavy pattern on the edges and this is called a scalloped tongue. A central short crack in the middle of the tongue often indicates stomach yin.
A coating without root usually indicates impairment of spleen, stomach, and kidneys. Tcm diagnosis by looking observation one of the 4 pillars. Looking observation in tcm diagnosis is one of the 4 pillars of evaluation in chinese medicine. This tongue diagnosis technique will show the practitioner what is wrong with the body so that he or she can then recommend treatments such a nutrition, massage, herbal remedies, exercise, acupressure, or acupuncture.
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