The Spleen 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 SPLEEN ACCORDING TO CHINESE MEDICINE

CHINESE: 脾

PINYIN: Pí

SUMMARY

The Spleen has an arguably much bigger role in Chinese Medicine than in Western medicine. It rules transformation and transportation of food Essences (nutrition), Qi, and Body Fluids and their distribution to other Zang Organs.

THE FUNCTIONS OF THE SPLEEN

CLASSIFICATION

THE TCM SPLEEN FUNCTIONS

It rules transformation and transportation of food Essences (nutrition) and Qi
It rules transformation and transportation of Body Fluids
It controls raising of Qi
It controls Blood
It controls the muscles, flesh and limbs
It opens to the mouth
It manifests in the lips
It controls saliva
It houses the Intellect / Thought (Yi - 意)

MAIN SYMPTOMS

When this Spleen is weak, physical symptoms including bloating, reflux, fatigue, diarrhoea, hemorrhaege, uterine bleeding, poor appetite cold extremities may be present. The Spleen has a sphere of influence on our health other than digestion, absorption and immunity.

PATTERNS OF DISHARMONY

1. SPLEEN QI SINKING

The causes of Spleen Qi sinking is quite similar to the ones of Spleen Qi Deficiency, which are a result of unbalanced diet, unhealthy eating habits, emotional stress or Damp environment. Other than these, people who needs to stand up for long hours every day also have a tendency to obtain this pattern. Spleen Qi Sinking is a type of Qi Deficiency, therefore both patterns can give rise to various digesting issues such as poor appetite, slightly abdominal distension and pain after eating or loose stools. The Spleen Qi can be so weak that it fails to transport Food-Qi throughout the body, hence the symptoms of pale tongue and complexion, general fatigue, lassitude and weak limbs. When the Spleen Qi is Deficient or Sinking for a long period of time, Body Fluids cannot be transformed properly. It then accumulates and form Dampness and Phlegm. It leads to symptoms such as overweight or even obesity. When the Spleen Qi sinks, it fails to raise Qi so that it cannot hold the Organs in their original places in Lower and Middle Burners. Therefore, some Organs prolapse such as the Uterus, the Anus, the Bladder or the Stomach. Also, patients often complain about frequent and urgent urination as well as Heavy Menstruation. This occurs more obviously if this pattern is paired with Kidney Qi sinking.

2. SPLEEN BLOOD DEFICIENCY

“Spleen Blood Deficiency” is technically a syndrome of Spleen Qi Deficiency that leads to Blood Deficiency. As such it presents all the symptoms of Spleen Qi Deficiency such as poor appetite, slight abdominal distension after eating, fatigue, lassitude, dull-pale complexion, weakness of the limbs and loose stools. On top of those, there are symptoms of Blood Deficiency such as scanty or no periods, a thin tongue and a Choppy or Fine pulse. There is some depression and insomnia as the Blood Deficiency may affect the Heart (where the Mind resides). Also, a key difference from pure Spleen Qi Deficiency is that the body is likely to be thin due to the Blood Deficiency as opposed to tending to obesity in Spleen Qi Deficiency alone.

3. SPLEEN NOT CONTROLLING BLOOD

When Spleen Qi is Deficient, the Spleen cannot fulfil its function of holding Blood in the vessels. This is why bleeding symptoms appears all over the place: under the skin, in the stools, the urine or from the Uterus.

4. Cold-Damp invading the Spleen

This is a description of the pattern in its acute stage when the Spleen is invaded by exterior Dampness. The pattern can also become chronic, in which case the tongue would be Paler and the pulse partly Weak or Soggy. What causes the characteristic feeling of heaviness is the fact that Dampness obstructs the muscles. It also impairs the clear Yang from ascending to the head, hence the feeling of heaviness in the head as well. The feeling of fullness is caused by Dampness preventing the normal movement of Qi. This also causes the nausea symptoms as Dampness prevents Stomach-Qi from descending (Qi becomes Rebellious). What causes the sweet taste in the mouth (or sometimes the absence of taste) is because the Spleen opens into the mouth: disruption to its normal behavior will have repercussions in the mouth. Lastly Dampness is heavy and has a tendency to drop downwards; this is what causes the excessive white vaginal discharge we see in some cases.

5. DAMP-HEAT INVADING THE SPLEEN

This pattern is essentially the same as Cold-Damp invading the Spleen except that in this case there is Heat. Many of the symptoms are due to Dampness: the feeling of fullness and heaviness, the nausea, the sticky tongue coating and the slippery pulse. The symptoms that indicate Heat are the foul smell of the stools, the bitter taste in the mouth, the burning sensation of the anus and the scanty dark urine. The low-grade fever is constant throughout the day, as opposed to low-grade fever from Yin Deficiency which only appears in the afternoon or early evening. It is caused by the combination of Damp-Heat. The pattern as described here applies to relatively acute cases. In more chronic cases, some of the symptoms are often missing like the fever, the burning sensation of the anus and the dull-yellow complexion.