Inspection of the Body and Limbs

Presentation

Blackness of the upper lip

Pale redness of the lower lip

White facial complexion

Blackness of the nose

Primary disease

Spleen and stomach deficiency cold

164 Flat-shaped chest with visible red, thread-like vessels

diagnosis		Presentation
Case example	Spleen and stomach deficiency cold Chronic gastritis and duodenal bulb ulcer Sores at the mouth corners, with herpes scabs, bleeding at the right corner	Primary disease diagnosis
	Dusky redness and yellowness of the cheeks Thick eyebrows and large-sized ears Supple and lustrous black hair
		Case example

165 Barrel chest and navicular (boat-shaped) abdomen

External contraction of exuberant heat with injury to yin and stirring of blood

Heat accumulation in the lung and stomach

Prenatal, inborn abundance of kidney qi

Exuberant heat in the lung and stomach, with injury to yin and stirring of blood

Recovery stage of pneumonia; Viral herpes infection

Case example

Close up of the mouth corner from case 159

Rusty, brown color around the edges of the incisors

Heat scorching kidney yin with Yang Ming stomach heat

Frequent illness due to weak constitution, with frequent fevers and use of tetracycline, which has pigmented the teeth

Presentation

Redness of the throat, congested with blood

166 Barrel chest

Pale lips and tongue

Blood abscess on the lower lip

Pale white facial complexion

Presentation

Primary disease diagnosis

Qi and yin deficiency with deficiency fire floating upward

Primary disease diagnosis

Case example

Qi and yin deficiency with deficiency fire floating upward

Chronic pharyngitis

Swollen and painful tonsils

Case example

167 Difficulty breathing while laying down (orthopnea)

Dusky redness of the uvula, congested with blood

Exuberant heat in the lung and stomach with fuming and steaming of heat toxins

Acute catarrhal tonsillitis

Inspection of the body primarily involves examining the nape and neck, chest and abdomen and the upper and lower back. These areas of the body are of great importance when it comes to differentiating excess and deficiency syndromes. Inspection of the limbs mostly entails investigating the condition of the bones and joints, but can also involve the skin, sinews and channels, in order to determine excess or deficiency conditions of the internal organs.

168 Sunken abdomen with herpes zoster (shingles)

	Flat, long and narrow bony thorax named flat chest. Blood strands in the skin	Presentation
	Appears with a consumptive constitution-thin and long figure. This is the type of person with yang viscera. Mostly in syndrome of yin deficiency and yang excess, belonging to yin-deficiency of the lung and kidney or deficiency of both qi and yin	Primary disease diagnosis
	Qi and yin deficiency
	Pulmonary tuberculosis and liver cirrhosis	Case example
Presentation	Enlargement of chest diameter, which appears like a round barrel

169 Bulging of the abdomen

Widening of the intercostals spaces

Muscle wasting

Sunken abdomen, as if shaped like a boat

Primary disease diagnosis

Barrel chest is usually due to rheum and phlegm accumulation, in which lung qi has been consumed and dissipated, or in which damage to kidney qi has caused the inability of the kidneys to grasp qi-thereby causing deficiency asthma.

170 Drum distention-A

Navicular abdomen occurs because the stomach and intestine have become dry and shriveled. This pathology occurs due to decline of the essential qi of the viscera. Characterized by severe malnutrition, this is often seen in chronic consumptive diseases, for instance cancer. In western medicine this is referred to as dyscrasia.

Presentation

Primary disease diagnosis

Case example

Kidneys failing to grasp qi, and decline of the essential qi of the viscera

Case example

171 Drum distention-B