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Module 2   Lesson 2   Gan

The Liver

How can one organ regulate your mood, your periods, your sinews and your eyes all at once?

After this lesson you can name the six functions of the Liver, explain what storing and smooth flow mean, see for each function which pattern from module 1, lesson 6 belongs to it, and you know the correspondences, dreams and sayings of ch. 7.

Liver 肝 six functions, ch. 7 p. 118 1 stores Blood 2 ensures the smooth flow of Qi 3 controls the sinews 4 manifests in the nails 5 opens into the eyes 6 houses the Ethereal Soul (Hun) stores, flows, flexes, shines, sees, dreams element, season Wood, spring climate Wind colour, taste green, sour emotion anger spirit Hun 魂 fluid tears tissue sinews orifice eyes Fu partner Gall-Bladder sound shouting odour rancid substance Blood
Functions after Maciocia ch. 7 (from p. 118). The ring from ch. 5 pp. 98 to 103; odour and sound are textbook knowledge, check them on pp. 102 and 103. Schematic.

Know by heart

  • Six functions. Stores Blood; ensures the smooth flow of Qi; controls the sinews; manifests in the nails; opens into the eyes; houses the Ethereal Soul (Hun). mnemonic: the Liver stores, flows, flexes, shines, sees and dreams.
  • Storing Blood. At rest the Blood returns to the Liver, during activity it goes to the muscles and sinews; this is also how the Liver regulates menstruation.
  • Smooth flow, three domains. Mood; digestion (Spleen-Qi ascends, Stomach-Qi descends, bile flows); Blood and menstruation. mnemonic: mood, meals, menses.
  • Correspondences. Wood, spring, Wind, green, sour, shouting, rancid odour; emotion anger, which makes Qi rise (Su Wen 39); fluid tears; Fu Gall-Bladder. The Liver dislikes Wind (Su Wen 23).
  • The general. Su Wen 8: from the Liver come planning and strategy. Su Wen 9: residence of the Hun, its splendour shows in the nails, it fills the sinews.
  • From function to pattern (module 1, lesson 6). Flow stuck: 1, and 5 when the Spleen suffers; stuck Qi flares up: 2; Yang loose from its root: 3; store empty: 4. mnemonic: stuck, fire, rising, empty, invading (patterns 1 to 5, in the words of their English names).
  • Red flag. Jaundice, upper right abdominal pain with fever, sudden loss of vision or a red, painful eye: see a doctor first.

The rest of this lesson is reference.

Liver: How can one organ regulate your mood, your periods, your sinews and your eyes all at once?
The chart as an image, to save or share

Three practice questions from this lesson

Which one is not a function of the Liver?
  1. Opens into the eyes
  2. Controls the muscles
  3. Controls the sinews

Answer: Controls the muscles. The muscles belong to the Spleen; the Liver controls the sinews. Other sources put muscles and sinews together under Wood; Maciocia does not.

According to the textbook, what happens to the Blood when you rest?
  1. It returns to the Liver
  2. It goes to the Heart
  3. It goes to the muscles

Answer: It returns to the Liver. At rest the Blood returns to the Liver, during activity it goes to the muscles and sinews (Wang Bing on Su Wen 10, as Maciocia quotes it).

In which three domains does the smooth flow of the Liver work?
  1. Sleep and memory, speech, sweat
  2. Breathing, skin and body hair, water passages
  3. Mood, digestion, Blood and menstruation

Answer: Mood, digestion, Blood and menstruation. Mood, meals, menses. Breathing, skin and water passages are the Lungs; sleep, speech and sweat the Heart.

The rest of this lesson

In the course you get the step-by-step explanation, 15 case-based practice questions, 15 spaced-repetition flashcards, the pitfalls and the bridge to physiology with evidence grades. This lesson belongs to module 2: Organs.

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