"The word itself, health, I find is derived from the Old English haelth, the condition of being hal--that is, safe and sound--Essentially, health is another name for human harmony, harmony not only among our several parts, but also between ourselves and our environments."
--Earle P. Scarlett, 1972

ABOUT TCM

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Principles

Yin and Yang are opposing, yet complementary forces. Yin can be represented by dark, night, female, moon, rest, etc.; Yang corresponds to light, day, male, sun, activity, and so on. There can be no Yin without Yang and vice versa. Each influences and transforms into the other. The very basis of TCM is that when the body's balance of Yin and Yang is thrown off, there is illness. Thus, TCM strives to rebalance the body so there will be health.

Another basic concept of TCM is Qi (pronounced "chee"). It can be most closely translated as "energy". One TCM classic book states, "A human being results from the Qi of Heaven and Earth". Another classic says, "Qi is the root of a human being". This stresses our interaction with the environment. There are many kinds of Qi within our bodies. There is our congenital Qi (genetics), Qi from foods we eat, Qi from the air we breathe, pathogenic Qi that attacks our bodies and causes illness, defensive Qi that attacks these offenders, Qi that moves our blood, and Qi that belongs to our internal organs, to name a few.

Unlike western medicine, TCM is not based on internal anatomy and physiology. TCM was developed prior to the dissection of cadavers. There are common terms between western medicine and TCM, and though their meaning and functions can overlap, they are not the same. TCM has a completely different diagnostic system. For this reason, I will capitalize the first letter of the TCM "organs". There are 12 main "organs" that are paired in TCM - Spleen/Stomach, Lungs/Large Intestines, Heart/Small Intestines, Kidneys/Urinary Bladder, Liver/Gallbladder, and Pericardium/Triple Warmer (San Jiao). The last two are the most unusual organs for western minds. The pericardium is an actual organ in the body as it is the sac that surrounds and helps to protect the heart. Its function in TCM is similar to that, but is not only that. The Triple Warmer is unique to TCM. It is entirely an intangible organ that covers the upper torso region (Lung and Heart), middle torso (Stomach, Spleen, Liver, Gallbladder), and lower torso (Kidneys, Large Intestine, Small Intestine, Uterus, Urinary Bladder). Its function is to connect the organs of the body as an avenue for Qi and also to help control the passage of water. It is quite complex as it is elusive and has been a subject of controversy for centuries. Six of the organs are Yin (Spleen, Lungs, Heart, Kidneys, Liver, and Pericardium) and they are paired with six Yang organs (Stomach, Large Intestines, Small Intestines, Urinary Bladder, Gallbladder, and Triple Warmer).

Five of these organ pairs are designated to five elements. Spleen and Stomach are Earth, Lungs and Large Intestines are Metal, Kidneys and Urinary Bladder are Water, Liver and Gallbladder are Wood, and Heart and Small Intestines are Fire. Each element produces another element. Earth produces Metal, Metal engenders Water, Water grows Wood, Wood creates Fire, and Fire makes Earth. Picture this as a cycle. Within this cycle, each element is controlled by another element. Earth obstructs Water, Water puts out Fire, Fire melts Metal, Metal chops Wood, and Wood blocks Earth. Thus, it can be seen that if there is an excess or a deficiency in the energy of one element, it will influence the other elements.

Also associated with each of these elements are other characteristics. For example, Fire flames upwards (e.g. hypertension), Water tends to go down (e.g. edema). In addition, each element is connected to a season, colour, taste, tissue, emotion, climate, sense, sound, etc. As you can see, everything is intricately interconnected. This helps in the TCM diagnosis and treatment because the root cause of the problem can be indicated by paying attention to the varying symptoms, and treatment can follow several paths to balance the body.

Each organ has its designated functions and indications and you must remember that when your TCM practitioner refers to an organ imbalance, it does not mean that that physical organ is impaired. For example, a Kidney Qi deficiency does not mean that there is necessarily anything wrong with your kidneys.

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