CHAPTER 5

CAUSES OF DISEASE

病因

Upon completion of this chapter, you are required to:

  1. Master the words that form the TCM terms associated with this chapter.
  2. Understand new TCM terms formed by these words.
  3. Describe the pathogenic features* of six excesses*.
  4. Discuss the internal damage* caused by the seven emotions*.
  5. Explain the disease characteristics caused by pathological products.

Causes of diseases refer to the pathogenic factors that can bring about diseases. There are generally three causes for disease occurrence which are: internal cause, external cause and a cause neither internal nor external as listed in Fig. 5-1. The theory of causes of diseases deals with the classification of pathogenic factors and their properties, and pathogenic characteristics and processes.

You may consult the following websites for more reading about causes of disease in TCM: