Diseases 4, chest

Chest impediment (胸痹 xiōng bì): A disease marked by stifling oppression in the anterior chest, in severe cases with pain that stretches into the back and in some cases panting that prevents the patient from lying down. It is caused by yáng vacuity, static blood, phlegm, and cold and takes the form of heart yáng vacuity, fulminant desertion of heart yáng, or heart vessel obstruction.

Chest impediment is a traditional disease category that is broad in scope, corresponding to what modern biomedicine classes as cardiovascular disease, pulmonary emphysema, and pleurisy.

True heart pain (真心痛 zhēn xīn tòng): A disease characterized by pain in the heart accompanied by heart palpitation, water swelling, cold limbs, hasty panting, sweating, and a somber-white facial complexion. The Líng Shū states, In true heart pain, the arms and legs and feet turn cold up to the joints and heart pain is severe. If it occurs at dawn, death ensues in the evening; if it occurs in the evening, death ensues at dawn (真心痛，手足清至节，心痛甚，旦发夕死，夕发旦死 zhēn xīn tòng, shǒu zú qīng zhì jié, xīn tòng shén, dàn fā xī sǐ, xī fā dàn sǐ). According to this description, true heart pain corresponds to cardiodynia caused by acute myocardial infarction with circulatory failure in biomedicine. See also chest impediment. Note that the term true heart pain is derived by contrast to heart pain, a traditional term denoting any pain in the region of the heart, i.e., in the heart or the pit of the stomach (the two being sometimes poorly distinguishable).

Pulmonary welling-abscess (肺痈 fèi yōng): A welling-abscess of the lung, characterized by cough with expectoration of sticky fishy-smelling purulent phlegm that in severe cases is flecked with blood, together with heat effusion and shivering, chest pain, and rapid breathing. Pulmonary welling-abscess arises when heat from externally contracted evil toxin or heat forming from wind-cold scorches the lung, fosters phlegm, and causes congestion of qì and blood, creating static blood that in time putrefies. Hence, it falls within the scope of phlegm-heat congesting the lung.

Pulmonary consumption (肺痨 fèi láo): A contagious disease characterized by cough with expectoration of blood, accompanied by severe yīn vacuity signs such as tidal heat effusion, night sweating, emaciation, and a pulse that is fine and rapid.Biomedical correspondence: pulmonary tuberculosis.

Pulmonary distension (肺胀 fèi zhàng): A chronic condition of lung qì ascending counterflow marked by severe fullness in the chest, with copious phlegm, and vexation and agitation. It involves internally contracted evils and insufficiencies of the lung, spleen, and kidney.

Pulmonary wilting (肺痿 fèi wěi): A chronic condition of depletion of lung qì and lung yīn, caused by febrile disease, enduring illness, or pulmonary consumption. The main sign is cough with expectoration of turbid mucus. Signs vary depending on whether it takes the form of vacuity cold or vacuity heat.

Running piglet (奔豚 bēn tún): Also called running piglet qì (奔豚氣 bēn tún qì). A condition marked by episodes of a sensation of qì surging upward into the chest and throat with gripping pain in the abdomen, oppression in the chest, rapid breathing, clouded head and dizzy vision, heart palpitations, and vexation and agitation. It is often associated with fright (strong emotional stimulus). After each episode, the patient returns to normal, although some patients may experience alternating aversion to cold and heat effusion or vomiting. It is attributed to cold kidney qì surging upward or liver qì fire ascending counterflow. From a biomedical standpoint, running piglet may be explained in terms of anxiety affecting gastrointestinal peristalsis.