Desertion pattern

Any disease pattern arising through critical damage to yīn, yáng, qì, or blood. Signs include pearly sweat reversal cold of the limbs, open eyes and closed mouth, limp hands and enuresis, and a faint fine pulse verging on expiration. Sudden damage to essential qì as in wind stroke, great sweating, great diarrhea, major blood loss, and great seminal discharge threatening the severance of yīn and yáng is called fulminant desertion. Gradual collapse of essential qì that results when original qì is weakened through enduring illness is called vacuity desertion. Such patterns are called desertion patterns because they are perceived as arising when essential qì leaves the body. The Magic Pivot (灵枢 líng shū, tōng dà) states, Desertion of yīn and yáng is a sudden death [-like state] with inability to recognize people. Distinction is made between yīn desertion and yáng desertion, which are more usually referred to as yīn collapse and yáng collapse. The concept of desertion is important in wind stroke pattern identification, in which desertion patterns stand in opposition to block patterns.

Biomedical correspondence: Fulminant desertion corresponds roughly to shock, whereas vacuity desertion corresponds roughly to heart, lung, liver, or kidney failure. See exuberance and debilitation; wind stroke; collapse.