Pulse diagnosis
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Chinese pulse diagnosis or Pulse diagnosis or Pulse Examination or Pulse assessment is a diagnostic technique used in Asian Traditional medicines such as Chinese medicine and Chinese medicine.
Pulse diagnosis is one of four diagnostic pillars in Chinese medicine. It is derived from concepts of wholism where the parts represent the whole. The radial artery at the wrist is palpated and the observations are classified according to process and form. There are numerous models that provide information about systemic function. Some may give information about the acupuncture channel systems, others explore features such as circulating blood volume. It is a brilliant form of clinical assessment that is documented with 2,000 years of case studies and observations.
There are many traditions of Chinese pulse diagnosis. They include sophisticated family traditions of Chinese Pulse diagnosis that allow for identifying conditions in the channel systems or the organs. These methods are used to identify the quality and location of certain kinds of disorders.
Similar concepts appear in modern Western medicine. For example, certain kinds of heart attacks, such as ventricular fibrillation, may be identified by feeling the pulse and characterizing its speed, strength, and rhythm. A fast, weak, thready pulse might indicate certain kinds of heart failure or shock from blood loss. A pulse present in the upper arm, but not at the wrist, is indicative of unusually low blood pressure. Certain kinds of cardiac dysrhythmias (irregular rhythms), such as ventricular tachycardia or atrial fibrillation, may be diagnosed by overt patient symptoms and feeling of the pulse, and characterizing its speed, strength, and rhythm.Also, ventricular defibrillation is a procedure done emergently with an AED or defibrillator paddles or patches in a Code Blue situation when a patient is in ventricular fibrillation. Heart attacks, or myocardial infarctions, are diagnosed with ECG readings, cardiac enzymes from blood draws, the history and presentation of the patient's symptoms, and physical exam findings. Cardiogenic shock presenting from an acute MI could include the physical findings of a weak or thready pulse.
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[edit] Origin of pulse diagnosis
The earliest texts on Chinese pulse diagnosis are circa 100 common era in the Han Dynasty. Wang Shu-he's Pulse Classic (Mai Jing), the Difficult Classic (Nan Jing) and the Yellow Emperor's Classic (Huang Di Nei Jing) were all first recorded in the early part of the Han Dynasty. They contain methods for diagnosing the Eight Extraordinary Vessels, Six Channels, Twelve Organs and processes including the various forms of pathogens at the emotional and physical levels. Other traditions of pulse diagnosis are taught through family lineages such as the famous Shanghai Ding family lineage [1].
[edit] Uses
- to identify the location of imbalance or disease process
- to determine the disease processes in a given location
- to monitor the course of treatment
[edit] Classical pulse examination
[edit] Interpretation of pulse
[edit] References
- Hammer, L. (2001). Chinese pulse diagnosis a contemporary approach. In (pp. 76). Seattle: Eastland Press.
- Morris, W. (2001a). Rolling from primary positions: Seeking the truth. Acupuncture Today, September 2001, from http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/archives2001/sep/09morris.html
- Morris, W. (2002a). Diagnosis and treatment of the night-time defensive qi cycle. Acupuncture Today(May 2002).
- Morris, W. R. (2001b). Rolling from primary positions: Seeking the truth. Acupuncture Today(September).
- Morris, W. R. (2002b). Diagnosis and treatment of the night-time defensive qi cycle. Acupuncture Today(May).
- Morris, W. R. (2002c). Eight extra vessel pulse diagnosis: A path to effective treatment. Acupuncture Today(January). [2]
- Morris, W. R. (2002d). Pulse diagnosis using the elemental compass method. Acupuncture Today(August).
- Morris, W. R. (2003). Neoclassical pulse diagnosis and the six channels. Acupuncture Today. [3]
- Morris, W. R. (2007a). Nan jing difficulty one -- theory and praxis. American Acupuncturist, 40 (Summer), 12-15.
- Morris, W. R. (2007b). Pulse diagnosis: A multi dimensional method of pulse balancing. American Acupuncturist, 29(Spring), 16-18.
- R. B. Amber, A. M. B.-B. (1966). The pulse in occident and orient. New York: Dunshaw Press.
- Townsend, G., & Donna, Y. D. (1990). Pulses and impulses: A practitioner's guide to a unique new pulse diagnosis technique. Northamptonshire: Thorson's Publishing Group.
- Unschuld, P. t. (200 CE). Nan jing. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
- Walsh, S., & King, E. (2008). Pulse diagnosis: A clinical guide. New York: Churchill Livingstone.
- Wang, S. (1997). The pulse classic a translation of the mai jing (S. Yang, Trans.). Boulder: Blue Poppy Press.
- Wei, J. (1997). The practical jin's pulse diagnosis (L. Yubin, Z. Rong, M. Xinyuan & G. Yushan, Trans.). Shandong: Shandong Science & Technology Pub.
- Wu NL, W. A. T. (1996). Yellow emperor's canon of internal medicine: China Science and Technology Press.
- Yubin, L. (1996). Pulse diagnosis. Beijing: Shandong Science and Technology Press.
- Zhen, L. S. (1981). Pulse diagnosis (H. K. Huynh, Trans.). Brookline, MA: Paradigm Press.
