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Module 2   Lesson 4   Pi

The Spleen

Why does someone slump tired on the sofa after a meal, and what does that have to do with a prolapse or bruising easily?

After this lesson you can name the six functions of the Spleen and what goes wrong with each, read the correspondences as clues, and link everything to patterns 6 to 8 from module 1, lesson 6. Module 1, lesson 5 gave the overview; this is the organ from the inside.

Spleen 脾 pi functions, ch. 9 p. 144 1 transforms and transports 2 controls the ascending of Qi 3 holds Blood in the vessels 4 controls muscles and limbs 5 opens into mouth, shows in lips 6 houses the Intellect (Yi) Stomach Fu partner; Qi descends Earth element of the centre Dampness climate late summer season; see step 6 pensiveness emotion; knots the Qi singing, fragrant sound and odour yellow, sweet colour and taste thin saliva fluid: xian
Functions after Maciocia ch. 9 (functions from p. 144); correspondences after ch. 5 pp. 98 to 103 and ch. 9, other correspondences p. 151. Schematic; check the order of the functions in the book.

Know by heart

  • Six functions. Transforms and transports; controls the ascending of Qi; holds Blood in the vessels; controls the muscles and the four limbs; opens into the mouth and manifests in the lips; houses the Intellect (Yi). mnemonic: cook, lift, hold, feed, taste, think.
  • Correspondences. Fu Stomach; Earth; Dampness; yellow, sweet, singing, fragrant; thin saliva (xian); pensiveness; late summer. mnemonic: a singing baker with yellow, sweet, fragrant bread, who cannot stand the damp.
  • Spleen and Stomach. Spleen-Qi ascends, Stomach-Qi descends; the Spleen likes dryness and hates Dampness, the Stomach likes moisture and hates dryness. mnemonic: the lift going up, the slide going down.
  • Two sayings. The Spleen is the root of Post-Heaven Qi (the Kidneys of Pre-Heaven); the Spleen is the origin of Phlegm, the Lungs store it.
  • Function fails, picture appears. Cook: tired, bloated, loose stools, Dampness; lift: prolapse; hold: bleeding, bruising; feed: weak limbs; taste: little sense of taste, pale lips; think: pensiveness.
  • Three patterns from module 1, lesson 6. Spleen-Qi deficiency (6); Spleen-Yang deficiency (7), the same deficiency plus Cold; Spleen deficiency with Dampness (8). mnemonic: empty, cold, wet.

The rest of this lesson is reference.

Spleen: Why does someone slump tired on the sofa after a meal, and what does that have to do with a prolapse or bruising easily?
The chart as an image, to save or share

Three practice questions from this lesson

Which function of the Spleen fails in a prolapse of the uterus?
  1. Making Qi ascend
  2. Holding Blood
  3. Transforming and transporting

Answer: Making Qi ascend. The lifting force of the ascending Spleen-Qi keeps the organs in place; if it fails, things sink: Spleen-Qi sinking, a picture to recognise.

What does the Stomach do, and what does the Spleen do?
  1. Stomach: rotting and ripening; Spleen: extracting and transporting
  2. Stomach: extracting and transporting; Spleen: rotting and ripening
  3. Stomach: rotting and ripening; Spleen: storing Blood

Answer: Stomach: rotting and ripening; Spleen: extracting and transporting. The Stomach receives and ripens, the Spleen extracts what is usable, separates the pure from the turbid and sends the Food-Qi upwards (step 2). Storing Blood is the Liver.

Where does the Spleen send the Food-Qi?
  1. Upwards, to the Lungs and Heart
  2. Downwards, to the Kidneys
  3. To the Liver, to be stored

Answer: Upwards, to the Lungs and Heart. In the Lungs, with air, it becomes the Qi of the chest; in the Heart it becomes Blood (module 1, lesson 3).

The rest of this lesson

In the course you get the step-by-step explanation, 15 case-based practice questions, 18 spaced-repetition flashcards, the pitfalls and the bridge to physiology with evidence grades. This lesson belongs to module 2: Organs.

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