NMT 200 Week 2 TCM E-learning PDF

NMT 200: NATUROPATHIC THERAPEUTICS II TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE (TCM) E-LEARNING WEEK 2 S P L E E N A N D S TO M A C H F U N C T I O N S Author: Neemez Kassam, M.Sc., N.D., R.Ac. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Understand the functions of the Spleen Understand the interactions between the Spleen and ot...

NMT 200: NATUROPATHIC THERAPEUTICS II TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE (TCM) E-LEARNING WEEK 2 S P L E E N A N D S TO M A C H F U N C T I O N S Author: Neemez Kassam, M.Sc., N.D., R.Ac. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Understand the functions of the Spleen Understand the interactions between the Spleen and other organs Understand the functions of the Stomach EARTH ELEMENT Can be positive, or B negative; humming Spleen & Stomach Meridians Emotional sound is Singing Saliva is the secretion Illness sound is Swallowing Sense is Taste Absence of taste? If nothing tastes good can Pensiveness and worry are relate to heart (depression) the emotions Season is Late summer or the last 2 weeks of every season Fragrant is the odor Climate is Moist and G Sweet is the flavor Thunderous Stomach: 7 - 9am, Spleen: 9 – * Lingering and lasts long 11am Peak times! Breakfast is important SPLEEN ORGAN FUNCTIONS Governs Transformation and Transportation Controls the blood Controls the muscles and the 4 limbs Opens into the mouth, and manifests in the lips Controls the ‘raising of Qi’ House the Yi (Intellect) GOVERNS TRANSFORMATION AND TRANSPORTATION Receives Food Qi from the Stomach and converts it into Food Essence Important for digestion and production of Qi and Blood Send `Clear` fluids to the Lungs, and `Turbid` fluids to the Small Intestine Dysfunction can lead to dampness/phlegm accumulation - Including into lungs where spleen communicates with CONTROLS THE BLOOD Blood pooling in different areas ie uterus, (D) - varicose veins - can be due to spleen not Keeps Blood within the vessels keeping blood where it should be Uses ‘raising of Qi’ function to accomplish this task E “Control” also refers to Spleen’s assistance in making & Blood Need Gu (food) Qi to make the blood Uses ‘transformation and transportation’ function to accomplish this task CONTROLS THE MUSCLES AND THE 4 LIMBS Qi extracted from the food gets sent to the muscles of the limbs to assist their functioning Weak Food-Qi extraction leads to poor muscle functioning, which can lead to weak muscles and/or atrophy  OPENS INTO THE MOUTH, AND MANIFESTS IN THE LIPS Chewing of food to prepare it for transformation Saliva is also controlled by the Spleen and is important in aiding digestion Taste is also controlled by Spleen and assists in digestion D Changes in the lip color and texture resemble the state of the Spleen - - Dry, red, pale, or swollen lips may be a sign of Spleen dysfunction CONTROLS THE ‘RAISING OF QI’ Sending refined Qi upwards to the Lung and Heart Also sends Yang fluids upwards to be used by sense organs and be released from nose and mouth Works - closely with Stomach’s function of ‘descending Qi’ “Raising” also implies keeping organs in their place to prevent prolapse or herniation HOUSE THE YI (INTELLECT) Thinking, studying, focusing, memorizing, concentrating, and generating ideas. Willpower - kidneys Mind - Heart o Closely connected to Shen (Ht) and Zhi (Kd) Pensiveness or brooding negatively affects the Yi - Keep digestion and diet steady while studying!!  Help bring refined fluids up to lungs so lungs can disperse it Can also receive negative from spleen if its not transforming well can Help produce blood from produce dampness to be held by lungs Gu Qi & help heart store blood Ascending Spleen provides Qi so liver has it to circulate & provides production of blood so liver can store Sple Liver can damage spleen - cause stagnation which disrupts en transformation/transportation Descending ↳ Middle burner organ Whatever spleen doesn’t use sent to SI as turbid/unclear, then is further refined and sent Small Lower burner w/ kidney back to spleen Intestine Spleen & kidney are yang - spleen can produce yang, kidneys can store it Spleen needs kidney in order to stabilize it  SPLEEN QI DEFICIENCY Spleen Spleen Qi Spleen Failing Yang Sinking to control Deficiency Blood STOMACH ORGAN FUNCTIONS Controls ‘receiving’ Responsible for “Rotting” and “Ripening” Controls transportation of Food Essences Controls descending of Qi Origin of Fluids CONTROLS ‘RECEIVING’ Related to food and drink arriving and staying in the stomach for processing “Sea of Qi and Blood and of Food Drink” Dysfunction may lead to poor appetite and/or rebellious Qi Burping, throwing up RESPONSIBLE FOR “ROTTING” AND “RIPENING” Prepares the food for extraction by breaking it down, which makes it easier for the Spleen to transform and transport Similar to a cauldron “If there is Stomach-Qi there is life, if there is no Stomach-Qi, there is death” CONTROLS TRANSPORTATION OF FOOD ESSENCES Identical to Spleen’s function of transportation to the 4 limbs A difference is that Stomach’s function will have an affect on the pulse quality Stomach Qi can also affect tongue coating CONTROLS DESCENDING OF QI Sends down to Small Intestine for further separation Also works with Spleen’s ‘ascending’ function Assisted by Liver Qi Dysfunction may lead to stagnation of Qi in the Stomach ORIGIN OF FLUIDS Fluids are required for rotting and ripening Stomach ensures that fluids which are not used to produce food essences are used to produce body fluids The Stomach likes wet and dislikes dry Thirst! REFERENCES Liangyue, Deng et al. Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion. Beijing, China: Foreign Languages Press, 1996. Maciocia, Giovanni. The Foundations of Chinese Medicine. 2ed. Philadephia, PA: Churchill Livingstone, 2005. Tyme. Student Manual on the Fundamentals of Traditional Oriental Medicine. San Diego, CA: Living Earth Enterprises, 1997. Kaptchuk, Ted. The Web That Has No Weaver. Chicago, IL: Congdon & Weed, Inc, 1983.