The Lungs According To Chinese Medicine

THE INFORMATION PROVIDED HERE IS NOT A REPLACEMENT FOR A DOCTOR. YOU SHOULDN’T USE IT FOR THE PURPOSE OF SELF-DIAGNOSING OR SELF-MEDICATING BUT RATHER SO YOU CAN HAVE A MORE INFORMED DISCUSSION WITH A PROFESSIONAL TCM PRACTITIONER OR YOUR FAMILY GP.

THE LUNGS ACCORDING TO CHINESE MEDICINE

CHINESE: 肺

PINYIN: Fèi

SUMMARY

The Lungs rule Qi and respiration. They extract Clean Air from the air we take in, mix it with the Grain Qi, Body Fluids and food Essence from the Spleen, and distribute the mixture throughout the body to moisten and nourish skin and hairs.

THE FUNCTIONS OF THE LUNG

The Lungs play a role in the transformation and creation of Qi. They extract Clean Air (a form of Qi) from the air that is inhaled by the Lungs through respiration. Clean Air is then mixed together with Grain Qi (Gu Qi), Food Essences and Body Fluids from the Spleen to form so-called Gathering Qi (Zong Qi) which then gets circulated around the body to nourish tissues and Organs. Finally, dirty Air is expelled outside body by the Lungs.

CLASSIFICATION

THE TCM LUNG FUNCTIONS

They rule Qi and respiration
They control Channels and Blood vessels
They control dispersing and descending of Qi and Body Fluids
They control skin and hair
They open to the nose
They manifest in the body hair
They control nasal mucus
They house the Corporeal Soul (Po -魄)
They are affected by grief and sadness

MAIN SYMPTOMS

The Lungs are said to 'govern' the skin and the body hairs. The skin and body hair are seen as having a very important role against Exterior pathogens in Chinese Medicine and the Lungs are in charge of aiding this by equipping them with Defensive Qi. This means that skin conditions such as eczema or thin and brittle hairs are mainly seen as a sign of Lungs Deficiency.

PATTERNS OF DISHARMONY

1. DAMP-PHLEGM IN THE LUNGS

Phlegm in the Lungs is synonymous with Substantial Phlegm. It is Phlegm that is located in the Lungs that can be seen which is manifested by the swollen tongue. The main symptoms, on top of general Phlegm symptoms, are the heavy sputum that develops in the Lungs and throat as well as, in some cases, asthma or difficulty to breath. This Phlegm is associated with or deriving from Dampness. This type of Damp-Phlegm can be reflected by the sticky white tongue coating and profuse white sputum. The pattern can be acute or chronic. In acute cases, it is normally caused by Wind invasion of the Lungs.
If the patient’s immune system is not strong enough to defend this “Pernicious Evil”, the patient then develops acute cough with profuse sputum. In chronic cases, it is often the result of Spleen Deficiency. It is because the Spleen is responsible for Body Fluids transformation and transportation and its dysfunction leads to Phlegm formation, which then get stored in the Lungs. As a result, the descending of Lung Qi is greatly disturbed, thus the symptoms of coughing and short of breath. The Pale complexion shows the Spleen and Lung Yang Deficiency. The patients usually dislike lying down, because the horizontal position make the chest pain, stifling, and make the distention condition even worse due to the obstructed chest and Lungs by Phlegm. This Phlegm also obstructs the head’s orifices which then cause the feeling of muzziness, dizziness and head heaviness. In acute cases, the patient’s Qi is usually not weakened which indicates a purely Full pattern, then the pulse is Slippery. However, the pulse is Soggy in chronic cases, which means the Qi is harmed to a certain degree.

2. LUNG DRYNESS

Lung Dryness is often accompanied by Body Fluids Deficiency and thus the symptoms of dry throat, dry cough and hoarse voice. It is a stage before Lung Yin Deficiency but has not yet developed into this more severe pattern.

3. WIND-COLD INVADING THE LUNGS

The Defensive Qi layer of the Lungs is invaded by the external Wind-Cold. This is similar to how the immune system reacts to the external bacterial or virus according to the Western Medicine. Please be aware that there aren’t always fever every time, especially if the Wind-Cold is comparatively weak or the Defensive Qi doesn’t response to it. According to TCM, ‘fever’ doesn’t necessarily mean actual temperature increasing, it can also mean Heat related symptoms of the body. The descending and dispersing of Lung Qi can be greatly disturbed if the Lung’s Defensive Qi is obstructed by the external Wind. It can lead to symptoms like blocked or runny nose, coughing and sneezing. The circulation of Defensive Qi in the space between skin and muscles is also impaired so that symptoms like headache, body aches or aversion to cold can happen.

4. KIDNEY AND LUNG YIN DEFICIENCY

The Lungs and Kidneys coordinate to promote movement of respiration. The Lungs rule Qi and respiration, perform the function of respiration and send Qi down to the Kidneys. The Kidneys then hold the Qi down and thus control and promote inspiration. The Yin Deficiency here means this mechanism is deficient, leading to the symptom of breathlessness on exertion. The Lungs also send Fluids down to the Kidneys, which evaporates some of it and sends that vapor back up to the Lungs to keep them moist. A dysfunction of either Organ can impair Fluid metabolism in the body, often leading to a Deficiency of Lung Yin from lack of moisture returning to the Lungs. This is what we see with the symptoms of dry cough, mouth and throat. All the other symptoms are typical of Kidney Yin Deficiency: night sweats, dizziness, tinnitus, hearing difficulties, scanty urination.

5. LUNG HEAT

Lung Heat can be acute or chronic. When acute, it is one of the five patterns of the Qi level, the second level of the Four Levels theory. In that case, it is caused by external invasion of the Lungs by Wind-Heat. The patients usually suffer from flaring of nostrils because the Lungs open to the nose. There might be fever as well. Chronic cases are often developed from not completely recovered Wind invasion or retention of Internal Heat. It can be identified by a red tip of the tongue. Lung Heat disturbs the descending of Lung Qi and thus coughing, or breathlessness happens. Other typical symptoms include thirst, red face and a feeling of heat. There are also chest pains due to obstruction of chest by Heat.