TCM Tongue | Quizlet

Pale tongue body

Deficient in yang, blood, &/or Qi.

Deficiency cold

Tongue Pale + wet

Qi def.

Tongue Pale + swollen

Qi def

Red tongue body + no coating

Yin deficint, empty heat

Red tongue body + yellow coat

Excess heat

Red tongue + Wet

Damp heat

Red tongue + dry

Injured fluids

Red tip of tongue

Sides of tongue

Heart fire

Liver fire

Small red points on tongue

Toxic heat

Crimson tongue

Extreme heat; more severe than red

Purple tongue (excess)

EXCESS---> heat; yin cold; blood stasis; phlegm damp; alcohol toxicity

Purple tongue (deficient)

DEFICIENCY-->deficient cold(moist), ST & KD yin exhaustion (pig liver)

Blue tongue

Internal yin cold syndrome--> entirely bluish tongue

Blood stasis-->sides bluish

Tender tongue

[delicate, fine, smooth,moistened,lustrous surface, light colored, bulgy appearance]

1.) def. syndrome(yang, Qi, or yin)

2.) Cold syndrome

Tough tongue

[tough & sturdy, dry surface, dull color]

1.) excess syndrome

2.) heat syndrome

Bulgy tongue

[bigger than usual]

1.) deficiency syndrome (yang or Qi def)

2.) dampness & phlegm

Swollen tongue

[enlarged & swollen tongue body,even full of the mouth]

Excess syndrome--> ex.: heat in Heart & SP, alcoholism or intoxication

*sometimes def. syndrome--> SP & KD yang def.

Thin tongue

[thinner & emancipated than usual]

1.) def. of Qi & blood

1.) consumption of yin fluid

Fissued tongue-->def.

[various fissures on the tongue]

Deficiency--> of Essence & blood

Fissured tongue-->excess

Heat consumption of fluid

Healthy people

Prickly tongue

Excess evil heat, even toxic heat (stagnant heat @ nutrient-blood level)

Tooth-mark tongue

1.) def. Qi or yang

1.) internal retention of dampness

Stiff tongue

[inflexible,difficulty moving]

Exogenous

Exogenous disease: hyperactive evil heat

-invasion of heat into pericardium

-obstruction of phlegm & turbidity

Stiff tongue

Internal impairment

-liver-wind complicated by phlegm

-excess heat consuming B.F.

-invasion of heat into P.C.

-Wind-phlegm obstructing collaterals

-wind stroke

Atrophy tongue

[flacid, week, unable to move. Too weak to protrude & withdraw]

-Decline of Qi & blood

-extreme consumption of fluid caused by advanced stage of exogenous febrile disease

Shivering tongue

1.) def. syndrome--> Qi or yang

2.)dampness, phlegm syndrome;endogenous liver wind

Deviated tongue

Wind stroke or premonitory sx of such

Short tongue

[unableto stretch,unable to even reach the teeth]

*critical

Either cold or heat syndrome;

With phlegm or def. syndrome

Protruding & wagging

[stretches out, but unable to retreat]

Heat in heart & SP

-pestilence into the heart

-health Qi exhaustion

*usually seen in critical condition

Wagging

[frequent protrusion, but immediate withdraw. Licks lips/ corners of mouth]

Heat in heart & SP

-premonitory sx of endogenous wind

-children dementia

White coating

External syndrome--> wind-cold, wind-heat. Partial in both interior & exterior.

Cold syndrome-->

-SP encumbered by damp

-damp w/ loss of gastric Qi & B.F.

-exogenous evil draws forth internal dampness

-rotten coating, powder coating, snow-flake coating

Yellow coating

Internal syndrome--> accumulation of damp-heat in the interior or phlegm & fluid accumulation transforming into heat

-food retention & heat purification

-excess interior heat

*yang def. & water-damp retention (instead of heat)

Heat syndrome- wind-heat, inward invasion of heat transformed from wind-cold,

-warm heat enters Qi phase or Yang Ming

Grey coating

Internal syndrome-->cold or heat, def. or excess

-develops from white tongue coating or cold evils attack the 3 yin directly

-evolves from yellow tongue coating

Black coating

Internal syndrome-->cold, heat, def., excess

-yang def. leading to cold or SP disorder due to damp.

-cold h2o insults the heart

-heat consumes h2o & the genuine water of Shoa Yin will be exhausted

-ST failure

-dry stools in bowel

-heart fire burning

-heat in lower jiao

Thin coating

[bottom visible]

-External syndrome

-mild internal syndrome

Thick coating

Internal syndrome (ex.: retention of food, fluid, phlegm &/or dampness usually have thick coating)

Moist tongue coating

Sufficient & upward distribution of B.F.

Slippery coating

-Cold dampness

-yang deficiency & failure of Qi to transform fluids

Dry coating

[even fissured, rough & "sandy"-->"rough"]

-Consumption of fluid by excessive heat

-yin def.

Greasy

-damp/phlegm

-food retention

Putrid ("curdy") coating

-easily scraped off. Thick on margins & center

-food retention in ST & intestines

-accumulation of phlegm & turbid substance

Peeled coating

-partial or complete peeling

-anterior, medium, patched peeling

-aka mirror-like if completly peeled

-ST yin def., even exhaustion

-exhaustion of ST Qi & yin if mirror-like

True coating

Difficult to scrape off

False coating

Clear boundaries, easily scraped off