Medical Dialogue
医学会话
Review on midterm examination
期中考试复习
Mr. Allen Moore is a professor at an acupuncture college in the USA. He is reviewing with his class the fundamental theories of TCM for the upcoming midterm exam.
| professor: | Hello, everyone. Next Monday is your midterm exam, so I want to use today's class time to talk you through any questions you might have about what we have covered these last eight weeks. What is the broad concept of qi in Chinese philosophy? Anyone? |
| student: | It's energy. |
| professor: | True, most modern scientists would agree that "qi" is energy, but qi is also more than that. It's a difficult concept to translate it into English. We've tried to translate it as "vital force", "vital power", and "matter-energy". But these translations only denote the functional aspect of qi. What are the special functions of qi? |
| student: | Qi can be moving, and warming ...It is defensive and transforming ...It has nourishing functions. |
| professor: | Excellent! So now I'll ask you, can you recall the Eighth Difficult Issue of the Nan Jing, or Classic of Difficult Issues, regarding qi and the body? |
| student: | Qi is the root of the body? |
| professor: | Excellent, and this Difficult Issue also tells us where the root of these "influences" is located. Anyone? |
| student: | Between the kidneys. |
| professor: | Correct. Here is the foundation of the body's yin and yang, the root of the meridian vessels. It is the gate of exhalation and inhalation; it is the origin of the triple burners. Qi assumes a form and function according to the vital substances. It occupies and activates. Who can explain this? |
| student: | Well, qi is the substance and functional activity of the internal organs. |
| professor: | Right, and what does that mean? |
| student: | When we refer to heart qi, for example, we are not only referring to the qi that resides in the tissues of the heart, but we also mean the functional activities of the heart such as governing the blood and controlling the blood vessels. |
| professor: | Good. Now what does it mean that qi also refers to the "refined energy produced by the internal organs which have the function of nourishing the body and the mind?" |
| student: | We differentiate qi in the body based on its source and its function and how it is distributed through the body. |
| professor: | So now we're addressing the second way in TCM. Who can tell me what these two distinctions are? |
| student: | Congenital qi. |
| professor: | Yes, this is yuan qi or some sources translate it as source qi. What is the other? |
| student: | The qi we acquire from the foods we eat and the air we breathe. |
| professor: | Good. Congenital qi and acquired qi and they depend on each other for production and nourishment, right? |
| student: | Yes. |
| professor: | So how does this work? |
| student: | Source qi promotes the functional activity of the internal organs which generate the acquired qi that nourishes the Source qi. |
| professor: | And what is acquired qi? It is made up of three different qi types and functions. What are they? Anyone? |
| student: | Wei qi and ying qi. Defensive and nutritive qi. |
| professor: | And which one are you forgetting? |
| student: | Zong qi? |
| professor: | That's right. Pectoral or ancestral qi, depending on the translator. Let's detail each of these, and then we'll take a break. Start with ancestral qi. What is it? |
| student: | Ancestral qi is formed from the interaction of food qi generated from the spleen and stomach and the air brought in by the lungs. |
| professor: | What are the main functions of ancestral qi? Anyone? |
| student: | To promote the functions of the lung and the heart. |
| professor: | Yes, especially the lung's function of controlling respiration and the heart's function of dominating the blood and the blood vessels. Now what about the defensive and nutritive qi? |
| student: | They are also derived from the qi of food essence produced by the spleen and stomach. |
| professor: | But how are they different? |
| student: | Nutrient qi circulates in the vessels and defensive qi circulates outside the vessels. |
| professor: | Yes, but you need to understand their functional differences in order to fully appreciate the mechanism. What are the differences regarding their functions? |
| student: | Nutritive qi produces blood and circulates with it to provide further nourishment. Defensive qi defends the body against exogenous pathogenic factors by controlling the opening and closing of the pores ...Defensive qi also protects the skin and moistens the skin and hair. It can regulate our body temperature and warm the internal organs. |
| professor: | Very good. OK, let's take a fifteen-minute break. While you're gone, consider another topic you would like to talk through. You're all doing great, by the way, and I have great confidence that you are all going to do well on next week's midterm exam. |
| student: | Thank you, Professor Moore. |