Gān

Also gān pattern, gān disease.

1. A disease of infancy or childhood characterized by emaciation, dry hair, heat effusion of varying degree, abdominal distension with visible superficial veins, yellow face and emaciated flesh, and loss of essence-spirit vitality. Pathomechanically, it essentially involves dryness of the fluids due to damage to spleen and stomach owing to dietary factors, evils, and in particular, worms. Other viscera besides the spleen may be affected, hence there are the five gān (i.e., gān of the heart, gān of the lung, gān of the liver, gān of the spleen, and gān of the kidney). Gān disease is also labeled differently according to the specific area affected, e.g., gān of the brain and gān of the spine. Signs specifically attributed to gān include gān diarrhea, gān dysentery, gān heat effusion, gān swelling and distension, and gān thirst.

Biomedical correspondence: malnutrition; chronic indigestion; parasite infestation.

2. Various kinds of ulcerations and sores, e.g., child eye gān, gān of the teeth and gums, fire gān, lower body gān, and gān of the nose.